Development milestones are those significant moments in a child’s life when he/she can be said to have achieved certain physical goals on the path to adult hood. These milestones involve such moments as smiling, engaging eye contact, sitting up, crawling, walking, saying the first word, etc.

Although there is some variation, there is a certain time frame by which most children will have achieved specific milestones and any child who does not achieve these goals within this time frame may be considered to have developmental delays which could be (but are not always) indicative of other longer-term developmental and learning disabilities.

Developmental milestones are often classified and monitored according to five skill-groups:

  • Gross motor skills (changing positions, balance, sitting, walking, standing, running, etc)
  • Fine motor skills (finger and hand movements that enable us to eat, pick up objects, do up buttons, write)
  • Language skills (communication, language, gestures, speech, understanding what others say)
  • Cognitive skills (understanding, remembering, learning, thinking, problem-solving, reasoning), and
  • Social skills (interacting with others, responding to others’ feelings, cooperation, family relationships)

Some children may present with developmental delays in one area and then go on to ‘catch up’ and develop at a normal pace. However, with other children delayed development in one area such as gross motor skills may also be accompanied by subsequent delays in other areas.

As always, early intervention and treatment can go a long way towards mitigating the effects of delayed development. For example, occupational and physical therapies conducted early on can assist your child in developing the fine and gross motor skills they need as well as the endurance, coordination, and balance that will enable them to become independently functional and participate in normal home, community and school life.

There is no one single treatment protocol that can be recommended for every child that displays developmental delays and therapies have to be tailored around each individual’s particular needs.

Revivo’s intensive suit therapy may be a suitable treatment for helping your developmentally-challenged child. The special skeletal body suit that is worn during therapy helps to maintain correct body posture and assists in the development of proper muscle tone. During therapy, your child will work with a therapist to carry out a repetitive and progressively more difficult series of exercises that are designed to increase joint and muscle function, and extend range of mobility, coordination endurance and balance. Call us today to find out if Revivo intensive suit therapy is for your child.