Identifying and Addressing Developmental Delays in Children
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Gross motor skills involve whole-body movements and the use of the larger muscles in the arms, legs, and trunk. Several gross motor milestones, organized by age, that infants and children are expected to reach include crawling, standing unaided, walking, and running.
Gross motor skills are those that involve using whole-body movements in order to move or make a physical movement. These include crawling, walking, running, climbing, lifting, and throwing amongst others. Gross motor activities involve using the larger muscles of the arms, legs, and torso.
Speech delay (alalia) is defined by a delay in speech development. This means a delay in making the necessary sounds for speech. A child who is not meeting the developmental milestones for speech may be showing signs of speech delay.
In some cases, there is a need for genuine concern if a child is not meeting the set speech and language developmental milestones for their age, and in this case, speech delay may be diagnosed. Speech is a part of language development and involves the words we use to communicate and incorporates articulation and forming sounds to make words. The language itself includes many forms of communication, including verbal (speech) and non-verbal, and comprehension and understanding.
Developmental delay is when a child does not meet the developmental milestones expected for their age. Children naturally develop at different rates, and some degree of slower or delayed development is completely normal.