The therapists at CentaPaeds Therapy Centre are exceptionally experienced in assessing and treating children with delayed milestones. Therapist have attended advanced post-graduate courses in this area and this particular diagnosis makes up more than half the children who benefit from therapy at CentaPaeds Therapy Centre.
Reasons for Delays?
Babies may have delayed milestones for various reasons. The therapist will need to assess why the milestones are delayed by carefully checking where the baby is having difficulty. Reasons might include poor muscle tone or muscle weakness, poor co-ordination or difficulty with motor-planning.
The therapist will determine why milestones are delayed, set treatment goals and develop a treatment plan in conjunction with the parents. In the initial assessment, any areas requiring further investigation will be highlighted.
Delayed milestones are often just a hiccup along the normal developmental path and are easily addressed with some therapy and exercises. Occasionally, they may be indicative of sub-optimal brain or muscle function. In other words, if the brain is not doing what it is supposed to do, or the muscles in the body are not working like they are meant to, the baby will not follow the normal developmental pathways. For this reason, delayed milestones are a red-flag for further investigation and should not be ignored.
Contact CentaPaeds if you have any concerns about your child. Early intervention will be beneficial to your child's development.
The Importance of Achieving Developmental Milestones
The importance of achieving developmental milestones has long been recognised by parents and medical professionals.
There are many checklists to help you monitor when a baby should be achieving specific skills such as smiling, crawling and talking.
Newer studies in medical research have confirmed the importance of achieving certain milestones within the correct timeframe. Part of the reason for this is that there are 'window' periods in the development of the brain when optimal learning occurs in a certain area.
For example:
- If a baby is not moving independently before his first birthday, spatio-temporal concepts will be poorly developed, impacting on mathematics ability in the later years.
- A squint can cause a child to stop using an eye which can result in permanent blindness of that eye in later years and
- late onset of speech may affect reading ability and comprehension skills at school.
Delayed milestones are a red-flag for further investigation and should not be ignored.