DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS
At any age, being told your child has a development delay or is behind in their milestone achievements can be a scary experience. The parents that we work with tell us that:
“The only thing more frightening is "thinking" that your child is behind on their milestones and not knowing if they should seek out extra support or wait to see if your child "grows up on their own"
Whilst the ability to roll, babble, crawl, walk and talk are all critical milestones which are easily observed by parents, there are 1000's of mini-milestones that prepare babies, children and teenagers for the next stage of development. These abilities of neuro-developmental maturity form a framework which underpins all age-appropriate skills.
Our team of Occupational Therapists have been trained to observe, recognise and value these mini-milestones which sit as foundations for age-related skills and allow the child to streamline their progress from one skill to another as genetics and evolution science record. In some cases, supporting abilities which have not (or cannot) develop is the best approach when learning age appropriate skills, while for other children and adults, it's necessary to revisit these earlier stages of neuro-development to build pathways, strengthen signals from environmental and sensory cues and then directly practice the skills which have not yet been independently mastered.
The work of Mary Sheridan, Ajay Sharma, Helen Cockerill and the published resources of the University of Virginia, have influenced the recognition and clinical focus on these mini-milestones during our Occupational Therapy assessment and Achievement Plans.
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