Children with mental retardation. Preventing and overcoming mental retardation

Parents are sometimes discouraged when their child is diagnosed with mental retardation (CRD). Most often, this violation is well corrected with the correct approach of parents and teachers. But for this it is necessary to identify this deviation from the norm in the child early. The tests in the article will help you do this, and a unique table will help determine the type of CRD in a child. Also in this material are tips for parents of babies with mental retardation.

What does the diagnosis of CRD mean - who and when is delayed in psychological development?

Delayed mental development (PDD) is a violation of the normal development of the psyche, which is characterized by a lag in the development of individual mental functions (thinking, memory, attention).

CRD is usually diagnosed in children under 8 years of age. In newborns, mental retardation cannot be detected, since it is normal. When a child grows up, parents do not always pay attention to the limitation of his mental abilities or attribute it to a small age. But some babies can be put on in infancy. He points to some disturbances in the functioning of the brain, which in older age can manifest itself in the form of CRD.

When attending kindergarten, it is not always possible to diagnose the child's CRA, since there the child does not need any intensive mental activity. But when entering school, a child with mental retardation will clearly stand out from the background of other children, because he:

• hard to sit in class;
• hard to obey the teacher;
• concentrate your attention on mental activity;
• not easy to learn as he strives to play and have fun.

Physically, children with mental retardation are healthy, the main difficulty for them is social adaptation. In children with CRD, developmental delay of either the emotional sphere or the intellect may prevail.

• With a delay in the development of the emotional sphere the mental abilities of children are relatively normal. The emotional development of such children does not correspond to their age and corresponds to the psyche of the younger child. These children can play tirelessly, they are dependent and any mental activity is very tiring for them. Thus, when attending school, it is difficult for them to concentrate on their studies, obey the teacher and obey classroom discipline.

• If the child has sslow development of the intellectual sphere , then, on the contrary, he will calmly and patiently sit in the lessons, listen to the teacher and obey the elders. Such children are very timid, shy and take any difficulties to heart. They are consulted by a psychologist not because of disciplinary violations, but because of learning difficulties.

Tests for detecting developmental disorders - 6 ways to determine mental retardation in a child

If parents have doubts about the mental development of their child, then there are some tests that will help determine mental disorders.

You should not interpret the results of these tests on your own, since only a specialist should deal with this.

Test number 1 (up to 1 year)

The physical and psychological development of the child should be appropriate for his age. He should start holding his head no later than 1.5 months, roll over from his back to his stomach - at 3-5 months, sit and get up - at 8-10 months. It is also worth paying attention to. A child at 6-8 months should babble, and by 1 year say the word "mom".

KID-R scale for assessing the development of a child aged 2 to 16 months - and

Test number 2 (9-12 months)

At this age, the child begins to form simple thinking skills. For example, in front of a child's eyes, you can hide a toy under a box and ask with surprise, “Where is the toy?”. In response, the child should remove the box and show with delight that he has found the toy. The child must understand that a toy cannot disappear without a trace.

Test number 3 (1-1.5 years)

At this age, the baby shows interest in the world around him. He is interested in learning something new, trying new toys by touch, and showing joy at the sight of his mother. If such activity is not observed for the baby, this should raise suspicion.

RCDI-2000 scale for assessing the development of a child aged 14 months to 3.5 years - download the questionnaire form in PDF format and instructions for parents to fill out

Test number 4 (2-3 years)

There is a child's play where you need to insert shapes into their corresponding holes. At the age of two to three years, the baby should do this without problems.

Test number 5 (3-5 years)

At this age, a child's outlook begins to form. He calls things by their proper names. The child can explain what a machine is or what kind of robot the doctor makes. At this age, you should not demand a lot of information from the baby, but nevertheless, a narrow vocabulary and a limited outlook should raise suspicion.

Test number 6 (5-7 years old)

At this age, the baby freely counts up to 10 and makes computational operations within these numbers. He freely names the names of geometric shapes and understands where there is one object and where there are many. Also, the child should clearly know and name the primary colors. It is very important to pay attention to his creative activity: children of this age must draw, sculpt or design something.

Factors causing CRD

There can be several reasons for mental retardation in children. Sometimes these are social factors, and in other situations, the cause of CRD is congenital brain pathologies, which are determined using various examinations (for example,).

