“He is not good at speaking and playing well”… Will my child, who is slower than his peers, get better when he grows up?

# 1. “I think his speech is more slurred than other children. He can’t express himself well, and he can only use simple words. He probably wants to have fun with his friends at daycare, but it breaks my heart to see him having a hard time because his speech is poor.”

Junsu (4) Mom and Dad have a lot to worry about these days. My grandmother and grandfather tell me, “It will get better when I grow up,” and “Don’t worry,” but I still can’t put my mind at ease. Aren’t you already having difficulties with your social life?

# 2. “Our Somi (age 5) is exceptionally sensitive to sounds. She gets irritated when she goes to loud places. The kindergarten teacher says she doesn’t like tactile play and is afraid of going down slides. Even at home, she cries and screams every time she changes her clothes. , all kinds of fights break out.”

Children with such sensitive senses react sensitively to various stimuli such as hearing, sight, and touch and become anxious. On the other hand, there are children who are more insensitive than their peers and cannot even recognize dangerous situations.

# 3. “My child (Heeyeon, 6) doesn’t make eye contact with other children and doesn’t try to play with them. He prefers playing alone rather than talking. Will it be difficult for him to get along with his friends when he goes to school later?”

5-10% of children have developmental delays…how do hospitals diagnose and treat them?

Before entering elementary school, language problems are the most common cause of developmental delay in young children. However, sensory problems such as vision, hearing, and touch, as well as social problems with other children, are also common. This problem is found in approximately 5 to 10% of all children.

The trend is increasing. The Korean Academy of Pediatrics also says, “As awareness of child developmental delay increases and early diagnosis systems develop, more children with developmental delay are being discovered.”

Children with developmental delays like Junsu, Somi, and Heeyeon find it difficult to interact with their peers and have difficulty making friends or hanging out together. It is difficult to understand or empathize with other people’s emotions.

However, it is actually difficult for parents to accurately gauge the level of development of children. Although there are many children who show relatively rapid growth and development, there are also many children whose development is slower than their peers. As it is a time of growth every day, individual differences are also large.

Therefore, the evaluation of developmental delay is done through a detailed examination by a pediatrician. Park Ye-jin, director of the Child Development Center at Busan Sun Hospital (Department of Pediatrics), said, “A child’s ‘developmental disability’ and ‘developmental delay’ are very different. Developmental delay is defined as the average speed of development by age. “Although it is later, a developmental disability is a case in which severe developmental delay continues or distortions such as developmental separation or disengagement appear.”

Among them, developmental delays, which are relatively common, are diagnosed by comprehensively evaluating various aspects such as the child’s age, physical, language, and social development level. For example, in the case of language development delay, which most often visits hospitals, around 24 months is an important watershed.

Children begin to speak by saying the first word, such as “mom,” from about 12 months of age. ▲If they express themselves through gestures rather than words even at 18 months of age. ▲If they are unable to form simple two-word sentences even at 24 months of age, you may suspect language development delay. You can.

Hospitals can evaluate the average language development status appropriate for each growth period. For example, if the child is 5 or 6 years old before entering elementary school, check the following items.

When raising children, silence is not gold.

There are various reasons for language delays. There may be temperamental factors (autistic disorder, intellectual ability, etc.), but there are also environmental factors. One cause is that caregivers, such as mom and dad, do not talk much with the child or provide excessive care by finding out what the child needs in advance and taking care of everything. Because it deprives the child of the opportunity to speak. The same goes for showing too much TV, smartphones, or tablets.

Next, parents’ concerns increase due to difficulties in sensory processing, problem behavior, lack of social skills, and delayed emotional development. Director Park also said, “If you receive an infant checkup provided by the government, you can first find out whether the child is within or outside the average ‘normal range.’” He added, “If the child is significantly outside the normal range, we recommend an ‘advanced evaluation.’”

In these cases, additional tests such as language testing, developmental testing, and sensory integration testing are usually performed. Although it varies slightly from hospital to hospital, the child’s language development, vocabulary, motor skills, intellectual ability, etc. are examined through the Bailey test.

It is also possible to measure concentration or sleep problems, parents’ parenting attitudes, and aggression or atypical behavior. The sensory integration test evaluates whether various sensory functions are well balanced.

Treatment of these children requires different approaches depending on the child’s level of development and characteristics. This is why we have no choice but to proceed with individual customization. Various experts such as play psychology counselors, speech rehabilitators, and occupational therapists (sensory integration therapy) participate.

Cho Hyun-jun, director of the Child Development Center, said, “Children’s development is closely related to each other rather than independent,” adding, “Like a ‘pace-maker’ in a marathon race, various experts demonstrate their expertise so that children can naturally follow along.” did it