Parents of children with developmental delays tell the pediatrician about their worries: the baby does not behave like his peers. He does not do simple exercises that others do without difficulty, does not smile at 3 months, does not speak at 3, does not assimilate school material, etc.
Reasons for developmental delays
Before doing something, you need to find the reason for the developmental lag. Parents should not try to solve problems on their own; they need to contact specialists. A strong lag may be associated with improper upbringing (parents pay little attention to the child or, conversely, overly patronize him), a special development of the psyche (occurs if there were complications during pregnancy and childbirth), biological reasons (past infections, hereditary diseases).
It is not enough to find out the reason for the child to catch up in the development of his peers. Specialists (psychiatrist and neurologist) must schedule an examination and make a diagnosis. Only then can complex treatment begin.
What kind of specialists should I contact if the child is behind in development?
Psychologists distinguish several types of mental retardation: psychological infantilism, delay of somatic origin, neurogenic problems that affect development, causes of somatic origin and organic abnormalities.
Psychological infantilism can only be determined by a child psychologist or psychiatrist, but even experienced specialists often confuse it with improper upbringing and self-indulgence. Treatment is prescribed by a psychologist, as a rule, the child's behavior is corrected through regular sessions with a psychiatrist and a defectologist.
Children with developmental delay of somatic origin are under the supervision of their parents. The child is not independent, he does not know how to react to the environment, he is afraid of the new environment, he cannot make decisions. To compensate for the developmental delay, the family needs to turn to a psychologist and a teacher, and the former must also work with parents.
Organic disorders are pathologies in the work of the brain function and the nervous system. It is difficult to compensate for them, complex treatment is required.
Neurogenic causes of severe developmental delays arise from an unfavorable family climate or psychological trauma suffered by a child. There are no problems with brain function, but behavioral responses are impaired. In this case, the help of a psychologist, teacher and defectologist is needed.
At the first signs of a child's developmental delay, parents should immediately seek help from specialists. The longer you postpone a visit to a neurologist or psychologist, the more difficult the treatment will be.
