If your infant is still scooting on the floor and her peers are crawling with ease, you may wonder if she's developing at the right pace. Infants who are slightly behind their peers usually catch up shortly, says BabyCenter.com. However, some infants are diagnosed with developmental delays, which are defined as significant or ongoing delays in the process of development. Early intervention helps these infants reach their greatest potential.
Types of Delays
Infants can have developmental delays in one or multiple areas: gross and fine motor skills, such as crawling and holding objects; language and communication skills, such as understanding language and speaking; social skills, such as playing with other infants; and self-help skills such as putting on clothing, according to BabyCenter.com. An infant might, for example, have a developmental delay in his gross motor skills if he spends a lot of time on his social skills or the other way around.
Statistics
Pediatricians say that about 9 percent of patients under 36 months old may have a possible developmental delay, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Ultimately, 16 to 18 percent of kids have disabilities including emotional problems, speech impairments and learning disabilities and less than 3 percent of those kids have severe disabilities such as autism and mental retardation.
Causes
Some developmental delays are due to genetic conditions such as Down syndrome and others are due to birth complications such as premature birth or infections, says the University of Michigan Health System. In other cases, accidents and serious illnesses cause infants to have developmental delays. However, many cases have an unknown cause.
Signs of Problems
You are likely to notice whether your infant is crawling or walking before her peers, but you may also notice if your infant isn't able to transfer a toy from one hand to the other when her peers can. You might also notice if she doesn't seem to understand what you're saying when you think she should or that she doesn't express herself by, for example, making sounds and pointing, says BabyCenter.com. If you look at a timetable of infant developmental milestones, you will be able to compare your infant's progress with developmental norms such as grasping for objects at 3 or 4 months old or communicating desires by age 1.
What to Do
Infants and young children will be informally screened at well-child visits and they should be formally screened at the 9-month, 18-month and 24- or 30-month well-child visits, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Make a note of any concerns you have about your infant's development, such as a strange movement he makes, and bring it up to your pediatrician as soon as you can. If he seems to have lost a skill he used to have, talk to your pediatrician as soon as possible, says the University of Michigan Health System.
References
- University of Michigan Health System: Developmental Delay -- Your Child
- BabyCenter.com: Could My Baby Have a Developmental Delay?
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Identification of Children <36 Months at Risk for Developmental Problems and Referral to Early Identification Programs
- American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement: Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home
