Recognizing Developmental Delays in Babies and When to Seek Help

Since the first day of conception, human beings’ brains develop rapidly. In the first 1,000 days of life, the infant’s brain forms approximately 700 new synaptic connections each second or upon each interaction with others. These synaptic connections develop and associate with senses such as vision, hearing and later establish more complex circuitry which supports the child’s motor skills, language mastery, and other cognitive functioning. If a child’s development deviates from normal limits, a standardized developmental assessment by a specialist should be put in place to further investigate the child’s developmental needs, brain development and to provide intervention as early as possible.

Early signs of baby developmental issues

• Delay in meeting milestones: milestones come in a range, which is determined by both genetic and environmental factors. Common milestones will be rolling over at 4-5 months, crawling at 9 months, walking independently at 12-13 months, babbling at 4-5 months and speaking meaningful words (e.g. dada for daddy, mama for mommy) at 8-9 months, combining words at 18 months
• Abnormal or asymmetrical posture or movements
• Lack of eye contact, social smile or interest to interact
• Feeding problems e.g. picky diet, difficulty chewing
• Sleep problems e.g. trouble falling into sleep and persistent intermittent waking at night
• Parents’ concern in hearing and vision