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Developmental challenges

From the time a child is conceived, they are expected to gain skills in different areas of life at varying rates. This is known as development.  Development continues after they are born, through childhood and adulthood until old age. At every stage of the development process, there are expectations of what should be achieved. These expectations are based mainly on the study of life through several forms of research. As with every study, there will be a distribution as everyone is different and unique. For example, two children born on the same day will not necessarily walk or teeth at the same time. The distribution of the time taken to attain every development milestone from conception as observed over time is what forms the basis for the term “normal”.  All of the developments humans go through are as a result of a combination of factors which are either genetically determined or environmentally influenced and again, this combination is unique for every individual.

Due to the uniqueness of the factors mentioned above, some expectations of what should be achieved at any stage of development may not be met. This is where the concept of developmental challenges comes in. Developmental challenges simply refer to a diverse group of conditions occurring as a result of expected developmental milestones not being achieved.

At The Winford Centre for Children and Women, our scope of work is focused around the 4 key areas of child development namely:

  • Personal, social and emotional development
  • Communication, language and literacy
  • Physical health, wellbeing and movement skills
  • Cognitive development

 

 

Common Conditions

There are a lot of child development related conditions, however, the ones listed below are considered the most common ones. These conditions can affect more than one key area of development.