Developmental milestones in children for undergraduates

2. Growth & Development
• Growth refers to an increase in physical size of the whole
body or any of its parts.
• It is simply a quantitative change in the child’s body.
• It can be measured in Kg, pounds, meters, inches, ….. Etc
• Development refers to a progressive increase in skill and
capacity of function.
• It is a qualitative change in the child’s functioning.
• It can be measured through observation.

3. Important notes
• We will assess two ages; infant and older children.
• Be a good observer.
• This child has a developmental age of X because:
• Gross motor : I have demonstrated that they can do
this but not that
• Fine motor : I have demonstrated, etc
• 'Demonstrated' is better than 'can' or 'cannot'. It
means that the parents cannot correct you?
• Remember you are only assessing the child over a few
minutes. We will decide on today the child can not
demonstrate? And not; he can not ?

4. Developmental domins:
• Includes four areas:
• Gross Motor: sitting, walking, jumping, and
overall large muscle movement
• Fine Motor: Eye hand coordination, manipulation
of small objects, and problem solving
• Language (Expressive and Receptive): Hearing,
understanding, and using language
• Cognitive/Social/Adaptive: Getting along with
people and caring for personal needs

5. TOOLS NEEDED:
• 1. Red yarn pom pom wool ball
• 2. Bright color cubes
• 3. Rattle with narrow handle
• 4. Raisins
• 5. Cup, spoon
• 6. A 4 size paper
• 7. Big size color pencils
• 7. Picture cards, multiple picture
books (like bird, fish, dog, bus,
fruits etc) on same page,
• 8. Tennis ball
• 9. Small doll
• 10. Bell
• 11. Stickers, sweets for rewards

6. vision and hearing
Fine Motor
language
personal social
Gross Motor examination
Infants

7. Developmental domins:
• Includes four areas:
• If child is on mum’s lap(most of the time) can do :
• -1st vision and hearing,
• -2nd Fine Motor,
• -3rd language
• -4th personal social,
• -5th Gross Motor examination
• Do not separate for Gross Motor assessment.
• Bigger kids can examine on chair.

8. Vision
• Always do vision before hearing.
• Fixing and following pom pom ball
or wool ball horizontally and
vertically .
• Check ability to pick up cube.
• Approached to toys
• Observe:
• Wearing glasses.
• Conjugated eye gaze and eye contact.
• No rowing eye movement, No squint, No
nystagmus

9. Hearing: Distraction test
6-18 months of age
• Use initial distraction with non noise making stimulus in
front of child
• Always ask examiner to ring the bell at 20 cm from both
ears
• Bell is brought towards ear from behind out of range from
visual fields 20 cm away from ears.
• Changes noted are facial expression, vocalizing sounds,
head turns.

10. Fine Motor
• Fine Motor: use toys
( rattle)
• See grasp and how he
explore it?
• Look: move from one
hand to another and
mouthing.
• Small toy for pincer grasp.
• Pointing.

11. Fine Motor:
• Holds rattles (3 months),
• palmer grasp objects(5 mths),
• transfer cubes(7 mths),
• Raisins for pincer grip(9 mths),
• blocks for stacking,:
• 2 cubes 15 months,
• 3 cubes(18 months)
• 6 cubes(21 months).
• 6 cubes, turn pages (2 yrs),
• 8 cubes (2.5 yrs),
• 9 cubes (3 years), beads, thread, putting on biro, plastic
knife, and fork. Comment on personal social interaction,
language. Smiling, waving

12. Language
• Language: any vocalization
you heard
• Cooing.
• Babble.
• Responding to name.
• Mama and Baba; not
understand.
• First word.

13. Speech and Language:
• Cooing ( 2mths),
• responds to human voice (4 mths),
• Babbling (6mths),
• Mamma, dada (9mths),
• 2 words plus mama, dada(12 mths),
• Jargon, points (15mths),
• 10 words and says his name, points to 3 body parts, one picture
(18mths),
• 2-3 word phrase, name 3 objects, 4 body parts, says no(2 yrs),
• know name, age sex (2.5yrs),
• preposition, count 1-10, 2 colours (3 yrs),
• Name 3 colours,
• Converses (4 years)

14. Social
• Interaction with you
and parents.
• Smiling.
• Laugh.
• Stranger awareness.
• Clapping , Bye bye.
• Give something and ask
to return back.

