How to Help Your Baby Reach Delayed Physical Milestones

Take your child to the doctor., Consider a specialist., Get an evaluation from the school system., Enroll your child into an early intervention program.

4 Steps 3 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Take your child to the doctor.

    If you believe that your child may be experiencing developmental delays in any area, take them to the doctor immediately.

    Your doctor can determine if there is a delay by using strict screening guidelines.It is important that you keep up with scheduled pediatrician visits even if you haven’t seen evidence of delays.

    The doctor may be able to notice lags or delays that you haven’t picked up on yet.

    Though there are things you can do to encourage physical development at home, you should always take your child to the doctor and get them the proper medical help for their physical delays.
  2. Step 2: Consider a specialist.

    If your doctor believes your child has developmental delays, they may refer you to a development specialist to check for any underlying causes that may be causing the delay.

    If you believe there may be a problem with your child’s development, you may decide to go directly to a specialist instead of going through your doctor.

    You can take them to a developmental and behavioral pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist.You may also need to take your child to a hearing or speech therapist.You can ask your doctor for a referral, or you can search for pediatric developmental specialists in your area.

    If there is a children’s hospital in a city near you, you may want to see if they have developmental specialists and take your child there. , Even if your child is a baby, you can request an evaluation of your child from the school system.

    This should be given to you at no cost.

    An evaluation helps you determine why your child may not be developing at the rate they should be.This evaluation is done by a team of professionals.

    They work with your child to look for the criteria that must be met to be diagnosed with developmental delays.

    They also look for possible underlying reasons for the delays. , If your child has developmental delays, you can put them into an early intervention program.

    This is done no matter the age of the child.

    Every state has one of these programs.

    The early intervention program will help you develop an individualized plan based on your child’s needs.Early intervention programs include physical therapy to help with physical, muscular, or movement delays, like walking.

    Occupational therapy helps with fine motor skills that are needed for your child to do things on their own.

    Speech and language therapies and behavior therapies can also be used if there are problems in those areas.

    Early intervention programs should be tailored to your child’s needs.

    They should also include a lot of one-on-one instruction to help your child reach their developmental milestones.

    You can look for early intervention programs in your area and additional information about the programs through The CDC and The Center for Parent Information and Resources.
  3. Step 3: Get an evaluation from the school system.

  4. Step 4: Enroll your child into an early intervention program.

Detailed Guide

If you believe that your child may be experiencing developmental delays in any area, take them to the doctor immediately.

Your doctor can determine if there is a delay by using strict screening guidelines.It is important that you keep up with scheduled pediatrician visits even if you haven’t seen evidence of delays.

The doctor may be able to notice lags or delays that you haven’t picked up on yet.

Though there are things you can do to encourage physical development at home, you should always take your child to the doctor and get them the proper medical help for their physical delays.

If your doctor believes your child has developmental delays, they may refer you to a development specialist to check for any underlying causes that may be causing the delay.

If you believe there may be a problem with your child’s development, you may decide to go directly to a specialist instead of going through your doctor.

You can take them to a developmental and behavioral pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist.You may also need to take your child to a hearing or speech therapist.You can ask your doctor for a referral, or you can search for pediatric developmental specialists in your area.

If there is a children’s hospital in a city near you, you may want to see if they have developmental specialists and take your child there. , Even if your child is a baby, you can request an evaluation of your child from the school system.

This should be given to you at no cost.

An evaluation helps you determine why your child may not be developing at the rate they should be.This evaluation is done by a team of professionals.

They work with your child to look for the criteria that must be met to be diagnosed with developmental delays.

They also look for possible underlying reasons for the delays. , If your child has developmental delays, you can put them into an early intervention program.

This is done no matter the age of the child.

Every state has one of these programs.

The early intervention program will help you develop an individualized plan based on your child’s needs.Early intervention programs include physical therapy to help with physical, muscular, or movement delays, like walking.

Occupational therapy helps with fine motor skills that are needed for your child to do things on their own.

Speech and language therapies and behavior therapies can also be used if there are problems in those areas.

Early intervention programs should be tailored to your child’s needs.

They should also include a lot of one-on-one instruction to help your child reach their developmental milestones.

You can look for early intervention programs in your area and additional information about the programs through The CDC and The Center for Parent Information and Resources.

About the Author

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Frances Knight

Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in crafts and beyond.

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