Child Development

Child development is the process by which children change and increase in their abilities in all areas (for example, motor, language, social) over time. It is viewed as a continuous process that depends on maturation of the child’s brain. The brain is not fully developed at birth and grows and makes important connections, ‘wiring’, throughout the early years of life. Generally children follow a predictable sequence (for example, sit before they walk) although at different speeds. For the younger child, development is often assessed by considering skills in different areas such as gross motor (for example, sitting, walking), fine motor (for example, hand manipulation), vision, language, cognitive ability (for example, puzzles and problem solving) and personal-social skills. For older and more able children, it is common to concentrate on language and cognitive (non-verbal intelligence) skills.

Delay means that a child’s development is not as advanced as would be expected for their age (hence it is often reported as an ‘age equivalent’) and this normally occurs when the child’s rate of development is slower than usual.