Barefoot Social Work
  • Blog
  • About Barefoot
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Guidance
    • Legislation
    • Tools

Global Developmental Delay Awareness 2015

1/5/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Today is Global Developmental Delay Awareness Day. A day dedicated to raising awareness. One of the biggest issues around a diagnosis of Global Developmental Delay is that very few people have heard of it before. Parents report that people just don't understand and think that their child will 'just catch up' eventually. This isn't true and children with a diagnosis require additional support to make progress that their peers appear to find so easy. So, in the spirit of raising awareness I have put together this little post to explain briefly what Global Developmental Delay is and isn't. 

But first.... here's a video that has been put together to celebrate children with this diagnosis.
Babies and children usually learn important skills such as sitting up, rolling over, crawling, walking, babbling (making basic speech sounds), talking and becoming toilet trained as they grow up. These skills are known as developmental milestones and happen in a predictable order and usually at a fairly predictable age. While most children reach these stages at different times, a child with developmental delay may not reach one or more of these milestones until much later than expected.

A child may be described as having global developmental delay (GDD) if they have not reached two or more milestones in all areas of development (called developmental domains). These areas are:
  • motor skills - either gross motor skills like sitting up or rolling over and fine motor skills, for example picking up small objects
  • speech and language - which also includes babbling, imitating speech and identifying sounds, as well as understanding what other people are trying to communicate to them
  • cognitive skills - the ability to learn new things, process information, organise their thoughts and remember things
  • social and emotional skills - interacting with others and development of personal traits and feelings, as well as starting to understanding and respond to the needs and feelings of others.

A diagnosis of developmental delay can be very confusing for parents – and it’s important to remember that every child is unique and will develop at their own pace. Getting an early diagnosis can help to ensure the right support is put in place as soon as possible, to help each person to reach their full potential.

Below are some ‘Top Tips from Parents’ taken from a document put together by Contact a Family. 

Picture
If you need any support accessing services please get in touch using the contact form on this website. I am able to provide an assessment and referral service; identifying any areas of need and services to meet them. Alternatively, if you feel that your concerns remain unheard by professionals already involved in your child’s care I am able to provide a bespoke advocacy service. 

I've also included some recommended reading at this end of this post if you are interested in developing your knowledge in this area. 

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

0 Comments

    Author

    I'm a Qualified Children's Social Worker with a passion for safeguarding and family support in the UK.

    Archives

    August 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adolescents
    Adoption
    Adverse Childhood Experiences
    Aggression
    Anti-Social Behaviour
    Assessment
    Attachment
    Attachment-Based Family Therapy
    Austerity
    BASW
    Behaviour
    Bereavement
    Cafcass
    CAMHS
    CBBC
    Celtic Knot
    CEOP
    Child Development
    Childhood In The Digital Age
    ChildNet
    Child Protection
    Children
    Conduct Disorder
    Conferences
    Conservatives
    Coursera
    Court
    CPD
    Crime
    Debate
    Depression
    Direct Work
    Election
    Emotional Distress
    Evidence
    Evidence Based Practice
    Family Justice Council
    Family Rights Group
    Futurelearn
    Global Developmental Delay
    Government
    Green Party
    Health
    Home Start
    Human Rights
    Identity
    Internet
    Labour
    Liberal Democrats
    Manchester Metropolitan University
    Media
    Mental Health
    Missing From Home
    Motivational Interviewing
    Movies
    Net Aware
    NSPCC
    Online Safety
    Oppositional Defiant Disorder
    Parenting
    Parents Charter
    Phd
    Playdough
    Policy
    Politics
    Poverty
    Psychology And Mental Health
    Reflective Practice
    Research
    Resilience
    Risk
    Safeguarding
    Statements
    Support Services
    SWET
    Teenagers
    The Clinical Psychology Of Children And Young People
    The Open University
    Tools
    UKIP
    University Of Edinburgh
    University Of Liverpool
    University Of Wolverhampton
    Welfare
    Your Family
    Your Voice

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • About Barefoot
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Guidance
    • Legislation
    • Tools