Support for developmental delay

If your child is developing differently when compared with other children, early intervention can help them reach their potential. You may have received a diagnosis of Development Delay and be wondering what support is available and appropriate. Montrose therapists will work with your family to support your goals including independence, socialisation and wellbeing.

Conditions that may be associated with Developmental Delay:

Down Syndrome
Fragile X syndrome
Prader-Willi Syndrome
Rett Syndrome
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
Infants born prematurely
Childhood brain injury

Why Montrose?

Finding a suitable therapy provider for children and young people with development delay can be difficult. As a parent or a referrer, you want to ensure that the service provider has the knowledge and experience necessary to support you on your journey through key life transitions.

Montrose has significant experience working with children with development delay. We have invested in the knowledge and skills of our therapists to ensure they are equipped to work with more complex cases.

Montrose therapists are part of a multidisciplinary team including Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists and Social Workers. As a parent of a child with disability, you can find yourself working with many specialists for support. Having all these specialists working in one organisation can mean a more collaborative approach to achieving your goals.

Does My Child Have a Developmental Delay?

All children grow and learn at different rates and some take longer than others to learn to move, talk, interact and gain independence. If you have noticed that your child is finding it tough to keep up with others their age, they could be experiencing a developmental delay.

Developmental delay is a term used when children are slower to reach milestones than is expected for their age. This can include difficulties with :

Movement
Social skills and interacting with others
Communication, speech, language
Learning
Play

Any concerns should be discussed with your GP or Specialist. Early diagnosis and early intervention is shown to have ongoing benefits.

What support is available for children with Development Delay?

Early therapy support for children with Developmental Delay can make a real difference to daily life. As a parent or carer, you will be learning how to provide support. We understand the importance of working with the whole family. Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists can all have an important role to play at this time.

A young child with a disability is laughing

Support to understand your diagnosis and what it means for your family

Montrose Social Workers have extensive experience working with people with developmental delay. They can help you work through what your diagnosis will mean, connect you with the right supports and establish goals for early intervention.

Promoting movement and play

Your Montrose Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist can work together on developing gross motor and fine motor skills. Support will be play based and age appropriate. We’ll work on building your child’s confidence to willingly participate in activities. Assistive Technology may be useful to assist in achieving some goals.

Support with social skills and interacting with others

Support can be provided to help your child engage with others including siblings and other children at daycare. This goes hand in hand with helping your child communicate and learning to play.

Supporting communication, speech and language development

We will work with you to develop goals and strategies that assist in developing communication. This may include visual cues using pictures or symbols and could also involve Assistive Technology.

Getting ready for learning

Kindy and Prep are important and exciting milestones in your child’s life. We want to ensure your child is well equipped to start learning. Your Montrose therapist can work with your teacher through meetings, education and training to help them understand your support needs in the classroom. Montrose also provides support at school through the Specialist Disability Support in Schools (SDSS) Program.

Assessments

Children with Developmental Delay may have periodic assessments. This can help with ensuring therapy focuses on achievable goals and may be important for NDIS or other funding applications. Assessments will consider the child’s strengths and challenges in communication, play, interaction, attention and listening, understanding/ using words and language, pronunciation, speaking and pre-literacy skills where appropriate.

Everyday life skills

Support can be provided for motor skills such as getting dressed, playing, and going to the toilet. This may involve learning individual steps first and then putting them together to achieve a task.

We first started working with Candace after a series of seizures affected her development. They also left her parents very concerned for the future.

Read about the support Montrose provided in the early years here.

NDIS Early intervention

The NDIS has a specific approach to early intervention and works through early childhood partners. We can support applications to the NDIS with reports and advice. We are a registered NDIS provider and provide early intervention Social Work, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology.

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