Global developmental delay

[Mimiandbaby2013]

Hi, I am a 22 year old mother to a beautiful 3 year old.
I noticed my son wasn't reaching his milestones as quickly as others the same age, and recently he had assessments at the local children's development centre. After the assessment I went to hear the outcome.

I was told my son had global developmental delay, and understandably I was very upset and frightened. He is 3 years old (4 at end of the year) and his speech is at the level of a child much much younger. He goes to mainstream nursery and the other 3 year olds are miles ahead of him. I was told he will receive a one to one worker to help him till he is ready to start reception. When he starts reception he will be reviewed again to see if he can stay in mainstream with lots of extra support or whether he will have to attend a specialist school. (They can't say if he has Austism yet as his speech and communication make him difficult to assess)

Since receiving the news, despite me knowing he wasn't 'normal' or the same as other children his age. The news has upset and I'm terrified at what the future holds for him.

Do any other mothers here have children with gdd and can he over come it?

Thank you for listening

Hello.
My DS had GDD at your sons age. He is nearly 14 now and does have ASD. He is doing really well but is not at the same level as his peers.
I have worked with a lot of children with GDD and its really hard to tell which ones will catch up.
Some DO and the majority stay in mainstream school.

I know you want answers but GDD is very frustrating because no one can predict how your little boy will continue to develop.

What you CAN do is to support his development so he reaches his potential, whatever that may be.

Hi, thank you so much for replying. What age was your son diagnosed with ASD? That makes me happy to hear he is doing well.

I really hope he can stay in mainstream school and catch up (as much as possible) I just worry about the future as I want the best life possible for my baby!

At least all the help is being put in place so hopefully I will notice a difference! Xx

Hello 😊 My little boy has global developmental delay and autism. He was diagnosed at two and a half, he will be 4 this week. He goes to a special nursery attached to a special school and will be starting p1 there in August (we are in Scotland). He has a few words now that we understand but is still virtually non verbal. But he's as bright as a button and a right wee happy chappy. We knew something wasn't quite right from around 10 months old. Physically he was hitting milestones e.g. crawling, sitting etc but didn't seem to hear us. He didn't respond to his name and didn't point, clap, wave etc. We were referred to the specialist centre when he was 15 months, his hearing was checked etc which was fine. I won't lie, when he was diagnosed I took myself to bed and cried 😳 I felt like I was mourning that his life wasn't going to be how I thought it would be. But things are good now, he has come on a lot in his own way and had thrived at nursery.

Thank you so much for the reply!

I'm from Scotland too, so understand p1 a lot better .
Yea, he sounds very similar to my little boy he knows a few words but most of what he speaks is jargon.

It helps to hear your little boy is thriving and doing well despite his difficulties, which is what I want for my little boy too.

And I totally understand the grieving as that's exactly what I've been doing. Lots of crying and worrying. It's the unknown. And he's so vulnerable.

It's comforting to know I'm not the only one xx

dd2 was dx gdd very early (we were in Scotland at the time, but no longer live there). She didn't walk independently until after p1 (she used a walking frame from 2) and had 1-1 support for communication all through nursery and through p1. Her dx was actually changed to cerebral palsy officially before she hit 3. The unknown is v scary, but you get used to the process very quickly. Dd2 is not ever going to be quite the same as her peers, but she has always been in mainstream school (additional help for first couple of years, nothing since) went to ballet classes, brownies/ guides, skis black runs, is on the school debate team and has an iq of 142 (higher than her paediatrician). We went through a few years of ASD yes/no but this was in addition to her obvious issues. She had great physio, SLT and OT.
It IS scary, but there is a whole world of support. Do post on the special needs topic here (search under talk) - lots of people dealing with similar things. A whole new community.

It is the unknown that's scary! But he's honestly doing fine. His fine/gross motor skills are not great and like I said his speech isn't there yet but I hope one day it'll come. He has grasped the basics of Pecs via nursery and speech therapist. We celebrate every little development 😊 He's honestly the light of my life. So cheesy I know but he is who he is and I just want him to be the best he can be. He's come on so much even just over the winter.

Hi mimi he was diagnosed at 7.
As you know, GDD can make ASD a litte harder to diagnose and we waited a while before we pushed for the assessment.

Not all the children I worked with went on to get a dx of ASD.
Some of them continued to have a significant delay and fell further behind their peers as they got older.
Some continued to have a delay by school age but the delay remained the same e.g. 6 mths - a year and that sort of delay becomes less significant the older the child gets.
Some caught up with their friend by school age. These were most usually the premmie babies or children that had been poorly.

Of course you will be worried and a bit scared. That is totally natural. Just keep in mind that ALL children develop. Your little boy will keep learning and changing. You will see the new things he does and how he grows in his understanding and skills.

Keep talking to him. Keep your words clear and sentences short to help him understand. Sign language is excellent for children with GDD. As are pictures and photographs.

Thank you so much for all the replies! It has really put me at ease, knowing I'm not the only one (obviously I knew I wasn't) but it's reassuring to hear from other mothers going through similar things xx

I hope they can find out if he has autism too but appreciate assessing him is extremely difficult (and he's still so young).

I'm thrilled all of your children are thriving despite their difficulties and I hope my angel who continue to do the same. And I will continue to celebrate the small steps!

Obviously I'm finding it difficult to come to terms with but I'm sure with time, and patience all will hopefully fall into place.

@Mimiandbaby2013 i am in a similar situtaion you were 6 yrs ago i i wondered how your little one is doing now and how life is for you all x

Hi! Wow this took me back! How old is your little one? I hope your okay as it’s really scary and overwhelming at the beginning:(. My little one is now 9, and in a specialist school and doing so much better. It turns out he also was autistic too which I did think even back then! Going to a specialist school really made a big difference to him, obviously life can be really hard at times and his behaviours can be really challenging, but getting the correct care, and treatment can really make a difference, I’m guessing your at the beginning of diagnosis/school etc? If you have any questions or someone in a similar situation to understand I’ll always reply and try help 💕

@Mimiandbaby2013 yes little one turns four in Jan and waiting for a diagnosis. She knows allot of nouns and atarting to use one word requests for basic things. Just so worried for the future. I hope she can read , write, talk and get her needs met. Did your little one start school at SS i am not sure what setting is best for my daughter, i want to get a SS spot if i can