Developmental Delay

✧ Introduction ✧
roduction First, you may want to talk with
your pediatrician about your child’s
Think of all the skills that children development. Don’t be surprised if the
have to learn when they come into the pediatrician tells you not to worry, to
NICHCY Disability Fact Sheet—No. 9

world: smiling, turning over, responding be patient, to give your child more
to people, communicating, eating solid time to develop. Often, that’s what
food, crawling, standing, and on and on. parents hear, especially in the early
We expect these skills to emerge naturally stages of investigating their child’s
over time and know more or less when seeming delays. And it’s often true.
they should. At 3 months, Susana will Children develop at different rates; the
probably be doing this, at 4 months, pediatrician is well aware that many
she’ll be doing that. By a year, well, she’ll children show sudden bursts in
be tottering around, getting into every- development rather than slow, steady
thing. growth.

This time-table for skills to emerge is On the other hand, your pediatri-
commonly called the developmental cian may suggest that a developmental
milestones. What’s considered normal screening be conducted to see if,
development is described broadly, be-
cause children don’t necessarily learn
skills at the same pace. Two different
children born on the same day may learn
the same skill months apart, and both
can be considered “on schedule.” It’s
when skills don't emerge as
expected, more or less on that broad
schedule, that parents and caregivers may
become concerned.

✧ If Y ou’re Concerned about

You’re is the
National Dissemination Center
a Chi ld
ld’’s D
Child ev
Dev elopmentt ✧
elopmen
evelopmen for Children with Disabilities.

If you’re reading this, perhaps you’ve

become concerned about your child or NICHCY
one you care for. We’re glad you’re read- 1825 Connecticut Avenue N.W.
ing this, because there are many immedi- Washington, DC 20009
ate things you can do to learn more and 1.800.695.0285 (Voice / TTY)
help your child. First, know that there’s 202.884.8200 (Voice / TTY)
help available to find out just what the [email protected]
difficulties are, if any, and there’s help www.nichcy.org
available to address those difficulties. The
good news is that this help is usually free,
and it’s available in every state. Disabi lit
lityy F
Disabilit act S
Fact heet, N
Sheet, o. 9
No.
August 2009
indeed, your child is experiencing a developmental • Occupational therapy
delay. The screening is a quick, general measure of
• Physical therapy
your child’s skills and development. It’s not detailed
enough to make a diagnosis, but its results indicate • Psychological services
broadly whether or not a child should be referred
for a more indepth developmental evaluation.
✧ Things to Know ✧
Know
✧ What
What’’s IInv
nvolv
nvolv ed in tthe
olved he • States have a positive obligation to help children who
are experiencing a developmental delay in one or
Developmen
evelopmen tal E
elopmental Evvaluat ion ✧
aluation more areas.
The developmental evaluation should be • Through the Child Find system that each state
conducted by a highly trained professional who can operates, developmental screenings and developmen-
use the results to create a profile of your child’s tal evaluations are usually provided free of charge to
strengths and weaknesses across the range of five families.
developmental areas. Those areas are:
• If you’re concerned about your child’s development,
• Physical development (fine motor skills, gross motor talk to your child’s pediatrician, who can refer you to
skills) the Child Find system in your area.
• Cognitive development (intellectual abilities) • Early intervention services are meant for children
under the age of three. These services are usually
• Communication development (speech and language)
provided to eligible families either free of charge or
• Social or emotional development (social skills, on a sliding payment scale that’s determined by the
emotional control) family's income.
• Adaptive development (self-care skills) • You can find out how to access early intervention
services in your area by talking to your child’s
The results of the developmental evaluation
pediatrician, calling a local hospital, or using
will be used to decide if your child needs early
NICHCY’s State Resource Sheet for your state. All of
intervention services and/or a treatment plan. Early
our state sheets are available online, this
intervention services are specifically tailored
moment, at: http://www.nichcy.org/Pages/
to meet a child’s individual needs and, as
StateSpecificInfo.aspx
such, are a very important resource to
children experiencing developmental Once you’ve selected a state sheet to view
delays. (there’s a drop-down menu), look
under “Popular Searches” on the right
For example, early intervention
side of the screen, and select “Early
services can include:
Intervention Programs.” The contact
• Assistive technology (devices a information for the EI program for
child might need) your state will then appear.

