What are the important details you need to know about managing the developmental delay in kids?

Parenting will come with a significant share of enjoyment and challenges for everyone and one such concern that is particularly affecting billions of people is the developmental delay. 

What do you mean by developmental delay? 

As per the consultation of the best pediatric neurologist doctor, developmental delay means that a child is slow to reach one or more developmental milestones in comparison to kids of the same age. Developmental milestones will include several activities which the children will be first beginning to perform. Some of the milestones will be undertaken when children reach a certain age and the skills which are broadly associated with the developmental milestones are:

1. Motor skills: These will be the skills that will include the delay in sitting, crawling, walking or fine motor tasks like holding the spoon. 
2. Speech and language skills: This will be based upon difficulty in expressing the words, creating the sentences and understanding the instructions which will be wasted upon delay associated with such milestones. 
3. Social learning skills: This will be based on the struggle with interacting, formulating bonds and managing emotions. 
4. Cognitive skills: This will be based upon issues with problem-solving, memory, learning of new concepts and other associated aspects. 

However, it is very important for the parents to note that multiple children will have their own speed of learning things and developmental delay will not always be indicating the long-term issue. So consistently remaining in touch about such aspects with the doctors will be recommended for the parents so that monitoring of the conditions will be appropriately done and treatment options will be finalised without any problem. Some of the common symptoms related to developmental delay include:

1. At 6 months: This will be a lack of social smile and sound 
2. At 12 months: This will be not responding to the name, minimal gesture like waving bye-bye or any other related aspects 
3. At 18 months: This will be limited vocabulary and difficulty in walking 
4. At two years: This will not be about performing two-word phrases or showing limited interest in gaming 
5. At three years: This will be difficulty in informing the sentences, understanding the instructions and engaging in pretend playing.

Some of the common causes associated with the developmental delay include the following: 

1. Genetic factors: This will be based upon conditions like Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome 
2. Prematurity: Children who have been born significantly early will be impacted by early development issues 
3. Medical conditions: Neurological issues, chronic illness or any other kind of sensory impairment will lead to such issues 
4. Environmental factors: The lack of stimulation by the pollutants or the problem of malnutrition with exposure to toxins before birth like alcohol or toxins like poison after birth. It is important to note that child abuse is another very important reason for such delay.

How do the doctors at the best paediatric neurology Hospital assess the children? 

Developmental screening will be done for the children to identify the developmental delay and this particular screening will be a short and structured evaluation process which will be undertaken by professionals at Pediatric Neurology Hospital. This will include a questionnaire, checklist and direct observation of the skills of the children like motor function, language, cognitive ability and social interactions. Regular screening will be typically aligned with the child visits in this case which will allow people to focus on early identification of the potential concerns. Early detection in this particular case through screening will be helpful in eliminating the problem of late intervention and will enable the kids to receive support whenever they require it. Parents in this particular case never hesitate to request the developmental screening if they have any kind of concern about the progress of their kids. Extensive testing and blood testing will never be a part of initial screening however developmental delay in some of the cases will be due to genetic and health issues. So, specific testing systems in this case might be prescribed by the doctors to check out things accordingly without any problem.

Following are the important points are writing about the importance of early intervention: 

1. A few years of life will be very critical for brain development and early intervention in this case will make a lot of difference by underlying the causes and contributing factors. 
2. Early intervention will provide you with custom therapy including speech therapy, and occupational therapy and will be providing the parents with strategies to improve development at home without any problem. 
3. Studies very well depict that children who receive early support will be more likely to catch up in the long run and achieve their potential without any problems.
4. Whenever the children receive timely intervention then definitely, they will be able to enjoy a multidisciplinary approach including language therapy, audiology services and nutrition services so that they will be able to achieve their best potential very easily.

Many people confuse the concept of developmental delay with autism but actually, both of them are different. In the cases of autism property evaluation has to be done by professional doctors and general developmental delay is a very common condition faced by kids. Early intervention no doubt will be important for both of these scenarios but therapy and strategies will be different based on underlying diagnosis. So as parents, it is very important for everyone to seek the help of the best specialists and further getting in touch with paediatric haemato oncology doctors will be very much recommended to avoid any problem. All such aspects will focus on dealing with things very professionally and will make sure that there will be no chance of any kind of problem. Additionally learning about developmental delay could be overwhelming but you need to remember that children will be thriving perfectly with the right support. So, celebrating the small achievements of your child no matter how small they are and focusing on the steps will be important so that you can help them to grow. This will be helpful in making sure that your patience and action in addition to love will be making a significant difference in the overall learning journey of your kids.