Who is first concerned about a child’s development and when are they concerned?
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.
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.
Articles
Are infants with flat heads (Plagiocephaly) more likely to have early motor delays?
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.
What are the developmental and functional outcomes at school age of children diagnosed with a global developmental delay?
Young children with global developmental delay are a group at high- risk for later developmental and functional impairments.
How do children with global developmental delay compare with children with language delay?
Children with global developmental delay are likely to exhibit ongoing delays across domains at school age.
What developmental screening procedures exist?
Your child’s primary care physician needs to be mindful of limitations of developmental screening tools.
Is genetic evaluation of a child with either global developmental delay or mental retardation useful?
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.
Are there clinical features that may predict successful identification of an underlying cause in children with global developmental delay?
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.
Can parent-report questionnaires be used to accurately screen for developmental delay?
Parent report questionnaires can, in general, be used in the setting of a pediatric clinic to screen for development.
What is the frequency of Sotos syndrome in children with global developmental delay?
Children with macrocephaly and global developmental delay should have a bone age measured in order to determine if the child has Sotos syndrome.
Is global developmental delay related to the level of a child’s cognitive ability?
Health providers should not immediately equate global developmental delay with cognitive impairment.
Local factors greatly influence disorders with a global prevalence, like intellectual disability and global developmental delay
A single strategy cannot be applied worldwide to diagnose, prevent, and treat intellectual disability and global developmental delay.
Microarray scans of the whole genome give cost-effective diagnoses of global developmental delay
Microarray analysis can give a complete and detailed picture of the genome, making other costly tests unnecessary.
Readily available clinical indicators may predict risk of adverse outcome in asphyxiated newborns who experience seizures
Perinatal asphyxia in newborns can lead to a range of disorders including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, or epilepsy.
Communities
BRIGHT Coaching
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!
My Child Has Global Developmental Delay
A closed group for parents who have a child with Global Developmental Delay to share stories, information and find support.
Global Developmental Delay
An online community sharing ressources, stories and information about Global Developmental Delay.