# gdd looking for some advice . :)



## susan36

hi ladies . how are you all . not been on here on a while was always on preg board or ttc . never thought id be on this board . anyway ladies looking for some advice on global development delays . my son whos 25 months now . has been diganosed with gdd he is like a 6-10 month old with his learning , he has always has motor stereo movments . maybe 12 hours out a day . of flapping and moving hands n toes . he has got a stand ordered and a special chair and buggy . what im asking really is gdd and autisim related as ive noticed some of his symtoms look a bit like autisim. hes never gave me a kiss or cuddle ever i have to steal them .. to be honest i dont think he understands me . he had a very bad traumatic birth , not had much off a wee life from ops to mri to loads of test . thanks for reading sorry its so long , :flower:


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## MgreenM

Global Developmental Delay is a diagnosis that is often used when there aren't clear indications of a more specific diagnosis. What are the specific symptoms/behaviors that your are seeing (beyond the motor stim)? There are also sensory processing disorders that are not part of autism. Autism is most often and most accurately diagnosed between ages 3-5 years (I believe, it has been a few years since I have done work in this area). Also, have you ruled out a hearing or visual impairment? If hearing/vision is impaired, that can effect a child's developmental progress. It sounds like you are working very hard to help your child. Also, if he has had many surgeries, that can significantly delay development. I don't know what services you already have in place (hopefully everything that I am about to mention), but, I (as an occupational therapist) would recommend that you have occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy on board.

If are concerned about autism, I would mention it to your doctor. There are standardized assessments for autism that may be helpful to you and your doctor. I hope this helps. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask me. Most of my work in Autism was during grad school, so I don't have the most current knowledge but I can certainly help steer you in the right direction if needed.


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## susan36

hi . thank you for replying . yeah his hearing is perfect and his sight is has been checked found nothing wrong so just usuall check ups . his other symtoms he has that had me thinking autisim . was lack of emotion , hate louds noises . strange places terrify him .hes obbseesed with peoples hands and goes up and smells them, even in my mums house her talking a bit louder and he will sob . he has a oT and speech and pyhsio in place, and have a meeting for him to get in to a special nursery . so hopfully that will help . do kids with gdd catch up with normal kids? sorry so much questions .

edit: ment to add hes not walking . or crawling . or getting himself in to a sitting position yet .


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## MgreenM

They certainly can catch up to kids their age. However, each child is different. I would suggest talking to your OT about your concerns regarding autism. Ask for things to do with him at home. I work with adults at this point so I won't be a whole lot of help on treatment strategies that are considered best practice.


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## sequeena

Hi my son has GDD he's around 15 months behind in his development. He does have autistic traits but we are going down the genetics path. I am part of a GDD group on there and there are children who do have autism but obviously this isn't the case for every child.

My pediatrician told me that whilst some children go on to catch up when successfully treated some never get a real answer as to why they're behind and go on to need a lot of support and therapy.

The problem with GDD is that its not an official diagnosis and a lot of symptoms sound like a lot of different syndromes. Try not to worry too much and focus on how to help him reach his potential. Do you have any therapies in place for him? My son has Portage once a week, goes to a disability playgroup once a week and also has speech therapy 

Has he been sent for a hearing test? A lot of children with GDD have hearing problems. My son has bilateral conductive hearing loss and glue ear. It impacts on development a lot and a lot of children with GDD go on to develop normally when their hearing is tested and if needed, treated.

How is he in other areas of development? My son has eye problems, hypermobility (either hypermobility ehlers-dahlos syndrome or joint hypermobility ehlers-dahlos syndrome) and hypotonia. Again this affects his development.

It's a bit like the question what came first the chicken or the egg? Did my son develop GDD because of his other issues or was it going to happen anyway?


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## sequeena

Eta - my son also had a hard start and has had a few surgeries so it's possible this has set them back. We're waiting for OT and he will start rebound therapy soon for his joints. Unfortunately speech hasn't helped yet but he can sign some words so we try to communicate that way.

Sorry just noticed you've had hearing tests and such x


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## susan36

hi thank you for replying , i think Kians was caused to to lack of oxegen at birth . they messed up with the spinal block and kian suffered the worse because my heart stopped , he was cooled then reheated . yeah he has psyhio on place tho seen them once to see what stands and that he needed ans he cant weight bear yet , its just so confusing for me after having 3 kids who are now all adults why kian i think . is it normal for kids to lose words he was saying mum for a few weeks now nothing just babbling .think this has hit my hubby the worse its his first child and he cant understand it .

ment to add he has a meeting next week to see if he can get a place in the specialist nursery . so im hoping being around other kids will help him thrive :)


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## sequeena

susan36 said:


> hi thank you for replying , i think Kians was caused to to lack of oxegen at birth . they messed up with the spinal block and kian suffered the worse because my heart stopped , he was cooled then reheated . yeah he has psyhio on place tho seen them once to see what stands and that he needed ans he cant weight bear yet , its just so confusing for me after having 3 kids who are now all adults why kian i think . is it normal for kids to lose words he was saying mum for a few weeks now nothing just babbling .think this has hit my hubby the worse its his first child and he cant understand it .
> 
> ment to add he has a meeting next week to see if he can get a place in the specialist nursery . so im hoping being around other kids will help him thrive :)

My son often loses words it's very frustrating but very common I think x


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