Developmental Disabilities By Edee Polyakovsky

What is a Developmental Disability?  Developmental Disabilities are not just one thing, they are a group of conditions.  Developmental Disabilities are a category that many other disabilities and disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome fall into.  Developmental Disabilities start while a baby is still developing and go through that person’s entire life.  They can be sever, moderate or mild  There are no cures for Developmental Disabilities.  Developmental Disabilities show themselves before a person reaches the age 22.  Developmental Disabilities happen among all racial, ethic and socioeconomic groups.  Recent estimates in the United States say that one in six or 15% of all kids from ages 3 – 17 have one or more Developmental Disabilities or delays.

What are the Causes of Developmental Disabilities?  Developmental Disabilities are a group of conditions due to impairment in physical, learning, language, and behavior areas.  Some are caused by an injury, infection or other things  Most Developmental Disabilities are caused by a complex mix of features including: genetics, parental health (smoking drinking etc.) during pregnancy, birth complications, infections while the mother was pregnant or that the baby had in it’s early life and the baby or mother being exposed to high level toxins like lead.  Doctors and scientists don’t know the causes for many specific Developmental Disabilities.  They do know the causes for some like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which is caused by a mother drinking alcohol while she is pregnant.  There are common causes for things and there are some cases where the case was an oddball.

What are the Conditions that can Cause Developmental Disabilities?  Developmental Disabilities can be caused by all kinds of different conditions and there are many conditions that put you at a greater risk of having a Developmental Disability.  Some of there conditions are: Low birth weight, premature birth, multiple birth, and infections during pregnancy.  If a baby is born with Jaundice (high levels of bilirubin in their blood in the first days after they are born) and it is not treated, it can cause a type of brain damage called Kernicterus.  Babies and Kids with Kernicterus are more likely to have Cerebral Palsy, hearing and vision impairment and teeth problems.  Early detection and treatment of Newborn Jaundice can prevent Kernicterus.  There are many other specific things that may put a person at risk for having a Developmental Disability.  For example: Kids with siblings have a higher risk of also having Down Syndrome

What are the Specific Conditions Caused by Developmental Disabilities?  All of the following conditions can be caused by a Developmental Disability:  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Cerebral Palsy  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders  Fragile X Syndrome  Hearing Loss  Vision Impairment  Kernicterus  Intellectual Disability  Intellectual Disabilities can be caused by a number of the conditions on this list plus: genetic and chromosomal conditions and certain infections like toxoplasmosis.  Muscular Dystrophy  Tourette Syndrome  All of these conditions are categorized as Developmental Disabilities.  Some of them can be prevented in certain situations and not in others.

What are the Effects of Developmental Disabilities?  Developmental Disabilities effect a person’s daily live.  It could make it close to impossible for a person with a Developmental Disability to function in their daily life, support themselves economically and live independently.  A person with a Developmental Disability might have a very hard time functioning with things we take for granted every day like mobility, learning, talking to and understanding people, expressing themselves and self direction.  There are some Developmental Disabilities that effect an individual’s support needs more than others.  These include: Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder or genetic disorders like Down Syndrome.  How severe the disability also plays a part in this. There are some mild Developmental Disabilities that wouldn’t make it especially hard for a person to support themselves and function and it would even be possible to live a “normal” life.

How do you Identify Developmental Disabilities in Babies?  One of the ways to identify Developmental Disabilities in babies and young children is to see if they are reaching milestones.  Babies do new things every day, when they master one skill they move onto the next, these skills are called milestones.  Every person develops at different speeds but milestones give a general ideas of when a person will learn or do something.  All babies go through the same milestones but at different times, some people take longer than others on certain steps.  Milestones fall into three categories: Motor development, language development and social development.  Some examples of milestones are: rolling over, sitting up, crawling, taking their first step, walking, waving “bye-bye”, playing, learning and speaking.  If a person is not meeting the milestones appropriate for their age they could have a Developmental Disability.

How do People on the Outside Help People with Developmental Disabilities?  Aside from friends and family the majority of awareness and help comes from doctors or other health care providers and organizations that help kids and families with people with Developmental Disabilities.  Doctors look for developmental delays which is called developmental monitoring, the next step is developmental screening which a short test to see if the person is learning basic skills.  If people realize very early that someone has a Developmental Disability they can help them learn things faster and prevent expensive things later.  There are some organizations like CDC that have special programs and resources for people with Developmental Disabilities to learn from or participate in but they also have studies about certain conditions.  For over a decade CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disability Monitory (ADDM) Network has been tracking the number and characteristics of kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy and Intellectual Disabilities in multiple communities around the US.

How do Developmental Disabilities Effect Personal Health Care?  Having a Disability does not mean that a person is not healthy or that they can not be healthy.  Kids and Adults with Developmental Disabilities need health care and health programs for the same reasons as everybody else, to stay well, active and part of a community.  This means that they need the tools and information to make healthy choices and know how to prevent illnesses.  Common health conditions like Asthma, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Eczema and skin allergies and migraine headaches are more common in kids with Developmental Disabilities.  This is one of the reasons it is especially important for kids with Developmental Disabilities to see health care providers like doctors on a regular basis.

Bibliography  "Facts About Developmental Disabilities." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 09 July Web. 23 Dec  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 08 Sept Web. 04 Jan  "Specific Conditions." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 09 July Web. 04 Jan  N.p., n.d. Web..

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