Developmental diagnostics is a branch of pediatric neurology. It deals with infants, toddlers and kindergarten children. With increasing age, developmental diagnostics is mainly the responsibility of child and adolescent psychiatrists and child psychologists. They then test the child's cognitive abilities (IQ), for example.
Below you will find further information and selected specialists for developmental diagnostics.
Developmental diagnostics include the following areas:
Developmental disorders begin in infancy or childhood and are related to impaired maturation of the nervous system @ N_studio /AdobeStockThe sensory system includes the development and processing of:
Motor skills encompass a child's movements and movement sequences. This includes not only locomotion, but also sucking, swallowing, fine motor skills and (oral) motor skills.
Cognitive development includes
Social development refers to the ability to engage in relational behavior. The basis for this is the mother-child relationship.
Social behavior develops more and more with increasing age @ Gennadiy Poznyakov /AdobeStock
Emotional development is a child's ability to perceive and express different feelings.
There are close interactions between a child's social and emotional development. Through a trusting relationship with its caregivers in childhood, the child learns about positive feelings at an early age.
Developmental disorders can occur globally or in one area of development. For each area of development, there are certain milestones with age limits at which children should reach certain steps.
If a child does not reach a milestone, their development in this area is outside the norm. One example is walking freely by the age of 18 months.
There is no underlying pathological developmental disorder at this stage. However, a pediatric neurologist should be involved from this point onwards. He or she will carry out the neuropaediatric diagnosis. Fortunately, many abnormalities can be treated well if diagnosed early.
