What is global developmental delay?
Global development delay or slow development as it is sometimes referred to, is a diagnosis given to children who show a delay in reaching developmental milestones compared to other children of the same age. This could be delays in their social and emotional development, their cognitive development and their physical and motor development.
The development of a child follows very clear developmental milestones throughout infancy especially, and failure to meet these within an expected period of time may lead to a diagnosis of global developmental delay.
Global developmental delay may be caused by a genetic syndrome, a metabolic disorder such as PKU, serious infections, trauma to the brain or psychosocial trauma or severe malnutrition or neglect.
Understanding development-related symptoms and features
Symptoms may affect multiple parts of the body. Understanding which part of the body a symptom affects can help us to better understand the potential underlying causes of a symptom, including a rare disease or genetic syndrome.
Developmental symptoms may affect different parts of an individual’s development. These include their emotional and social development, their physical development, as well as their cognitive and communication skills.
Developmental milestones help to track a child’s developmental progress and flag delay. A delay may be isolated or accompanied by other developmental delays either in the same area and/or in other areas too.
Symptoms relating to development may be many and wide-ranging. They can include a walking delay, issues with speech and language including late talking, trouble socializing with others or with showing emotion.
What should I do next?
In some instances, global development delay may be one of the features of a rare disease or genetic syndrome. To find out if someone with Global Developmental Delay, may be due to a genetic syndrome, it is important to have a consultation and evaluation with a clinical genetic specialist. Specialists may also suggest specific genetic testing or other types of tests to help reach a diagnosis. FDNA’s AI technology can help speed up the diagnostic process by analyzing facial features and other health information.