Developmental Delay Kimberly & Devon

Objectives  Definition of DD  Identification of DD  Characteristics of DD  Intervention

What is DD?  Developmental delay (DD) can generally be defined as a child not reaching specific milestones in one or more of the areas of development (e.g., communication, motor, cognitive, social-emotional, or adaptive skills) as expected for typically developing children (Hadadian & Koch, 2013).  It is an ongoing major or minor delay in the process of development.

What’s NOT DD?  Temporarily lagging behind  Inability to complete difficult task  Not synonymous with Learning Disability (LD)

Developmental Milestones DM are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age-range. DM can be categorized into 3 areas of development: 1. Physical: Gross motor – use of large groups of muscles e.g. sit, stand, walk, run, balance, keep position. Fine motor – e.g. eat, dress, write 2. Intellectual: Language – e.g. speaking, body language gestures, understanding others Cognitive – thinking, learning, problem-solving, reasoning, remembering. 3. Social-Emotional – interacting, relationships, cooperating, responding, expressing feelings

Developmental Milestones  Milestones for your students  ECCE  Primary  Secondary

Diagnosis  Usually made by a doctor based on strict guidelines.  Parents are usually first to identify signs of delay  Teachers

Causes of DD  Genetic causes  Prematurity  Hearing loss from chronic ear infection

Developmental Case Study & Activity

Discussion  Do you think there are children/students in your setting/class who are delayed?  How do you know?  What percentage of children/students do you think are delayed?  What have you done/been doing?

What should teachers do?  Intervene  Provide support (based on needs)  Document! Document! Document!  Collaborate  Refer

Exceptional Environments