My son has additional needs and he is quite unique in his needs. Basically he has hyper-mobility and some proprioception difficulties which make all his movements difficult - gross motor and speech. (No syndrome, but caused by sudden oxygen deprivation a few days after he was born). He is bright and learns well, he has exceptional memory, he's curious, asks lots of questions. No ASD or autism concerns. He has an EHCP for school starting Sept. However, he was so delayed walking and talking (both around age 3 but his speech has only really come along after age 4 and still can be quite difficult to understand for strangers). He's about a year behind in his development. I find that in the company of other children he goes into a shell and his behaviour becomes almost babylike - he clings to some or the other object and doesn't speak or play or even eat. It's as if he is painfully aware of the gap between himself and his peers. He loves the idea of going on playdates but actually doesn't do anything - literally - when he gets there. I'm really concerned about his confidence levels, about him falling behind at school and not having friends. :( Anyone have any positive experiences (or even negative ones) about delayed children and if a child like him can catch up. I suspect his physical difficulties will be with him for a while with only slow resolution (wobbly walking, cannot sound some consonants) etc. Thanks for reading this.