Hyderabad: The Global Developmental Delay Awareness Day is observed on May 1. This term describes a condition occurring during the developmental period of a child's life - from birth to 18 years old.
It is characterised by lower intellectual functioning, limitations in communication, self-care, home living, academic skills, leisure, health and safety. GDD has various causes linked with the functioning of the central nervous system, such as trauma to the central nervous system, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, etc.
Everyone is encouraged to post a picture of themselves wearing something yellow and explain why to raise awareness of an invisible disability.
What is Global Development Delay? Global developmental delay describes the condition in which children are significantly delayed in all areas of development. Babies and children usually develop certain skills and abilities at fairly predictable ages. While all children grow at different rates, the difference for children with global developmental delay is that they often don't develop these skills until a much later age than expected.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Global Development Delay:
There are lots of different signs that children may be facing Global Development Delay, and they may vary depending on specific characteristics of children.
Some signs are noticeable when children are babies, but others may not become as obvious until children reach school age.
Common signs of Global Development Delay include:
- Learning and developing at a slower pace than other children of their age
- Meeting physical milestones like rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking at a later stage
- Having trouble communicating and socialising with other people
- Having trouble remembering things
- Struggling with problem-solving skills
- Falling behind at school
- Needing help with everyday tasks such as getting dressed
What are the types of GDD?
There are four types of development delays in children:
Cognitive delay: Cognitive delays refers to an impairment in a child's intellectual functioning and overall awareness of his/her surroundings. Children with cognitive delays face difficulty in learning new subjects. Such children also find it difficult to communicate and play with other children of their age.
Motor delay: The child's ability to coordinate the various muscles in their body, such as arms, legs, and hands, determines a child's motor skills. Infants with motor delays often find it difficult to roll over or crawl. Affected children may find it difficult to walk up and down the stairs. Children with fine motor delays will find difficulty in holding toys, objects and performing actions such as brushing their teeth or tying their shoes.