15. Personal social Development Chronologically
1. Focus on faces(4 weeks),
2. social smile(6 weeks),
3. excited with toys(4 months),
4. stranger anxiety, (6 months),
5. responds to No, imitates, (8 months),
6. clapping, bye bye, bang blocks (10 months),
7. picture books( 12 months),
8. kiss mirror (13 months),
9. points(15 months),
10. Body parts(21 months)

16. • 180 degree flip examination.
• Supine: Note posture, abnormal tone and power,
involuntary movements with CP. paucity of movements
for hemiplegia.
• Pull to sit: head lag. Sitting: Head and trunk control.
Back is straight or rounded.
• Weight bearing: scissoring, hypotonia, advanced
weight bearing (CP)
• Ventral suspension: Describe posture, low tone,
increase extensor tone.
• Prone: Observe ability to raise head, trunk above
horizontal,
Gross Motor: posture & movement

17. GROSS MOTOR
• Head Hold (16 weeks),
• Tripod (6 months),
• Bear wt, lifts head(7 months) ,
• sit well (8 months)
• pull to sit and stand, crawl
(10months),
• Creep 11 months,
• walk with support (1 year),
• climb stairs with rail ,throw
ball(18months),
• walk upstairs(21 months)
• up and down (2 years).

18. Gross Motor
Fine Motor
Language
Cognitive/Social/Adaptive
Older children

19. Developmental domins:
• Includes four areas:
• Gross Motor: sitting, walking, jumping, and
overall large muscle movement
• Fine Motor: Eye hand coordination, manipulation
of small objects, and problem solving
• Language (Expressive and Receptive): Hearing,
understanding, and using language
• Cognitive/Social/Adaptive: Getting along with
people and caring for personal needs

20. • Walking, walk backward
• Running
• Jumping
• Standing on one foot.
• Tiptoe
• Ride tricycle and bicycle.
• Hope
• climbing stairs
• Skip
• Throwing and Kick ball.
Gross Motor
• Sequence of approach to gross motor assessment:
• Walk → jump / hop → climb stairs → throw ball

21. Fine Motor
• Blocks & Cubes
• Book
• Papers & pencil:
• Threading beads.
• Using scissor
• buttons
•Sequence of approach to fine motor assessment
•build blocks → hold pen + scribble, → put pellets in
bottle →Thread Beads →cut paper → buttons →
colors in lines → fold paper

22. Language
• Call him by name and see
response
• Ask what is your name, age,
sex?
• Ask labelling of body parts
• Ask him to bring ball
• Counting.
• Birth day.
• Words and sentences.
• Vocabulary and understand.

23. Social & play
• Feeding: Drinking, Eating.
• Dressing.
• Self care: Out of nappy, Toilet, teeth brushing.
• Playing: alone, play with others, talking while
playing, roles of games
Age begins Type of play Interaction of play
18 mths ▪ functional play ▪ solitary play
2 yrs ▪ imitative play ▪ parallel play
2.5 yrs ▪ pretend play ▪ interactive play
3 yrs ▪ fantasy / symbolic play

24. In general:
• The single most common presenting concern
was speech and language delay.
• The most common clinical developmental
diagnosis was autism spectrum disorder.
• Global developmental delay.
• ADHD
• Learning Disabilities
• Cognitive impairment
• CP

25. Red Flag
Age Missed Milestones Requiring Intervention
2 mo Lack of visual fixation
No social smile
4–6 mo Fails to track person or object
No steady head control
No response/turn to sound or voice
6 mo Decrease/absence of vocalizations
9–12 mo Fails to sit independently
18 mo Fails to walk independently
Does not seek shared attention to object/event with caregiver
24 mo No single words
36 mo No three word sentences
Cannot follow simple commands
>3 y Speech unintelligible
Dependence on gestures to follow commands