• Audiology or hearing services • NECTAC (the National Early

Childhood Technical Assistance
• Speech and language services Center) is also a great source of
• Counseling and training for a this information. Use NECTAC’s
family Contact Finder —it’s located under
“State Programs Under IDEA”—
• Medical services and select “Part C Coordinators.”
• Nursing services The Contact Finder is online, at:
http://www.nectac.org/contact/
• Nutrition services contact.asp

NICHCY: 1.800.695.0285 2 Fact Sheet on Developmental Delay (FS9)

• Special education services are meant for children over well as the criteria of eligibility for services to young
the age of three. Services are provided to eligible children, birth through 2 years of age, and their families.
children free of charge through the public school NECTAC makes this information available online at:
system. If your child has passed his or her third http://www.nectac.org/~pdfs/pubs/nnotes21.pdf
birthday and you’re concerned about a developmen-
It may be helpful to know that:
tal delay or disability, call your local school (even if
your child isn’t enrolled there). Ask how and where • your state may not require that your local school
to have your child evaluated under IDEA, our district also adopt and use the term developmental
nation’s special education law. delay in working with children;
• if your local school district decides to use the term, it
✧ IDEA’s D ef
Def init
efinit ion
inition must use the same definition and age range as the
of Developmental Delay ✧ state does;
• your local school district may not use the term at all if
As we just said, IDEA is the nation’s special
your state has chosen not to use the term.
education law. Its full name is the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act. Through IDEA, early
intervention services and special education services ✧ Resources for You ✧
You
are made available to eligible children with develop-
mental delays and disabilities. It can be very helpful to read more about
developmental delay. This has been just a brief
Not surprisingly, IDEA includes a definition of overview, with pointers to loads of additional info
developmental delay, which may be useful to know. and support. Below, we’ve identified a range of
Here it is: materials you can explore, which will of course lead
you to still more!
Child with a disability for children aged
three through nine (or any subset of that age • Child development.
range, including ages three through five), All about...from the CDC, the Centers for Disease
may...include a child— Control and Prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/
(1) Who is experiencing developmental
delays as defined by the State and as
measured by appropriate diagnostic instru-
• Developmental screening.
ments and procedures in one or more of the
From CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and
following areas: Physical development,
Prevention.
cognitive development, communication
www.cdc.gov/
development, social or emotional
ncbddd/child/
development, or
devtool.htm
adaptive development; and

(2) Who, by reason thereof, needs special

education and related services. [34 CFR • Developmental
§300.8(b)] milestones.
From NICHCY’s
It’s a good idea to find out if your state has added own site.
details to this definition of developmental delay. States are www.nichcy.org/
allowed to do so, if they choose. They also decide on the Disabilities/
age range of children with whom the term may be used (3- Milestones/Pages/
5, 3-9, or any subset between 3-9). Your local school or Default.aspx
early intervention program should be able to tell you the
definition of developmental delay that’s used in your
area. You can also visit NECTAC (mentioned earlier) and
find out how your state defines developmental delay, as

Fact Sheet on Developmental Delay (FS9) 3 NICHCY: 1.800.695.0285

• What is developmental delay? • Connect with other parents.
From How Kids Develop. Interested in talking to other parents whose children
http://www.howkidsdevelop.com/ have developmental delays? Try Parent to Parent.
developDevDelay.html They’ll connect you with other parents like yourself
for support and exchange.
http://www.p2pusa.org
• Developmental delay.
From the Encyclopedia of Children’s Health.
http://www.healthofchildren.com/D/Developmental- • Connect with the disability community and parent
Delay.html expertise.
Every state has a Parent Training and Information
Center, known as the PTI. Some states have several. If
• Developmental delays. you are looking to connect with state and local
From Keep Kids Healthy. resources, or have questions about services and
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/condi- parent rights, talk to your PTI. Find the PTI for your
tions/developmentaldelays.html state by visiting our State Resource Sheets, at:
http://www.nichcy.org/Pages/StateSpecificInfo.aspx

• First Signs.
All about early detection of developmental delays
and disabilities, especially autism.
http://www.firstsigns.org/

National Dissemination Center

for Children with Disabilities
1.800.695.0285 (Voice/TTY)
[email protected]
www.nichcy.org

FS9: Developmental Delay, August 2009

This publication is copyright free. Readers are encouraged to copy and share it, but please credit
NICHCY, the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.

NICHCY is made possible through Cooperative Agreement Number H326N080003

between OSEP and the Academy for Educational Development. The contents of this
document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of
Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

NICHCY: 1.800.695.0285 4 Fact Sheet on Developmental Delay (FS9)