Understanding Developmental Disabilities

Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behaviour areas. These conditions begin during the developmental period, may impact day-to-day functioning, and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime. If your child has a developmental delay, it does not necessarily mean they have a developmental disability. However, a developmental delay can be an early indicator of a learning disability and most children with disabilities exhibit several developmental delays.

The causes of developmental disabilities are varied and remain unknown in a large proportion of cases. Genetic factors have long been implicated in causing developmental disabilities. These conditions are also believed to have a large environmental component, and the relative contributions of nature versus nurture have been debated for decades.

Preterm birth is known to be a predictor for potential developmental disabilities later in childhood, which complicates the question of nature versus nurture, as premature birth could already have resulted from earlier and longer existing difficulties. Second, being born at such an immature gestation could immediately have damaged the main organs (lungs and brain) or, third, such damage could arise in the neonatal period, for instance from the necessary intrusive treatment.

Without early intervention during the critical window – the first 6 years of their life – children might continue to face challenges and may have trouble in catching up. This decreases their chances of entering a mainstream school. A disability can impact one of these facets of a child’s development: cognition, motor, vision, hearing, speech, and behaviour. Cognitive or intellectual disabilities can include specific learning disabilities, as well as reading disabilities, like dyslexia. One example of a behavioural deficit includes Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder. Some disabilities are only identified later in childhood, such as when a child starts school.

At Jeevaniyam, with the team of expert doctor and therapists we intervene the child at a very young age with adequate training along with ayurvedic therapies and a good diet and enable to cope up with their peers and help them to overcome from the condition that may persist through out their life. We have specific educational programs that will enable the child to achieve their social smile and can lead good quality normal life.