• To the social factors of CRA include inappropriate conditions for raising a child. Such children often do not have parental or maternal love and worries. Their families may be antisocial, dysfunctional, or they may be brought up in orphanages. This leaves a heavy mark on the baby's psyche and often affects his mental health in the future.
• To physiological reasons for ZPR include heredity, congenital diseases, severe pregnancy of the mother, or diseases transferred in early childhood that affected the normal development of the brain. In this case, due to brain damage, the baby's mental health suffers.

Four types of mental retardation in children

Table 1. Types of ZPR in children

ZPR type	Causes	How does it manifest?
CRA of constitutional origin	Heredity.	Simultaneous immaturity of physique and psyche.
CRA of somatogenic origin	Previously transferred dangerous diseasesthat affect the development of the brain.	In most cases, intellect does not suffer, but the functions of the emotional-volitional sphere lag significantly behind in development.
CRD of psychogenic origin	Inappropriate upbringing conditions (orphans, children from single-parent families, etc.).	Decreased intellectual motivation, lack of independence.
Cerebral organic origin	Gross violations of the maturation of the brain due to abnormalities of pregnancy or after severe illnesses in the first year of life.	The most severe form of mental retardation, there are obvious delays in the development of the emotional-volitional and intellectual sphere.

In most situations, parents are very sensitive to the diagnosis of CRD, often not understanding its meaning. It is important to realize that mental retardation does not mean that the child is mentally ill. CRD means that the child is developing normally, only slightly behind their peers.

With the right approach to this diagnosis, by the age of 10, all manifestations of mental retardation can be eliminated.

• Study this disease scientifically... Read medical articles, consult a psychiatrist or psychologist. Parents will find useful articles: O.A. Vinogradova "Development of speech communication in preschoolers with mental retardation", N.Yu. Boryakova "Clinical and psychological-pedagogical characteristics of children with mental retardation", D.V. Zaitsev "Development of communication skills in children with intellectual disabilities in the family."
• Contact the specialists... Children with mental retardation need a consultation with a neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, as well as the help of a teacher-defectologist, teacher-psychologist, speech therapist.
• Useful in training didactic games ... Such games should be selected based on the age and mental abilities of the child; they should not be difficult and incomprehensible for the baby.
• Children of older preschool or primary school age should attend FEMP classes (formation of elementary mathematical concepts). This will help them prepare for the assimilation of mathematics and exact sciences, improve logical thinking and memory.
• Highlight a specific time (20-30 min) to complete lessons and every day at this time sit down with your child for lessons. Help him initially, and then gradually teach him to be independent.
• Find like-minded people... For example, on thematic forums, you can find parents with the same problem and keep in touch with them, sharing your experience and advice.

It is important for parents to understand that a child with mental retardation is not considered mentally retarded, since he perfectly understands the essence of the events taking place, consciously performs the assigned tasks. With the right approach, in most cases, the child's intellectual and social functions return to normal over time.

In this article:

Mental retardation is not a mental illness. It is correct to call it special. mental state, which is characterized by a low level of development of the central nervous system.

It is believed that children diagnosed with mental retardation do not have a chance to completely catch up with ordinary children. Babies can develop, but only up to a certain limit of biological capabilities. It is extremely difficult for the relatives of children with such a diagnosis to accept the fact that their child has been diagnosed with mental retardation.

It is very important for them to do everything that is possible in order for the child to become the same as everyone else. This is actually the wrong way. You can only help your child adapt to the social environment by accepting him as he is. Only in this case there is a possibility that they will be able to accept him in the same way in society.

Signs of mental retardation

In children, mental retardation can be both congenital and acquired before the age of three. The main feature indicating
a disease is a violation of the intellect. As a rule, these disorders are associated with pathologies of the brain and nervous system.

In addition to violations in the work of intelligence, mental retardation can lead children to social maladjustment. Such children suffer from impaired speech and psychomotor functions, underdevelopment of the emotional and volitional sphere.

Oligophrenia: what you need to know?

Mental retardation is also commonly referred to as one simple word - "oligophrenia", which in translation from ancient Greek means "insanity". So the disease is called if the cause of its occurrence is identified. If the cause is unclear, then the term "mental disability" is considered more appropriate.

