What is Developmental Delay?

As mothers, we watch our child's early growth like hawks. We memorize the milestones. What do you do when your child does not meet those milestones? There are ways to determine when you should ask your pediatrician and when to sit back. 

In 1992, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged parents to lay their babies to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk  of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In 1994, the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) joined forces with the AAP and launched the Back-To-Sleep Campaign.  A study found that this reduced the SIDS rate by 66% from 1992-1995. At the same time, babies were not crawling and cruising at the same age they had in the past.

So many babies were off the traditional milestone charts, the AAP recognized the need for modifications to the infant milestone charts.  In 2003, a new chart was released for parents to better track their child's development and have a record to bring to Well Child Exams. A quality pediatrician or family doctor should know these milestones from memory and ask you about each one.

All motor skills have a broad range. For instance, an infant may begin to show recognition of his parents at six weeks but it may not be until ten weeks. Either of these ages is well within the typical range. If said child has not begun smiling when mommy walks into the room at twelve weeks, there is a valid concern. Cruising the furniture at 15 months is a "late bloomer" while no signs of independent ambulation at eighteen months is developmental delay.

Developmental delay is assessed in four categories: large (gross) motor, small (fine) motor, speech language and social/emotional. If a child has therapeutic needs in all areas, he or she is considered to have global delay. My daughter was diagnosed with global developmental delay at her two-month Well Child Exam. She was not following objects with her eyes, recognizing familiar people or rolling over.  I am very grateful for our observant pediatrician. Thanks to her we were able to receive Neuro-Developmental Therapy and Early Intervention services in infancy.                                     

Tune in next week for more about developmental delay and early intervention.

Photos courtesy mamikaze.com

Astacia goes by the alias Mamikaze and blogs at Life On the Run. She is the mother of a "typically developing" first-grader and an almost four year-old with Cerebral Palsy.