Global Development Delay

[Lozzy3003]

Hi all, my son who is 4 has been watched by his nursery teacher for the past year and she has been fighting his corner because of his speech, I had a meeting with an official who came and observed him and watched him play within nursery and she has said she feels he has global development Delay. I now know that he needs instructions from an adult before he can do something, he gets angry and upset if his routine changes without warning, he doesn't play with other children but along side them. I had never heard of GDD before and now within 2 weeks I've had both my 4 & 5 year olds schools telling me they believe my children have it. Can anybody please explain it in more detail for me? As I don't understand it all other than the fact both schools are sending SEND forms out to get them extra support.

[Summerdaydreams1]

Global development delay is the term used when a child is delayed in more than two areas of development. These areas are things such as fine motor, gross motor, speech and language, social, play and interaction for example. It is not a diagnosis as such but a term that when given often results in referrals, additional support and closer monitoring of the child. Hope that makes sense.

[leamarie2013]

My gorgeous nephew is 4 and he has it! In simple terms, it's like the graph they mark for their weight...it follows that line and shows if they are under or over weight! There's one for their development...the average age which a child should be doing certain things! so it's just that they are below that line...they are behind other kids their age!

My nephew has a 1-to-1 teacher and he's coming on brilliantly! He was roughly 12-18 months behind 2 years ago...now its only about 6 months! GDD doesn't necessarily mean they won't catch up, they might just take a bit longer to get there

[MattDillonsPants]

What was the title of the official? Isn't GDD something a paediatrician has to diagnose?

[jellybean321]

Following as my son is waiting to be assessed for it and i dont know what it really means either

[Lozzy3003]

Hi all thank you for your replies i came back from the Pediatrician today with a real diagnosis. It turns out my son is Autistic, I am in complete and utter shock because i didn't expect it at all but she sat there and studied the way he communicates and speaks and just is and said that he is on the Autistic spectrum. I am now hoping with our family support team that i can find out the right information to help him properly, I also have a 5 year old with similar traits so i'm now going to work with his school to get him help and assessed by a pediatrician.

[MattDillonsPants]

Now be very kind to yourself OP and remember that your DS is the same little boy he was before the diagnosis....this will have been a very shocking thing for you. I think you should post on the mumsnet special needs board because there are many, very understanding and knowledgeable people on there who have been through the same thing.

[Lozzy3003]

Thank you! I will have a look and post on there, That's how I want to keep it, he is the same boy he was yesterday morning. I need to find a child friendly way to explain it to my older children too so any help on that forum should help 😊