Developmental Delays
Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics
Developmental Disabilities Services
Parents inevitably compare their child’s development to other children. That’s often when they worry their child has fallen behind and may have a developmental delay. At Orchid Pediatrics, Joy Eberhardt, MD, FAAP, performs an in-depth assessment, identifies developmental delays, and creates a treatment plan that teaches the skills needed to reach milestones. If your child needs a developmental assessment, call the office in Portland, Oregon, or request an in-person or telemedicine appointment online today. We offer safe in-person visits in OR and virtual visits throughout the US including AZ, CO, CT, ID, IL, MD, MN, NH, NJ, OR, TX, UT, WA, WI.
What are Developmental Disabilities?
As children grow, they gradually develop motor, speech, language, thinking, and social skills. The skills in each category develop in a certain order. Each step in the process is called a developmental milestone.
Children gain skills at different paces, so each milestone has an age range in which most children conquer that skill. If your child doesn’t meet a milestone, they have a developmental delay.
What are the different types of developmental delays?
The types of developmental delays include:
Cognitive (thinking) delays
Delays in cognitive development affect your child’s ability to think. This may cause problems with learning, reasoning, problem-solving, memory, and understanding. Without a developmental screening, you may not notice a cognitive delay until your child goes to school.
Speech and language delays
In addition to not saying and using words when expected, this delay can cause a limited vocabulary, difficulty understanding words, and the inability to use complete sentences.
Motor (muscle) delays
A motor delay occurs when your child can’t coordinate their muscle movement. This could affect walking, sitting, standing, and fine motor skills.
Social, emotional, and behavioral delays
These developmental delays interfere with your child’s ability to make friends, build relationships, and regulate emotions.
What Causes Developmental Delays?
Possible causes of a developmental delay include:
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Down syndrome
Brain trauma
Serious infections
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Neuromuscular disorders
Exposure to toxic substances
Prenatal alcohol exposure
Lead poisoning
Malnutrition
Developmental disabilities such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism may cause a developmental delay.
How Are Developmental Delays Treated?
Your Orchid Pediatrics provider determines the cause of your child’s developmental delay before recommending treatments such as:
Behavioral pediatrics
Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
Speech and language therapy
Early childhood special education
Most children overcome developmental delays and learning disabilities with therapy that teaches the skills they need to master the milestone and catch up to their peers.
What Symptoms Appear Because of a Developmental Delay?
Guidelines for developmental milestones are available for children aged 2 months to 5 years. During those years, children go through many milestones in each category. As a result, there are too many to give you a list of symptoms.
However, you can easily obtain milestone lists online and use them to monitor your child’s progress. Additionally, pediatricians do a quick review of milestones at every well-child visit.
If your child seems behind in their milestones, call Orchid Pediatrics or book an appointment online today.
Contact Orchid Pediatrics
Use the brief form below to contact developmental pediatrician, Joy Eberhardt.
Phone
(503) 208-4007
info@orchidpediatrics.com
Fax
(888) 334-4845
Office Location
4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.
Suite 301
Portland, OR 97225
