Introduction to Global Delay

Introduction to Global Developmental Delay

To put it simply, a developmental delay is when your child does not reach their developmental milestones at the expected times, whilst Autism refers to a group of complex neurodevelopmental disorders, present from early childhood which is characterised by the difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people, and using language and abstract concepts.

Below we will go over some information about GDD (Global Developmental Delay).

What are the symptoms of Global Developmental Delay?

Child development is complex and each child with GDD may present differently. There are many areas in child development that they may be delayed in. The delays may be in:

Speech and language development

Gross motor development (walking, crawling)

Fine motor development (holding toys, drawing)

 Thinking, understanding, and learning

Social interaction and how they relate to others (make friends)

Emotional regulation

 Tasks of daily living (getting dressed, toileting)

The combination of delays and degree of delays will have different impacts on how the child and their family can function and how much support they may need. During the process of receiving a diagnosis a child may have to go through a broad range of assessments; including:

 Vision and Hearing tests

 Speech and language assessment

 Behavior tests

 Cognitive assessment

 Activities of daily living assessment

 Blood tests

 Genetic and chromosomal tests

 MRI

 Neurological test

There are many possible causes of GDD, some are permanent, but others aren’t. They include:

Premature birth

Genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome

Chromosomal conditions such as Fragile X

Autism spectrum disorders

Metabolic conditions such as thyroid function

Problems in pregnancy or during birth such as heavy bleeding or lack of oxygen to the baby

Vision or hearing loss

Speech and language difficulties

Injuries or infections of the brain such as head injury or meningitis

Cerebral Palsy

GDD is believed to affect about 17% of the population. GDD is often diagnosed in children under five, children with global developmental delay reach developmental milestones later than other kids. They often have trouble developing their intellectual and adaptive abilities. Your child's providers use developmental screening to tell if your children are learning basic skills when they should, or if they might have issues. Your child’s provider may ask you questions or talk and play with your child during an exam. This shows how your child learns, speaks, behaves, and moves. Your child’s provider may also ask you questions or give you a questionnaire to fill out. Developmental screening is a tool to find out if your child is on track or needs extra evaluations or treatments. There’s no lab or blood test to tell if your child may have a delay in their development. However, there are tests for other specific syndromes and disorders that cause developmental delays. Your child’s provider will tell you whether your child needs any of those. Because there’s a wide range of growth and behavior for each age, it’s natural for children to reach a milestone earlier or later than a general trend. Your child’s provider will look at the big picture and let you know where your child fits in.

If your child is temporarily lagging behind his or her peers, that is not called a developmental delay. After all, kids reach different stages at different ages. A delay can occur in one or many areas at any time.

As far as when signs of autism begin to show, the ages might vary. The behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder often appear early in development. Many children show symptoms of autism by 12 months to 18 months of age or earlier. Autism can be diagnosed in addition to Global Developmental Delay when a child has difficulty in developing social and communication skills.

Children living with Global Developmental Delay vs. Autism, display a significant difference in their communication development and adaptive function, partly due to a large number of potential underlying causes. Typically, children living with Global Developmental Delay are less likely to engage in restrictive or repetitive behavior patterns and may present with better social skills.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a term that refers to a broad range of conditions that can be categorized into different subtypes. People with autism often struggle in the areas of communication and social skills, but the degree to which they struggle is highly variable.

Common autism signs in children include:

Difficulties communicating and interacting with others

Repetitive behaviors

Using only non-verbal communication

Speaking only in single words or repeating words

Finding things like bright lights and noises overwhelming, stressful, and uncomfortable

Not making eye contact

Not talking as much as other children their age

Not responding to their name

Not smiling back at you when you smile at them

Many of the above signs of autism can also be caused by a developmental delay, such as a speech delay, but they are usually more severe in children with autism. It’s important to note that autism is a condition that causes a child’s brain to function differently.