The Learning Center Foundation

A developmental delay is any significant lag in a child's physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or social development, in comparison with normative standards observed for his or her age group. When the term developmental delay is used to refer to mental retardation, it is incorrect and causes much confusion. Mental retardation is a permanent limitation and not, as the word clearly states, a delay in development. For the purposes of learning disabilities, a child may be delayed developmentally if they are very late to roll over, stand, and walk. A preschooler might be experiencing delay if they have excessive difficulty understanding directions, pronouncing words, doing puzzles, handling tableware, recognizing shapes and letters, or counting. Poor coordination is another possible sign of delay. It is standard that by eight months, most children crawl and by the middle of the second year most children are walking. Consequently, a child who is not crawling by 13 months or walking by 18 months could possibly be developmentally delayed with regards to mobility.

It is important to note that kids who struggle with learning disabilities are usually only delayed in some areas and will be normal or advanced in others. But remember what is “normal” in the way of how a child develops and when they should start doing something varies from child to child. This adds yet another challenging component to accurately identifying learning disabilities when they do exist and making sure they aren’t diagnosed where they don’t exist. There is nothing like being wrongly labeled to get a child off course.

Children are unique and thus rigid timetables won’t do. But there are some general ideas about when certain behaviors or mile stones should normally be taking place. Most kids begin to speak somewhere between the ages of one and two. Still, a small percentage of “normal” children have been found to talk later than that.

Keep in mind that environmental factors can create situations in which children are likely to be delayed in their speech even though in reality they may not be suffering from any learning disability. Some examples are kids who sit in front of the television for hours on end every day or children who have non-English speaking nannies. A parent may consult various charts constructed by different professional medical entities in order to determine if their child is delayed in a particular stage of development. Unfortunately, the more the child lags behind in development, the more severe the disability. Developmental delays cause significant problems that only become compounded once the child enters school. We encourage parents to have their child assessed immediately if they suspect any developmental delays and take advantage of the enriched preschool programming provided by many states free of charge. Parents should likewise educate themselves on when a child is ready to enter school so they can ensure a successful beginning to their son or daughter’s education. Checklists abound which include various skills shown to be strong indicators of school readiness.

Contact The Learning Center to Determine if Your Child Has Learning Disabilities