Developmentally Delayed Children

Developmental delay is a term that means an infant or child is developing slower than normal in one or more areas (Anderson, Chitwood, & Hayden, 1997).

As children develop, they learn different skills such as smiling, walking and talking. They call these developmental milestones. A child with a developmental delay does not reach these milestones at the same time as other children of the same age.

The term at risk means that a child's development may be delayed unless he or she receives early intervention services.

If you are concerned about your child's development, you will need to have your child evaluated to find out if s/he is eligible for early intervention services. This evaluation is provided at no cost to you through the Child Find system and there are many people who can help you.

I recommend starting with State Specific Information or call NICHCY (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities) at 1.800.695.0285 and ask one of their information specialists to give you the number for early intervention services in your state.

The developmental evaluation should be conducted by a highly trained professional who can use the results to create a profile of your child's strengths and weaknesses across the range of five developmental areas.

Those areas are:

Physical development - fine motor skills, gross motor skills

Cognitive development - intellectual abilities

Communication development - speech and language

Social or emotional development - social skills, emotional control

Adaptive development - self-care skills

The results of a developmental evaluation will be used to decide if your child needs early intervention services and/or a treatment plan. Early intervention services are specifically tailored to meet a child's individual needs and, as such, are a very important resource to children experiencing developmental delays.

Mental health issues, and psychiatric illnesses, are more likely to occur in people with developmental disabilities than in the general population.

There are many physical health factors associated with developmental disabilities.

Life expectancy among people with developmental disabilities as a group is estimated at 20 years below average, although this is improving with advancements in adaptive and medical technologies, and as people are leading healthier, more fulfilling lives.