Development Delay

What is development delay?

Development delay is the term given to a child who does not meet key developmental milestones and falls behind the expected progression in areas of development compared to other children. Milestones can be physical, such as crawling and walking, or social, such as talking.

It is important to remember that there is a normal age range for reaching each developmental milestones. For example, one child may be able to walk at 11 months whilst another child may walk at 16 months. Both of these are within the normal milestone limits.

Signs that your child may not be meeting physical milestones:

  • Unable to bring his/her hands together at 4 months

  • Unable to roll over at 6 months

  • Unable to control his/her head when pulled to a sitting position at 6 months

  • Unable to sit independently (without support) at 8 months

  • Unable to crawl at 12 months

  • Unable to walk at 18 months

Development delay physiotherapy

Physiotherapy can help children with development delay to achieve physical milestones.

Treatment for developmental delay is dependent on age and ability and, therefore, greatly varies between individuals. The treatment provided by our specialist paediatric physiotherapists will generally be in the form of fun activities and games to stimulate your child into performing normal patterns of movement. Your physiotherapist will also give you advice on positioning, and be able to teach parents and carers activities to help your child reach developmental milestones and promote your child’s future independence.

Typical Development