Developmental Delay Treatment in Children

Developmental is not a separate disorder. It can be described as an insufficient rate of mental and speech development due to a disorder in the functioning of the central nervous system. Treatment of delayed psycho-speech development in children is aimed at improving mental functions (such as memory, attention, thinking, etc.), the development of which lags behind the norm for this age. Developmental delay is a neurological problem that can be corrected. But if you do not seek help as early as possible, it can develop into a more severe condition – psychical impairment, cognitive deficiency or intellectual disability.

Developmental Delay Classification

The International Classification of Diseases classifies Developmental Delay as a basic diagnosis of mental retardation:

• Constitutional genesis.
  It is defined by heredity, slow development of the emotional sphere.
• Somatogenic genesis.
  Appears as a result of a serious illness, sometimes chronic.
• Psychogenic genesis.
  Occurs due to the influence of social and psychological factors, extreme care or lack of attention.
• Cerebralorganic genesis.
  Occurs due to pathological disorders of brain development, which often appear even during pregnancy.

Reasons of Developmental Delay in Children

There are many reasons that lead to developmental delay in children. The main are:

• epilepsy
• pre- and perinatal factors - intrauterine injuries (e.g., oxygen deprivation), complicated childbirth or maternal illness during pregnancy
• chronic diseases, infections, severe trauma in early childhood
• psycho-emotional trauma or adverse family circumstances
• improper upbringing
• heredity, genetic diseases
• psychiatric condition of neurological diseases
• cerebral vascular pathology and congenital brain defects

Sometimes Developmental Delay occurs as an independent symptom of a residual-organic genesis.

Developmental Delay Pathogenesis. Why and how does Developmental Delay occur?

The pathogenesis of developmental delay is associated with oxygen starvation of the brain cells (hypoxia, asphyxia) during prenatal development. As a result of prenatal hypoxia, brain neurons are affected and the function of the parts of the central nervous system for which they were functionally responsible is lost.

A child with Developmental Delay at any age may have increased salivation, and his/her mouth is almost always ajar. Developmental Delay in children also manifests itself in inattention, poor memory, slow thinking, lack of a wide range of emotions, and difficulties in communicating with peers.

Complications of Developmental Delay

Developmental Delay significantly complicates social adaptation both in childhood and adulthood, sometimes leading to behavioral disorders. Problems with logical thinking or assimilation of information often cause withdrawal, feelings of inferiority and, accordingly, isolation of the child. As a consequence, there can be difficulties with assimilation of school skills, socialization in a team and finding a job.

Developmental Delay Diagnostics

In order to identify mental and speech development problems, it is necessary to go for a consultation with a Neurologist. He will be able, among other things, to tell the difference between Mental Retardation and similar but more serious disorders (e.g., delayed or abnormal psychological development, childhood autism, sensory-motor alalia, etc.) and sometimes identify epileptic seizures.

Delayed psycho-speech development exists as an independent syndrome or as part of some pathology. In order to diagnose a child with delayed psycho-speech development, tests for attention, thinking, visual and auditory memory are used; an examination, electroencephalography (EEG), otoacoustic emission and audiogram (OEA), and evoked visual potentials (EVP) and evoked auditory potentials (EAP) are performed.

For children under the age of three, it is important to identify the signs of developmental delay to avoid the development of general underdevelopment of speech (GLD), systemic underdevelopment of speech (SNR), alalia (sensory, motor, sensorimotor), cognitive deficits, mental retardation and mental retardation. In the vast majority of cases, early diagnosis of the signs of developmental delay has a high probability of eliminating the problem completely.

Developmental Delay Treatment

To quickly overcome the delay of psycho-speech development, the child is examined by a neurologist, who compiles an individual package of rehabilitation: social and educational service (classes with a psychologist, speech correction, speech massage, classes with a remedial teacher, typhlo-pedagogue), hardware techniques, reflexology and physiotherapy (stimulation of reflexogenic zones).

At the Center for Brain Stimulation we use modern equipment from leading manufacturers. For example, apparatuses «Реамед-Полярис» («Reamed-Polaris», for tDCS session), «Синхро-С» («Synchro-C», for Bioacustic Correction Session), «Braintest»,encephalograph and chamber, oxygen concentrators «Биомед» («Biomed») 7F-5, etc.

Treatment Effects

If treatment of Developmental Delay was timely and of good quality, in most cases there will be an improvement in many of the body's functions. In particular, the child's perception of the world and interest in social life will improve, the vocabulary will expand, full sentences will appear in speech, articulation muscle tone will improve, understanding of speech addressed to him/her will increase, active vocabulary will enrich, and pronunciation will improve.

Preventive Measures

It is important to follow a schedule of examinations by specialists according to age (especially important in the first year of life and up to three years of age). Prevention of delayed psycho-speech development in children is aimed at preventing the development of the disease during the first year of life or at alleviating the severity of the disease. The system of prevention includes the formation of correct mental and physical development, the identification and correction of health disorders, a healthy family lifestyle and proper nutrition.

Thus, prevention of mental retardation in children consists in creating the most favourable conditions for pregnancy and childbirth, and in particular - close attention to the development of the baby from the first days of his life. Keeping a child development diary is important. This makes it possible to recognize and correct developmental deviations in time.

Recommendations for Parents

Many parents believe that Speech Therapists can cure developmental delays. But in fact, a Speech Therapist is a teacher. He only teaches a child how to pronounce sounds correctly. That is why most Speech Therapists wait until the age of consciousness (4-5 years) and only then begin to work with a child.

But in the absence of timely socio-pedagogical correction, the consequence of Developmental Delay in children can become mental retardation - a stable decrease in intelligence. Therefore, waiting until the age of 4 without correction and lessons often leads to a pronounced lag in comparison to peers. It is important not to ignore the problem and seek help from a specialist.

Who does treat Developmental Delay?

Treatment of Development Delay in children is complex and represents teamwork between the parents and specialists - a Neurologist, a Speech Pathologist, a Speech Therapist, a Psychologist, and a Reflexologist.

Advantages of Developmental Delay Treatment at the Centre for Brain Stimulation

Remember: an early diagnostics and correction give more chances to your child to return to a full life.

At our Centre qualified specialists will diagnose your child accurately and provide effective treatment for Developmental Delay finding an individual approach to each patient. Thus, you will get quick and high quality results.

Resources

• Ministry of Health of Ukraine
• World Health Organization