Common Developmental Delays In Children & Their Causes

A Quick Guide

Developmental delays in children can affect various areas such as cognitive, motor, socioemotional, and speech skills. These delays may have recognizable causes like genetic disorders or brain injuries, while others may not have a clear cause. Early identification and intervention are crucial in helping children overcome these challenges and reach their developmental milestones.

What are Developmental Delays?

All children have their unique pace at which they reach their developmental milestones. Often, if a child is behind their peers for a while, they usually catch up. But if a child is constantly behind their peers in one or more areas of mental, emotional, or physical growth then that is called a developmental delay. Some common developmental delays have a recognizable cause while others do not.

There are various developmental delays in children that can impact their cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and physical skills. If a child has delays in more than one of these areas then it’s called global developmental delay. 

It is crucial that these delays are identified as early intervention for developmental delays can go a long way in helping a child overcome these challenges. 

Common Developmental Delays and Their Causes

So let’s discuss some common developmental delays in children which are as follows: 

1. Cognitive Delays

These are the delays a child encounters in their intellectual functioning which interfere with their thinking, and reasoning abilities. They may have difficulty following simple instructions or even just speaking at times by imitating words and actions. It may be difficult for them to even play and interact with others around them. They may have a lack of awareness and curiosity compared to their peers. They may often have memory issues as well. 

While it is not always possible to identify the cause of cognitive delays in children. Oftentimes they may occur in a child who has suffered from a brain injury due to infection. Moreover, in some cases, intellectual development may be affected by:

• Seizure disorders
• Chromosomal disorders like down syndrome
• Shaken baby syndrome

2. Motor Delays

This basically refers to the delays a child may experience in fine and gross motor skills and their ability to interpret sensory information may also be impacted. Fine motor skills are usually the child’s ability to coordinate their small muscles such as their fingers and hands. For instance, the child may experience issues with writing, holding small objects, tying their shoes, etc. Gross motor skills refer to the child’s ability to coordinate large muscles such as their arms and legs. A child with this type of delay may face difficulty in walking or running.  Sometimes, motor delays are due to genetic conditions or structural problems. 

Read Understanding Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Delays

3. Socioemotional & Behavioral Delays

These delays manifest in how a child interprets information and how they interact with things in their environment. For instance, a child may have issues reading social cues, other people’s emotions, or starting conversations. Other times, they may find it challenging to deal with frustration or cope with change resulting in tantrums as they cannot self-regulate and calm down. 

4. Speech & Language Delays

Receptive language impairments, in which a child has trouble understanding words or concepts, can cause some speech delays. Identifying colors, body parts, or forms may be challenging for kids with this kind of speech delay. 

Others may be expressive language disabilities, where a child has a limited range of vocabulary and sentence patterns for their age. A child who experiences this kind of speech delay may take longer to mumble, babble, and form complete sentences. 

A child with a speech impairment frequently exhibits both expressive and receptive delays.

Speech delays in children may result from physiological factors such as brain injury, genetic diseases, or hearing loss. Environmental variables, such as a lack of stimulation, may also contribute to other speech delays.

Learn more about Speech And Language Delay In Children

We hope you found this article helpful in understanding some common developmental delays in children and their possible causes. To learn more about the link between developmental delays and learning disabilities, check out our other article Developmental Delays & Learning Disabilities: What’s The Link?

Read: Teaching Strategies For Students With Developmental Delays