It’s estimated that 1-3 % of children in Australia are diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay (GDD).  

What is Global Developmental Delay?

Global Developmental Delay is a diagnosis used by paediatricians when there is a significant delay present in several of the areas of development and the child is too young to participate in further testing and/or more investigation is required. 

Some of the developmental areas in which a child with GDD may have delays include in play, fine and gross motor skills, speech and language, cognition and social interaction. Although all children develop and hit milestones at different rates, children with GDD will present as developmentally behind their typically developing peers.

How is GDD diagnosed?

The question of who should diagnose GDD and how the diagnosis should be made, has been a tough one for paediatricians, health care practitioners and researchers. There is no one diagnostic test that can be used to determine whether a child has GDD. Often a team of multi-displinary health care practitioners will work together to make a diagnosis of GDD. This might include paediatricians, allied health professionals and hospital teams.

The diagnosis of GDD is given to children because this is when we all develop. Once children reach adulthood, the term GDD becomes no longer applicable as they have grown past the stage of their life where they are developing.

What causes GDD?

There is no one cause for GDD. It can be the result of a combination of complex genetic and environmental factors, leading to development delays.

There are many supports in place that can help children with GDD to reach their potential (more on this below).

How does GDD impact a child?

Children with GDD will be impacted in different ways depending on the developmental area in which they experience a delay. Some of the ways that GDD may impact a child can include experiencing challenges with:

• Understanding and retaining information
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Navigating their environment through movement
• Social cues and awareness
• Self care skills
• Playing with their friends of the same age
• Responding appropriately to others
• Learning (more on this below)
• Sensory processing

How does GDD affect learning?

Children with GDD can take longer to learn new skills than their typically developing peers. This will be different for each child depending on the developmental area in which they experience delay.

Children with GDD can require additional support in education settings and early intervention is important to get the best learning and educational outcomes. This is because little brains are most able to change and adapt between the ages of 0-3 years.

Support for children with GDD

There’s no one size fits all approach to supporting children with GDD. The supports that a child who is diagnosed with GDD needs will vary depending on their combination of delays and the degree of each delay. Common supports for children with GDD include:

• Occupational therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Speech therapy
• Behavioural therapy
• Child and family counselling
• Education support

Further help

At Xavier, we are Queensland’s peak body for children with developmental delay and global developmental delay. If you require personalised support for your child, our Inclusion Advisor Angela can help you to find resources and supports in your local area. You can contact Angela by emailing developmentaldelay@xavier.org.au

References:

https://tomatis.com.au/how-is-a-global-developmental-delay-diagnosed-in-australia/