Childhood Development

Our Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapists are trained and have experience in assessing and treating children with Developmental Delay.

Development is a concept used to describe a child’s growth maturation and progress in acquiring complex skills and abilities in different areas over time. Children with Developmental Delay do not progress as expected in one or more of these areas.

  • Gross motor – relating to movement skills such as rolling and walking
  • Fine motor – relating mainly hands skills such as holding toys and writing
  • Speech and language – relating to the development of communications skills
  • Cognition – related to learning
  • Emotion and behaviour
  • Vision and Hearing

It is not always possible to identify a cause for a child’s developmental delay, often despite extensive investigations. A cause can be found in about half of cases, it can be difficult for parents when the cause of their child’s delay is not identified.

These are some of the conditions involving childhood development that Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapists treat.

We would be happy to discuss the concerns that you have for your child and how we can help:

  • Developmental Delay
  • Prematurity (Motor delay as a result of a premature birth)
  • Hypotonia (Low muscle tone)
  • Congenital and acquired conditions (eg Arthrogryposis)
  • Genetic conditions (eg Down’s Syndrome)
  • Coordination Difficulties
    • Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
    • Dyspraxia
  • Hypermobility

» Developmental Delay