Children are considered to be developing typically when they reach developmental milestones according to chronological age. This does not mean that a child always reaches milestones on time. A child could demonstrate slight variations with respect to when or how she or he reaches a milestone since all children develop differently and experience varied influences on their development. However, a problem may be indicated when extreme disparities from the typical expectant age of a developing skill occur. How do we check for these disparities? What do we, as professionals, do when we find large variations? Those are some of the questions we will answer through this discussion. As Groark, McCarthy, & Kirk (2014) highlight, Early identification is known to lessen future delays (Section 1.4, para. 2). As early childhood professionals, ensuring the best possible growth and outcomes for young children is the foundation of what we do.
To prepare for this discussion,
Read Chapter 1: The Importance of Studying Child Development in the course text.
Read the article Understanding Developmental Delays (Links to an external site.).
Read each of the Developmental Checklist Case Studies and choose one.
Review the Developmental milestones (Links to an external site.) for the specific age range.
For your initial post,
Include the name of the case study you chose in the first line of your discussion post.
Based on your review of the developmental checklist case study, explain whether you feel the child would be considered slightly delayed in meeting their milestones or might have a significant delay that needs to be further investigated. Support your rationale with specific details from the case study developmental checklist (e.g., what areas are causing you the most concern and why?).
Based on your opinion of the child having a slight or possibly a more significant delay, explain the steps you would take to support this child and their family, providing your reasoning.
