our directory of newsletters, articles, therapies, videos, policies, communities and other LINKs about childhood disability
Global developmental delay (GDD) is a term used to describe a generalized delay in development caused by an alteration in the functioning of the central nervous system and is usually characterized by lower than average intellectual functioning along with significant limitations in at least two other areas of development. Common signs of global developmental delay include delayed acquisition of milestones (e.g., sitting up, crawling, walking), limited reasoning or development of conceptual abilities, poor social skills and judgement, aggressive behaviour as a coping skill, and communication difficulties. Global developmental delay has many causes which sometimes go undetermined. Early intervention and therapy can support a healthy development and the stimulation of the best capacities for children with GDD.
This newsletter presents the CHILD-CHII, a measurement tool that can be used to help families, rehab professionals, educators, and community organizations gather information on the resources and accessibility features of a community program or facility.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs while the child’s brain is immature. This newsletter presents the EDIT-CP Toolkit which is designed to support clinicians to detect CP and connect children to effective early interventions.
This newsletter presents the Jooay app, a free app that connects children with disabilities and their families to leisure opportunities.
Coaching interventions provide education and guidance to individuals. This newsletter describes different types of coaching for children with disability and their families, approaches that are commonly used, and the level of evidence for coaching.
A flowchart that describes the pathways to employment for youth with physical disabilities.
FlowChart-v2
Citation: Nguyen L, Andiqwar H, Bertaggia C, Mrah FE, Hart K, Noseworthy J, Movahed M, Shikako K. Transition to Adulthood: Steps to Employment for Youth with Physical Disabilities in Quebec, Canada. Submitted to the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) Conference. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. October 23-26, 2024.
References
1. United Nations General Assembly. Convention on the Rights of the Child. United Nations, Treaty Series. 1989;1577(3):1-23.
2. United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations, Treaty Series. 2006;2515(3).
3. Statistics Canada. Helping young Canadians with disabilities learn lasting skills and keep quality jobs [Internet]. c2021 [modified 2021 Jun 1, cited 2024 Oct 17]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2021/05/ccrw-yess-project-announcement-000564.html
4. Lindsay S, McDougall C, Menna-Dack D, Sanford R, Adams T. An ecological approach to understanding barriers to employment for youth with disabilities compared to their typically developing peers: views of youth, employers, and job counselors. Disability and rehabilitation. 2015;37(8):701-11.
The age at which there was initial concern raised about a child’s development was related to who first expressed concern, the parent or physician.
Positional plagiocephaly is an asymmetric flattening of the back of the skull, which may relate to prolonged positioning on the back. It is believed that infants with plagiocephaly may have less exposure on their tummy when awake, and therefore fewer opportunities to practice extensor movements against gravity such as lifting the head and trunk. This may influence early gross motor milestone development.
Young children with global developmental delay are a group at high- risk for later developmental and functional impairments.
Children with global developmental delay are likely to exhibit ongoing delays across domains at school age.
Your child’s primary care physician needs to be mindful of limitations of developmental screening tools.
The cause of developmental delay or intellectual disability is still unknown in many children with these disabilities. More specialized genetic testing is likely to play a role in the future in determining causes.
A careful search by a specialty physician for a cause in children with global developmental delay is indeed worthwhile as the search is quite often successful.
Parent report questionnaires can, in general, be used in the setting of a pediatric clinic to screen for development.
Children with macrocephaly and global developmental delay should have a bone age measured in order to determine if the child has Sotos syndrome.
Health providers should not immediately equate global developmental delay with cognitive impairment.
A single strategy cannot be applied worldwide to diagnose, prevent, and treat intellectual disability and global developmental delay.
Microarray analysis can give a complete and detailed picture of the genome, making other costly tests unnecessary.
Perinatal asphyxia in newborns can lead to a range of disorders including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, or epilepsy.
BRIGHT Coaching is a new research program for families whose child is on a wait list for developmental assessments and services. If your child is a preschooler between the ages of 1.5 and 4.5, you may be eligible to join!
A closed group for parents who have a child with Global Developmental Delay to share stories, information and find support.
An online community sharing ressources, stories and information about Global Developmental Delay.