Developmental delays.
All three of our littles were diagnosed with developmental delays. They were diagnosed and treated for delays in fine/ gross motor skills, in speech and language skills, cognitive skills and social skills. In this article I would like to talk about developmental delays, what they are, what the risk factors are , how they are diagnosed and treated. Early intervention is the key.
Developmental delays are considered a disability after age six. Developmental delay is a diverse group of chronic conditions that are due to mental and physical impairments. Developmental delay is the condition of a child being less developed mentally or physically than is normal for its age. When a child is not meeting milestones at a normal rate. A global delay is when one or more area is delayed. Milestones are skills or tasks that children can typically do at a certain age such as walking, talking, crawling and grasping. Monkey and Sunshine both continue to be delayed in speech and language they both receive therapy at school. Speech and language delays are relatively common.
There are 5 main areas of development that can have delays, they are as follows,
Cognitive thinking skills, which is how you learn to solve problems.
Social, is the way we relate to other people and express ourselves. It concerns our emotions and ways to communicate.
Speech and language, which is used to understand verbal language and to be able to verbally express needs.
Fine motor and gross motor, these refer to the use of small muscles and large muscles used to control movements. Such as to roll over, grasping, able to skip run walk and climb.
Daily living, as to eating dressing and bathing ones self.
Causes and risk factors of developmental delays.
Typically it is caused by things that are beyond the parents control developmental delay is not necessarily the fault of the parents or the caregiver. The cause of developmental delays can be contributed to being born too early, low birthweight, or a lack of oxygen at birth. Environmental factors can also play a role in developmental delays such as lead poisoning, poor nutrition, exposure to drugs prenatally or postnatally. Developmental delays can also be caused by difficult family situations and trauma. Another contributor to developmental delays is medical conditions such as chronic ear infections, vision issues, continued illnesses, autism , other spectrum type disabilities and injuries. Abuse can also contribute to developmental delays. Sometimes the cause cannot be found.
When we received custody of Monkey and Princess we had them tested through the school district. We had noticed that they were not meeting all of their milestones. Both of them tested for global delays and were enrolled into a pre K program that would help them both catch up. Our princess caught up much faster and was able to move into a regular class on the following year. Monkey also went into a regular classroom when he started Kindergarten. He still had quite a few delays so he received services through the school district not just for the speech and language but also for social skills and cognitive thinking.
Sunshine came to us at 2 weeks old we did not notice that she was not meeting her milestones until she was about 6 months old. She spent a lot of time refusing time on her tummy because of digestive issues but it was more than that. We noticed that she was not babbling like other babies. I had downloaded an app on to my phone to check off milestones for each month as she grew. We really began to see the things that she was not accomplishing. I contacted Early Head Start and talked to her pediatrician. Sunshine’s pediatrician sent her to be evaluated for physical therapy. At about the age of 16 months old Sunshine was still not meeting milestones. Again I spoke with her pediatrician and received referrals for evaluations in Speech language and occupational therapy. She started occupational therapy almost immediately. She began therapy for speech and language at about 2 years of age. She has graduated out of physical therapy and occupational therapy. Sunshine continues to have global delays mostly with speech and language. She was recently evaluated and started in a prek program. She started just before her third birthday. She receives speech therapy and works on the other areas she is delayed.
How developmental delays are diagnosed.
You as the parent or caregiver will have the most information for discovering if your child is developmentally delayed.
Well baby check ups are extremely important it is there that your pediatrician records any concerns you may have. The pediatrician will also ask you lots of questions to see if your child is meeting milestones. Such as is the child rolling over, grasping objects, sitting unsupported, following objects with eyes and many more questions each check up the pediatrician will ask another set of questions. It is important to be honest when answering. Don’t be embarrassed if your child is not meeting the same milestones as your neighbor. Every child develops on their own time table. Some children may be working hard on sitting alone while another is grasping items and a third maybe babbling up a storm. These 3 children maybe the same age but they are each working on their own agenda. The well baby check ups should be at 9 months 18 months 30 months and 48 months. If you have any concerns between appointments call your pediatrician right away don’t wait for the next well baby check up. Screening can be done at any age. Evaluations will be different depending upon what area your child is showing delays and the age of the child.
During The evaluation they did things such as throw a ball, jump, look at a book, point pictures, stacked blocks, played with cars and other things similar. It looked more like a play date than any kind of evaluation to me. They also asked me a lot of questions about the children like when they began walking and talking. They asked if they were able to do things that they couldnt test for. As a parent or caregiver it is up to you to fill in the missing pieces so that the child can receive services if they are needed.
When the monkey and Princess were evaluated they were at ages three and four years old they were evaluated through a preK program in our school district. The evaluation took two different days and about four hours each.
It requires a professional to diagnose a child with developmental delays. The evaluation that was done even though it looked like play was very in depth on what my child was able to do. The evaluators filled out multiple booklets and scores were added up to come to their diagnoses so that they could begin treatment. I also attended Sunshine’s evaluations for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, it was very similar to what I saw with the older two children. The physical evaluation was a bit different they moved her around checked muscle mass and documented what she could and couldn’t do. Again this was done by a professional who knew what to look for and what kind of tests can be done on what age child. It is very important to seek professionals and to get early intervention.
Treatment will depend on the area or areas that the child is delayed. The child will receive therapy in the areas that with help them the most such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social skills and daily living skills. The amount of therapy and the intensity will be determined by a professional based on what your child needs.
Living with a child who is delayed can be challenging. Many children who are delayed tend to have temper tantrums and other types of out bursts. They even can have behavior problems. This can be a result of frustration, not being able to communicate or do things that others do can cause the child to act out. When Sunshine showed signs of frustration because she could not get us to understand what she wanted we taught her a few basic signs. She was able to express herself and we saw less tantrums. Finding ways to help your child cope is important also. Help them to find ways to adjust to the situation, make the situation less stressful.
Focus on what your child can do not on what they can’t do. Early intervention is so important! As always thank you for following along as we raise these beautiful souls.
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