4 Types Of Developmental Delays In Kids & Where To Seek Help

We have all heard of saying that “everyone is on their own personal journey”. Just as we each have our own pace; children reach the various developmental stages at their own rates. Generally, it is common for kids to fall behind other children their age in reaching some developmental milestones as they will eventually catch up.

However, when your child is consistently lagging behind their peers of the same age in reaching certain milestones, this could be a sign of a developmental delay. A child has a developmental delay when, in comparison to other children his or her age, they have not acquired the required developmental skills.

Developmental delays may manifest in a couple of areas. In this article, we explore the 4 main types of developmental delays in children and where you may seek help for your child.

1. Cognitive delays

Cognitive delays may interfere with a child’s ability to think critically and result in learning challenges that frequently surface once they begin schooling. Some examples of the struggles that they might face include having trouble understanding and following instructions, challenges with copying words and gestures when speaking and more.

Children with cognitive disabilities may also struggle to interact and communicate with others. They might not exhibit the same amount of alertness and curiosity as other kids their age do.

Some common cognitive disorders include dyslexia, down syndrome, autism, ADHD and more.

2. Motor skill delays

The coordination of big muscle groups, like the arms and legs, and smaller muscle groups, like the hands and fingers, is hampered in children with motor skill delays. Children with gross motor delays could have trouble crawling, walking, or struggling to climb a flight of stairs. Fine motor delays can make it difficult for some children to grip onto small objects like toys or a pencil or perform tasks like tying their shoes and brushing their teeth.

3. Speech delays

Delays in speech and language development can impair a child’s capacity for interpersonal communication and understanding.

Word or concept comprehension issues could indicate speech and language delays. Another sign of speech and language development delays is the inability to articulate one’s own thinking.

Some causes of speech delays could be hearing loss, autism, intellectual disabilities and more.

4. Emotional and behavioural delays

Social, emotional, or behavioural delays are frequently present in children with neurobehavioral disorders like ADHD and autism. This is because such disorders cause children to receive information or respond to their environment differently than others due to variances in brain development. These delays may affect a child’s capacity for learning, communication, and social interaction.

A child with emotional and behavioural delays could have trouble initiating or maintaining conversations, reading social cues, and forming meaningful bonds with others.

How Singapore Brain Development Centre can help

Any parent would agree that one of their biggest fears is to learn that their child has a developmental delay. It is understandable that parents could find it challenging to manage all of this on their own. After all, despite having your child’s best interests at heart, you probably do not have the knowledge or skills to help your child overcome their developmental delays.

That is where early intervention centres in Singapore such as Singapore Brain Development Centre come in.

As a leading brain gym in Singapore, we strive to help every child overcome their cognitive weaknesses to excel in all areas of their life. In order to help your child learn and develop at his or her own speed, we provide targeted and comprehensive brain training programmes that are tailored to each individual child’s developmental needs. Instead of providing speech therapy and language therapy on its own, our whole brain training programmes focus on the holistic development of the brain to bridge learning gaps. We also offer a series of tests, including Singapore dyslexia assessment, that are able to uncover any underlying in-depth learning challenges that your child may have. 

For more information, do not hesitate to get in touch with us today.