Developmental disorders are quite common. In fact, 1 in 6 children ages 3 to 17 (or 17.8 percent) have a diagnosis of one or more developmental disorders,1 including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy (CP), hearing loss, intellectual disability (ID), learning disorders, and speech and language disorders.
So if you’re worried about a speech delay, attention issues, or excessive tantrums in your young child, you do have reason to worry, and you are not alone.
In addition to the alarming rate of developmental disorders, the autism rate has skyrocketed and now affects approximately 1 in 50 children. In1999, the autism rate was 1 in 500. In the 1970s, autism was thought to occur in 1 in 10,000.
Children diagnosed before 30 months with less severe symptoms had the highest chance of recovery from autism.
Myth 1: Your child’s future is out of your control, and there’s no hope for a “normal” life. So you have no choice but to wait.
INTERVENE NOW, AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Myth 2: You need a team of professionals, an official diagnosis, and/or insurance coverage to begin treatment.
START AT HOME, REINFORCE AT HOME.
Myth 3: There isn’t enough time in the day to make a difference.
15 MINUTES PER DAY!
Signs to watch out for
POINTING
As opposed to hand leading, which is taking an adult’s hand and placing it on the item he wants
- Child pointing at things that he wants
- Child responding to your pointing
SPEECH & LANGUAGE
- Babbling
- Attention towards faces
- Expressive language – child speaking and expressing himself
- Receptive language – child’s ability to understand language when others speak to him
- Pacifier/thumb weaning may be required
EXCESSIVE TANTRUMS
- Child cannot communicate, so frustrated
- Property destruction, biting
NOT RESPONDING TO HIS NAME
- Selective hearing
PLAYING BEHAVIOUR
- Focused on one object
- Carries it around all the time
- Lack of eye contact during playful interactions
A subtest involves handing a child a bubble container with the lid tightly closed. Most typically developing children will hand the bubbles back to you, while babbling and engaging in eye contact, trying to communicate to you that they need help in opening the jar. A child with autism may hand it back to you, but without eye contact or babbling, and might stare at your hand without looking at your face at all.
REPETITIVE BEHAVIOUR
- Hand flapping
- Spinning body or toys that are not meant to be spun
- Banging head on soft surfaces
- Watching same You Tube vids
- Wanting the same things (clothes, bowl etc.) everyday
SENSORY ISSUES
- Overreactive to sensory input
- Covering their ears when too many people around or loud noises
MOTOR DELAYS
- Walking late
- Toe-walking
DELAY IN IMITATION