Global Development Delay- A glimpse into the future.

[CwtchWithMam]

Hi Mumsnet!

My 3 year old son has Global Development Delay and is developmentally at 18-22 months. He has no other diagnoses and genetics and MRI are normal. ASD was mentioned by one professional but the only symptoms he has are flapping, and that is only when he is really excited or frustrated , and also having a really short attention span for things he is not interested in. There is a family history of ADHD but besides the short attention span, there are no other signs of this right now. He has seen an Educational Psychologist who does not suspect ASD or ADHD and puts the short attention span purely down to the GDD (as in he has the attention span of an 18 month old) which I agree with.

Are there are parents out there with older children that were in my son's position at age 3? I'm trying to get a glimpse into what the future might hold for him.

My main question is will the development gap stay the same in months or in percentage, I.e. at age 10 will my son be like a 8.5 year old or a 5 year old?

We have been "on it" with therapies since his diagnosis at 14 months old. He has had physio, Portage, SALT, genetics etc. And I'm in the process of getting his IDP in place for school. Is there anything else I can do?

My boy is genuinely a gorgeous kid and I adore every hair on his head. I don't want to concentrate on his delays and just love him the wag he is, but also I want to do the best by him.

This parenting malarkey is hard sometimes!

I don't think anyone can give you a definite answer as Global Development Delay is catch all term term for children who don't develop 'typically' The term has been criticised for implying that the delay can be caught up in time like a delayed train and unfortunately this does not often happen. I don't think the current gap in development has much bearing on the future either in absolute or relative terms, he will probably always need some support in certain areas but it's very hard to predict now what level that will be at. It sounds like you are doing all you can for him at this stage - it's probably best to focus on communication and play skills ?

I have worked with several children diagnosed with GDD over the years. Some of the earlier children may well get a different diagnosis nowadays, predominantly ASD. It really is impossible to predict the future for children with such a diagnosis - I’ve seen 2 year olds with the diagnosis make great progress and thrive in mainstream schools, where’s others have found mainstream more and more challenging as they got older, and really needed to be educated in special schools. Sadly, it’s impossible to say how your little boy will develop as he grows up.

Thanks for your replies. Deep down I know the answer is "wait and see" but the uncertainty is so hard to deal with sometimes. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

My late teen is more like a 12yr old. My mid teen is like a 7yr old

My nephew was like a 1 year old at around 5. He is like a 5 year old at around 30. He sounds a lot more severe than your son though, but even at 30 he is still developing

My son had GDD and really struggled through primary education. It was a difficult time. At secondary school (state) he initially had SENCO involvement but things started getting easier for him - both socially and educationally. He is now at a top university and is confident and enjoying himself more than he has ever before. I know all children are different but wanted to share with you. We gave him all the support we could and am sure you will do same with your son x

H

My DS1 is 20 now and was diagnosed with GDD at 12months. Ofcourse every child is different but I can give you a perspective from our experience.

he said his first word at 2

at about 18 months his sleep became extremely erratic, we were sleep deprived (to the point of absolute exhaustion) until he was about 14
we then managed to get him to stay in his room until 5:30, then a couple of years later until 6.

it took me years to potty train him, we were still washing poo accidents until 10. After that he continued to have accidents but less frequent. Now at 20 hardly ever.

he was diagnosed with ADHD and takes medication

he has a severe speech disorder but can communicate, and is very chatty!

we tried mainstream which kind of worked for reception although we had to collect him on many occasions due behaviour issues, in year 1 it became clear mainstream was not the right environment and we were lucky to get him into a fantastic special school. For secondary he also went to a special school. Both fabulous places with people who knew how to deal with his needs. He loved school! Came on leaps.

after 2 years of helping him on a balance bike and physically showing him how to move his legs (my back really suffered!) he finally learnt how to ride a bike. This is a great thing to do as he is unable to participate in many sports due to motor skill difficulties

I took him horse back riding (for the disabled) from around 3 years old, really good activity as well for brain development

swimming once a week every week

lots and lots of stimulation, I spent a fortune on all sorts of therapy, don’t regret it!

for many years we walked on eggshells due to his behaviour becoming more and more threatening, I think it might have been hormones. Since around 18 this is so much better and he is able to control his emotions a lot more.

really important that you find a course to teach how how to deal with neurodivergent children, the parenting rules for other children simply do not work

finally, he is an absolute joy! We adore him and brings so much love to our lives. He helped me learn all about unconditional love and also to see how strong I am. He is a beautiful soul.

I’ve had support of a fantastic very involved DH, we understood that when tired we needed space.