What is Developmental Delay ?

Each one of us is born with a set of primitive reflexes (sometimes known as survival reflexes) which should be controlled by a higher part of the brain during the first part of life. If these are not fully controlled in infancy the brain cannot gain adequate control over voluntary, skilled and complex movements. The term "Developmental delay" describes the omission or arrest of a stage in early development, which can manifest itself in several ways, including:

Specific Learning Difficulties
Dyslexia (problems with reading, writing or perception)
Dyspraxia (difficulties in performing co-ordinated actions, such as buttoning or drawing)
Attention Deficit Disorder
Underachievement

Behavioural Problems
Hyperactivity
Bedwetting
Anxiety
Agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces)

Co-ordination difficulties
Balance
Clumsiness
Dysfunction of Attention
Dysfunction of Motor Perception

Symptoms
Symptoms may include problems with balance, including motion sickness or when learning to ride a bicycle; co-ordination difficulties e.g. learning to tie shoelaces or doing up buttons. Other symptoms include the control of eye movements (necessary for reading) or hand-eye co-ordination (necessary for writing), can also be impaired.

If the physical nature of these difficulties is not recognised, it can lead to frustration, stress and emotional problems later on. It can also interfere with the process of the memorising and retrieving information.

Assessment
Dorothy Whitford specialises in the provision of individual therapeutic treatment programmes that overcomes early development deficiencies in children. A sympathetic and understanding approach allows assessment and treatment of these conditions in a completely private environment.

The assessment consists of a series of non-invasive neurological tests, which can measure performance on a number of abilities: balance, co-ordination, patterns of motor development, reflexes, visual functioning and visual perception.

Additional tests may be carried out to assess hearing thresholds and auditory processing. This is particularly important for children who have language problems, a history of delayed speech and/or poor spelling.

Treatment
Dorothy Whitford's treatment is both drug-free and non invasive. It comprises a series of physical exercises designed to "retrain" the reflex pathways and improve control over voluntary movements, visual functioning and perceptual abilities.

A typical programme will take 5-10 minutes a day over a period of 9-12 months. Progress is reviewed at 2 monthly intervals and the programme changed, where appropriate.

Research
Research carried out in the U.K. and Sweden shows that where a cluster of problems exist together, and where they have failed to respond to various forms of treatment, there may be an underlying physical cause which can be both detected and corrected. This physical cause for motor and later perceptual problems is the result of Neuro-developmental delay in early life.

What to do next:

If you would like to discuss a Neuro-Developmental programme for your child, please contact Dorothy Whitford to arrange an initial consultation.