Developmental Delay in Children

Best Developmental Delay in Child Treatment in Jaipur, Rajasthan

 

Developmental milestones are behaviors or skills seen in infants and children as they grow and develop. There are age ranges at which most children are exepcted to achieve a particular milestone. Children reach developmental milestones at their own pace, and some move faster than others. Even two children in the same family may reach milestones at different rates, for example, one hild may start walking and talking quite early as compared to another child..

Developmental delay is when your child lags behind their peers in one or more areas of emotional, mental, or physical growth.

He/she has not gained the developmental skills expected of him or her, at that partuclar age.

There are many different types of developmental delays in infants and young children. They include problems with:

  • Movement — motor skills
  • Speech and language skills
  • Cognitive, Social and emotional skills
  • Vision

Global developmental delay means a young child has significant delays in two or more of these areas of development.

Developmental arrest and regression refers to a normal developmental phase in a child that is followed by a failure to develop new skills or even loss of previously acquired skills. This is always a cause for concern and should be investigated immediately.

Causes

There are numerous causes for delays in development. Factors that may contribute can occur before a child is born, during the birth process, and after birth. These could include:

  • Maternal health problems, infections or drug intake during pregnancy
  • Lack of oxygen, low blood sugar, infection or jaundice in a newborn- giving rise to cerebral palsy
  • Nutritional causes in children
  • neurological disorders
  • Genetic or hereditary conditions like Down syndrome
  • Metabolic disorders
  • Trauma to the brain, such as shaken baby syndrome
  • Severe psychosocial or environmental problems
  • Exposure to certain toxic substances
  • Infections

Signs and Symptoms of Developmental Delay

There are many different signs and symptoms of delay that can exist in children and often vary depending upon specific characteristics.

Signs and symptoms may be evident from a very young age, or may be noticed later.

Some of the most common symptoms can include:

  • Learning and developing more slowly than other children same age
  • Rolling over, sitting up, crawling, or walking much later than developmentally appropriate
  • Difficulty communicating or socializing with others
  • Lower than average scores on IQ tests
  • Difficulties talking or talking late
  • Having problems remembering things
  • Inability to connect actions with consequences
  • Difficulty with problem-solving or logical thinking
  • Trouble learning in school
  • Inability to do everyday tasks like getting dressed or using the restroom without help

If there is an underlying medical reason that causes the developmental delay, identification and treatment of that condition may improve your child’s developmental skills.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis in a child with developmental delay depends on developmental evaluation, clinical examination and a number of tests. The tests may include blood tests, MRI, metabolic studies, genetic studies, electrophysiology studies, psychological evaluation, vision and hearing tests, etc and may be different for each child.

Therapies for Developmental Delays

There is no sigle treatment for every child with developmental delay. The treatment depends on early and correct idebtification of the cause, the underlying disease and the type and severity of developmental delay.

Treatment options are selected by pediatric neurologist and may include:

-medications

-dietary therapy

-Physical therapy

– Occupational therapy

-speech therapy

-surgery

-Special Education

-Behavioural therapy