26. Causes of developmental delay

27. Approach
• Begin by introducing yourself to parents, hand
Wash etc. 1st only look see, play…and
examine.
• Inform examiner about your approach either:
- live commentary or
- Summarize after full examination
• Generates a pass/fail score in four
development domains

28. Approach to Developmental Delay
• In history try to focus on:
• Family history,
• Perinatal , Birth history, Gestational age, Post natal;
HIE, CP, IUI, prematurity.
• Presence of medical problems associated with
Developmental Delay.
• Assess if any medical problems like Neurologic,
myopathy, dystrophy ,
• Genetic, syndromes particularly Fragile X, Prader willi
• Metabolic disorder
• Endocrine exclude Hypothyroidism

29. Examination
• Inspect for growth parameters (Weight and height) e.g. FTT , under
nutrition can have Developmental delay
• Head circumference for micro/macrocephaly
• Syndromic/Dysmorphic features e.g. Down’s and other Trisomy,
Fragile X.
• Ear exam for recurrent/chronic OM or Hearing loss
• Mouth for tongue tie, cleft, tongue movement, gag
• Check for Language and Communication
• Examine eye for squint, nystagmus, cataract, clouding
• Skin for neurocutaneous lesions like café au lait spots
• Abdomen for HSM (metabolic disease)
• Obvious neurological anomalies like floppy infants, posturing,
hemiplegic posturing, and involuntary movements.
• Examine back for spina bifida occulta

30. Evaluation &Investigations
• Thyroid function testing
• Metabolic screening
• Neuroimaging (MRI vs CT)
• For Genetic Karyotyping, Chromosomal/Cytogenetic
Testing ; Down Syndrome (karyotype), Fragile X
(FMR1), Rett Syndrome(MECP2), Prader-
Willi/Angelman (FISH)
• EEG if suspected seizure activity/encephalopathy
(Landau-Kleffner)
• Muscle enzymes CK, LDH and aminoacidogram.

31. Treatment
• Treat underlying causes if treatable.
• Multidisciplinary
• Speech and Language Pathologist
• Occupational and Physical Therapy
• Social Worker
• Psychological evaluation if needed
• educational facilitator and special school
• Focus on need for services rather than diagnosis

32. Important Milestones
Domains Development
Receptive language 12 month ▪ responding to their name
18 mth - 2 yrs ▪ pointing to body parts, parents, pictures
12 - 18 mths
2 yrs
▪ following instructions
- 1 step: throw in the bin
- 2 step put this ball in box and bring shoes
Expressive language
(verbal & non verbal)
12 month
2 yo
3yo
4yo
5yo
▪ mama & papa, pointing to what they want
▪ linking words, naming 2 - cat, dog
▪ repeats 3 word phrases
▪ gives name & identifies colours
▪ name colours, self, fluent
▪ repeats 4 - 6 word phrases
Social Emotional
Self help
(ASD)
3 - 6 mth
18 - 24 mth
▪ eye contact
▪ reciprocal play
▪ pretend play
▪ joint referencing, share interest
Gross motor
- to test for GDD
12 - 18 mths
2 yr
3 yr
4 yr
5 yr
▪ walk
▪ walk sideways 2 steps, kick a ball
▪ stand on 1 foot, tiptoe 3 steps
▪ stand on 1 foot for 1 secs, tiptoe 4 steps
▪ hop 2 hops on 1 foots
▪ stand on 1 foot for 5 secs
Fine motor
- to test for GDD
18 mths
2 yr
3 yr
4 yr
5 yr
▪ scribbles / line
▪ line / circle
▪ circle / cross
▪ copies square
▪ copies triange
▪ 3 blocks
▪ 6 blocks
▪ 9 blocks
Offer to test hearing
Ask for f/h of delayed speech: more common in children with +ve f/h

33. Summary developmental Milestones

36. THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION