GDD

[Gottalovecosta]

Hi,

Just been told our son has GDD today, has anyone got any good links or books to read to educate myself better?
Thank you

Hi, there is a Facebook group you can join. Bwar in mind GDD is only a descriptive term, not a proper diagnoses. It just means the child is delayed in more than two areas, which makes it difficult to advice books etc - perhaps if you describe his issues it would be easier to advice.

We found the book 'small steps forward' by Sarah Newman really good,as it didn't focus on only one area-it covered gross motor,fine motor,speech etc. It also explains the various professionals & organisations that might help. In each section it lists the steps to work through without giving ages. So in gross motor it wouldn't say child should be crawling at x age, then pulling to stand by x, etc, it gives ideas on how to practically help. Sorry I'm v tired & waffling! It's really cheap on Amazon, we bought the older, green front cover one.

Thank you - babiki, he has ASD/ADHD additionally - we had the ASD diagnosis yesterday as well and I wasn't 100% sure what GDD is/was as I have been focused on ASD/ADHD up until now, I've joined a facebook group, just wish I'd asked more questions during the appt, think I might try to ring CAMHS next week just to talk through things wit them.
Thank you, will also look for that book, lovethesun :-)

Gottalovecosta - My Daughter had GDD too. She still does. Like babiki said, its just a descriptive term. I got fooled into thinking it means she will eventually catchup with intervention. I havent come across any GDD kid online or real life who did not need ASD level intervention.

I dont know the research/science behind it too well. However, observing my daughter i feel that because of the delay, she always did baby stuff over age approproate stuff and then that became an established behaviour. I dont know how we will over come it. I like to think that ABA will help us get rid of that baby like behaviour/play. Sometimes I feel they should just put the child on "risk of ASD" rather than faffing about GDD/speech delay/play skills delay.

Sorry for the off tangent response. The point I was trying to make is that I would look at ASD material rather than spending time and energy for GDD specific material. That alone has helped me a lot

Yes, we also use asd type intervention, although ds is definitely not on the spectrum. If there is a language delay, l

Look up More than words, you can also research ABA on this board. In your case, because he is asd/ adhd forget about the GDD...Salondon I'm so glad for what you wrote as I got into trouble several times online saying the same thing - GDD is such an awful stupid term as it does give false hope.

Can also recommend Small steps book. In fact forgot I had it til i just amazoned it! Will dig it out again and re read !

I liked The Child with Special Needs by Stanley Greenspan. uplifting positive book with lots of ideas. Must have a re-read myself actually

Hello, my DS (14 months) has the gdd label with sensory issues, low tone and hypermobility. Still a new world for us, of hope he will catch up, fighting acceptance he may well not. Is ABA worth exploring for his age or does it really only apply to older children?

Apologies if showing huge ignorance here but I've just been focusing on physio / OT up until now but interested to know what others with experience have found useful.

More Than Words and It Takes Two to Talk were great for helping with communication issues for my DS , who was initially labelled GDD, but was diagnosed with ASD 6 months ago aged 3. I was recommended them on here and although expensive, I felt they were a good investment.

Ouchdownthere, my DS was very similar at 14 months and we focused on the physio as his low tone and hypermobility were the things he was first referred to a paed for. I don't have any personal experience of ABA, apart from what I've read up on, but I believe it can be started at a very young age. If you do a search, you'll find a lot of people have found this intervention has helped their DCs. With regard to 'catching up', I have found that my DS has made very good progress in some areas, but in others, he is still quite delayed, although the delays haven't increased in terms of years/months behind his peers. It is very hard to predict what will happen in the future though.

Dd2 was gdd for two years until they dx cp. she's still gdd, but that's because of her cp.

If you have a primary dx of ADHD/ asd, then the gdd tag gives little additional info - you would be better off saying 'asd with gross motor difficulties' or whatever best describes him.

Gdd isn't particularly helpful,as a descriptor in this case.

Ouch, we were told that the physio would be the most important person in dd2's life as an infant. They were right.

At 14 mos she wasn't crawling, babbling, moving independently, and was still struggling to swallow due to her tone issues. She also had fairly extreme sensory difficulties. (We were told she was unlikely to walk or talk)

I like an overarching label for ease, but to be at all useful, It has to mean something - and gdd doesn't cut it.

Dd2 will always be disabled, but she has caught up and outstripped her peers by years in many areas at 9. She still has crappy tone.

My son was diagnosed with GDD at the age of 2, he has as time has gone on caught up to his peers, so much so that the diagnosis was removed aged 7. He does have ASD and ADHD however. I suspect his delays were due to this as GDD just means delays without a known cause.

Thanks everyone. As ever it seems it's a real case of every child is different and who knows what the future holds.

DS seems to be getting somewhere with physio but I think his sensory issues need unpicking and understanding. No OT provision at the moment so whilst I take on the fight to access some I am trying to plug the gap a bit.

Ouchdownthere just get a good private OT trained in sensory integration, we do a programme now at home, the NHS OT was of no use whatsoever.

babiki - I know what you are saying about the false hope
Ouchdownthere - My experience is same as zen1. My daughter made better progress in some areas compared to others.

We used hemispheres for OT