Understanding global developmental delay (GDD) in children

global developmental delay
global developmental delay 
Babies and children usually learn important skills such as sitting up, rolling over, crawling, walking, babbling (making basic speech sounds), talking and becoming toilet trained as they grow up. A child with Developmental Delay may not reach one or more of these milestones until much later than expected.
 What is Global Developmental Delay?
The term Developmental Delay or Global Development Delay is used when a child takes longer to reach certain development milestones than other children their age. This might include learning to walk or talk, movement skills, learning new things and interacting with others socially and emotionally.
What are the signs to look for in children?
Parents normally come to know of it after their child is born. This could be due to a problem that developed before birth, a problem during birth (for example, if the baby did not get enough oxygen, or was born too early), a childhood illness or a physical accident during early childhood.
 When is a child diagnosed with GDD?
As they grow, children’s developments will be assessed regularly and if they aren’t meeting the expected development milestones and levels of abilities, they may be referred for further more specialist assessment.
 What should parents do?
Contact your child’s doctor if your child has any of the following signs at the age that’s indicated. In addition, watch for any loss of skills that have already been learned.
By 3 to 4 months, contact the doctor if your child:
  • does not respond to loud noises
  • does not babble
  • begins babbling but does not try to imitate sounds (by 4 months)
By 7 months, contact the doctor if your child:
  • does not respond to sounds
By 1 year, contact the doctor if your child:
  • does not use any single words (like “mama”)
By 2 years, contact the doctor if your child:
  • cannot speak at least 15 words
  • does not use two-word phrases without repetition; can only imitate speech
  • does not use speech to communicate more than immediate needs
 What is the medication for treating GDD?
It is likely a paediatrician will see your child, and if they suspect GDD they may ask questions regarding the child’s progress. They may look at a child’s development and carry out medical tests to try to identify a cause for the developmental difficulties. Some families will be referred to a genetics service to see if there is a genetic cause for the difficulty.  Some children may be referred to further specialists such as psychologists, speech and language therapists or occupational therapists for further evaluations.
 How can GDD-affected children be treated?
Some children will require additional support to allow them to catch up with other children. Support may be with speech and language therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy or other methods of support. Special educational input is a common and useful support. Your doctor or paediatrician will be able to discuss the type of support that is right for your child and how to go about getting it. Children and young people with Generalised Developmental Delay experience higher rates of emotional and behavioural difficulties than other children, so some of them may benefit from seeing a Clinical Child Psychologist or a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Early signs of autism

Image
Early signs of autism can be easily detected in infants as young as 6-18 months, but parents have to pay attention for that. There are certain milestones for a particular age, like – no joyful expressions by 6 moths, no back and forth sharing of sounds by 9 months, no babbling by 12 moths and so on. If the child is not responding properly, than the parents need to check. Eye contact during early infancy is a key to early identification of autism. Typically developing children begin to focus on human faces within the first few hours of life and they learn to pick up social cues by paying special attention to other people’s eyes. Children with autism however do not exhibit this sort of interest in eye looking. In fact, a lack of eye contact is one of the diagnostic feature of autism. Early markers of autism are – 1.        Poor eye contact 2.        Impairments in visual tracking to an object 3.        Atypical responsiveness 4.        Less social smiling, delayed expr
Read more

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE SELF TALK AND PARALLEL TALK

Image
Self talk is a strategy simply means, talk about what you are doing, seeing or thinking when your child is present. In other word, narrate your actions. E.g.: “I see a doggie. Oh! a big doggie. Parallel talk is another strategy to enhance language development; talk about what your child is doing or seeing. In other words narrate what he/she is doing. E.g.:  Oh! Your tower fell down Self talk and parallel talk Overview about effectiveness When you are using self talk and parallel talk there is no requirement of your child to imitate what you are saying. These techniques give your child an exposure to language during play and daily routine. Using self-talk and parallel talk expose the child to words which bridge the gap between a child who may not realize actions, objects and feelings. But don’t expect them to repeat immediately, if they tries to imitate you should reinforce the effort of your child. You have to make sure that you are not over doing it. Use words and phrases
Read more

Developmental dysplasia of Hip

Image
Developmental Dysplasia of Hip Developmental Dysplasia of Hip(DDH) is a dislocation of a hip joint that is present at birth. Otherwise known as congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH). In DDH, the socket of the hip is too shallow and the femoral head is not held tightly in place, so the hip joint is loose. In severe cases, the femur can come out of the socket (dislocation). It’s more common in girls and a first born child. Etiology unknown, Some studies say that a low level of amniotic fluid in the womb during pregnancy can increase a baby risk of DDH, Breech presentation high birth weight Signs of DDH Restricted movement in one leg when you change their nappy One leg dragging behind the other when they crawl One leg appearing longer than the other Uneven skin folds in the buttocks or thighs A limp, walking on toe developing an abnormal gait called “waddling gait”. If DDH won’t get proper medical attention, it can cause limp, hip pain and osteoarthritis i
Read more