Signs of Developmental Delays in Children

What Are Developmental Delays in Children?

Children should hit certain developmental milestones based on their age. If a child misses these developmental milestones at a certain age, they may be showing signs of a developmental delay. Developmental delays in children can affect all aspects of the child’s life, potentially severely limiting their independence over the course of their life.

However, if a child’s development shows signs of being delayed, it may be an indication of an underlying condition that needs to be addressed. In some cases, a medical error by a doctor or health care professional may have caused a birth injury that led to delays in the child’s development.

Types of Developmental Delays in Children

According to pediatric specialists at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, there are several overarching types of developmental delays in children, namely:

• Cognitive delays in infants can affect their awareness and intellectual functioning, potentially causing learning disabilities that become more apparent when the child goes to school
• Motor delays can interfere with your child’s ability to use small and large muscle groups, which can affect both their fine motor skills (like holding onto something small or tying their shoes) and gross motor skills (like crawling or rolling over)
• Language delays or speech delays can limit a child’s ability to understand and identify words or concepts as well as interfere with their ability to communicate and express themselves
• Social, emotional, or behavioral delays can impact a child’s ability to interact with others since the child may process information and react to their environment in ways that differ from other children their age
• Global developmental delays or when a child shows delays in multiples areas of development

Child Developmental Delay Signs and Symptoms

Child developmental delays can have different signs and symptoms at different ages. Some developmental delay symptoms, for example, can become apparent during the newborn’s first 2 months of life.

Other warning signs of developmental delay may not be obvious until the child is between 6 months and 1 year old.

Signs of Developmental Delay in Newborns (2 Months Old and Younger)

From the time a child is born to when they’re 2 months old, there are a few milestones they will typically hit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

2 Months Old

• Inability to hold their head up or make fluid movements with their limbs
• Lack of gurgling sounds or babbling
• Not following objects with their eyes
• Not looking at their parents
• Not smiling
• Not turning their head toward sounds

Signs of Developmental Delays in Infants (By 1 Year Old)

If this sounds like your infant at these ages, your child may be showing warning signs of developmental delays, according to the CDC.

6 Months Old

• Inability to bring things to their mouth, or pass objects from one hand to another
• Inability to roll over, either forward or backward
• Inability to sit without needing support or maintain a sitting position
• Inability to tell the difference between familiar faces and the faces of strangers
• Not responding to the sounds they hear or to their own name
• Not wanting to play with other people, especially their parents

1 Year Old

• Inability to make basic gestures like waving goodbye or shaking their head “no”
• Inability to sit up without needing any help or pull themselves up into a standing position
• Inability to walk while holding on to something like a table or a chair
• Not crying when their parents leave the room
• Not handing their parents a book when they want to hear a story
• Not playing games like “peek-a-boo” or “pat-a-cake”
• Not putting out a leg or arm when being dressed
• Not trying to mimic words said to them, and can’t say words like “dada” or “mama”

Signs of Developmental Delay in Babies (18 Months to 4 Years Old)

If babies don’t reach the following developmental milestones by 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, or 4 years of age, they may be showing developmental delay signs, according to the CDC.

18 Months Old

• Inability to point to an object when they want it
• Inability to undress themselves, eat with a spoon, or drink from a cup
• Not copying the actions of others
• Not having a vocabulary of at least six words
• Not paying attention when their caregiver either enters or leaves the room
• Not showing affection to familiar people

2 Years Old

• Inability to walk up or down stairs while holding onto something
• Inability to stand on their tiptoes
• Not knowing how to use common objects like a fork
• Not repeating words they hear in a conversation
• Not using simple phrases, such as “eat food”
• Seeming unsteady when trying to walk

3 Years Old

• Drooling a great deal
• Falling down a lot when they try to walk
• Inability to make eye contact with other people or say single words like “you,” “me,” or “I”
• Inability to turn pages in a book
• Not knowing how to work simple puzzles, peg boards or other basic toys
• Not showing interest in playing with any toys, or playing with other children
• Speaking unclearly or in ways you can’t understand

4 Years Old

• Having no interest in games and ignoring other children and adults
• Inability to jump in place or difficulty following simple commands
• Inability to remember parts of a story you tell them
• Inability to scribble without a lot of difficulty
• Not knowing how to correctly use words such as “you” or “me”
• Not wanting to sleep, dress themselves, or use the toilet
• Speaking unclearly

If you think your child may be showing signs of developmental delay caused by an injury at birth, you may be able to file a birth injury lawsuit to pursue compensation for your child’s injury.

Causes of Developmental Delays in Children

Developmental disabilities and other delays in reaching developmental milestones often occur due to something that happened before the baby was born, like a maternal infection, or they could be due to preventable injuries at birth or following delivery.

For instance, a doctor or medical professional may:

• Pull on the baby’s head during difficult deliveries or improperly use forceps to free the baby from the birth canal, potentially injuring the child’s brachial plexus nerves and causing Erb’s palsy, which can cause motor delays
• Fail to treat jaundice in a newborn, potentially causing kernicterus, a form of brain damage that can result in hearing loss and cerebral palsy, which can lead to multiple types of developmental delays in children

In many cases, however, the cause of a developmental delay may not be immediately clear, according to the Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone.

Our registered nurses can listen to your story and help you understand if anything may have happened during pregnancy or delivery that contributed to your child’s condition. Contact our team today at no cost.

Pursue Compensation for Your Child’s Developmental Delays

Caring for a child with developmental delays and treating the birth injury that caused these delays can cost a great deal of money that many parents simply don’t have. If you notice any of the signs of developmental delay, birth injury lawyers with Sokolove Law may be able to help you pursue compensation that can help cover the costs of your child’s treatment.

Developmental delays in children may occur as a result of medical negligence or malpractice at the time of your child’s birth. Any sort of mistake made by a medical professional — either before, during, or shortly after delivery — can lead to a lifetime of issues.

Sokolove Law has a long track record of success helping families of children affected by birth injuries get compensation. In fact, we’ve recovered over $819 Million for our clients whose children suffered harm due to medical errors at birth.

Learn more about how we may be able to help you today by getting a free case review or calling (800) 995-1212.