Common causes of developmental disabilities in children

Developmental disabilities involve a wide array of disorders that lead to intellectual and physical impairments, speech disorders, and medical conditions. And while such disabilities often get diagnosed at birth, certain disorders may not be identified until a child turns three to six years old, explains neuroengineering expert Dr. Curtis Cripe.

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 While some developmental disabilities may be mild, some may be severe and require the full attention of parents and neurologists. The most common ones are autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Tourette syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, spina bifida, Velocardiofacial syndrome, syndromes related to drug use and fetal alcohol, and chromosome abnormalities.

Doctors may refer to developmental disabilities as developmental delays, but this umbrella term can be misleading. A child with a developmental disability may be the result of a genetic disorder, and it isn’t possible to grow out of it if such is the case. It is, of course, still possible to get treatment if, say, a child only exhibits a mild version of a disability. But this entails a great amount of therapy.

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Therapy will allow a child to function at age level for a certain period, but remember that their level of functioning, as well as their social and career success, will largely depend upon the type and severity of the disability, Curtis Cripe adds. As children with developmental disabilities turn into adults, much depends upon the quality of therapy they’ve had as children, as well as existing social network and support.

Curtis Cripe, Ph.D., heads research and development at the NTL Group, which works with neuroengineering technology to treat addiction, head injury (TBI), depression, anxiety, memory disorders, and neurodevelopmental delays in children with learning disorders. Visit this blogfor related posts.