This concept is broader, since it accommodates not only the developmental lag caused by organic disorders, but also pedagogical or social neglect. In psychiatry, a person with oligophrenia is characterized as a person unable to learn to live independently in a social environment.

Congenital mental retardation, or oligophrenia, imposes certain restrictions on the development of a baby who cannot reach the same level as healthy children. When it comes to acquired dementia - dementia, it means a decrease in the level of intelligence in comparison with the indicators of age norms.

The severity of mental retardation

The degree of mental retardation in children may vary. In total, there are several such degrees of mental retardation:

• easy;
• moderate;
• deep.

Each of the degrees is characterized by a certain IQ level. If in children with a mild degree, the IQ indicator ranges from 50-69 points, then in children with the fourth degree, the IQ is no more than 20 points.

The easiest is first stage. Children diagnosed with mental retardation of the first stage have basic self-care and homework skills, can study in specialized institutions according to a special program, and will eventually be able to learn a simple craft for earning money.

The average (moderate) degree of oligophrenia is characterized by the complicated mastering of self-service skills by children, delayed speech development. Such children often cannot cope with mastering even the simplest movements, do not always understand the speech addressed to them, and require increased attention both in childhood and adulthood.

The last stage is deep delay, or idiocy. Children diagnosed with mental retardation of the deep stage remain at the child's level
three years. They do not understand the rules, do not follow instructions, are unable to listen and remember, have problems with motor activity, and suffer from fecal and urinary incontinence. Are not excluded neurological disorders... As a rule, they cause such a severe degree of disease of an organic and genetic nature, not so often - brain injuries.

It is believed that it is impossible to completely cure mental retardation in children. Yes, in some cases stimulating drugs are used, but the effect will be exactly the same as possible within the limits of the biological capabilities of the child.

That is why how successful the child's introduction into society will be depends largely on the system of treatment, education, and upbringing chosen for his case.

Causes of mental retardation

In children, mental retardation can be caused by a number of reasons, both genetic in nature and related to the characteristics of the surrounding social environment. At risk are children of parents whose relatives had a similar diagnosis. It is at the genetic level that the problem is transmitted in 50 percent of cases. Also, very often it is not possible to identify the cause of mental retardation in a child.

The following are the main reasons for the retardation of children in intellectual development:

• diseases of a genetic nature;
• intrauterine lesions;
• intoxication;
• poisoning of the fetus with alcohol;
• the impact of medications;
• radiation and chemotherapy;
• hypoxia;
• last degree prematurity;
• birth trauma;
• infections affecting the central nervous system;
• social neglect against the background of poor nutrition and pedagogical inattention.

Diagnosis is not a sentence!

As mentioned above, mental retardation in children is not treated. However, we are not talking about all children with this diagnosis. Only those who do not respond to treatment
guys whose backwardness is caused by severe genetic inheritance or social reasons. And there are actually only about 30% of them. All the rest, and this is the overwhelming majority, received such a diagnosis as a result of somatic reasons, so they can and should be treated.

Unfortunately, most often doctors diagnose "mental retardation" and, along with it, give up on the little patient, believing that the best solution to the problem for him will be training in a special school for underdeveloped children. This approach is fundamentally wrong and has already managed to cripple the lives of many families.

In fact, most of the children suffering from mental underdevelopment, this problem is temporary. It will be enough to identify the reason for the delay in order to understand how effective the treatment and the introduction of a correction program can be.

If the reason is heredity, when the baby cannot develop above the measured mark, this is one thing. In this case, he really will require special care and training.

But if mental retardation is a consequence of chronic infection, allergies, heart disease, and so on, then the matter is fixable. The child's organism, weakened by diseases, really reduces the activity of the process of its development. The result is mental retardation, a diagnosis that denies the right to a normal life. If we provide such children with the right approach, first of all strengthening the immune system, creating comfortable conditions in the family, at school, in kindergarten, then it will be possible to achieve positive dynamics.

Mental retardation can also be a consequence of unfavorable social conditions, as a result of which the psyche of children is traumatized. For example, they may be deprived of adult control and attention.

Approximately the same effect, often without realizing it, is achieved by parents whose upbringing method is excessive care and guardianship of the baby. Infantile children grow up unadapted, selfish and dependent on others. In such cases, it will be possible to change the situation only by changing the conditions of upbringing.

Less likely to affect the mental development process will be in cases with children who have suffered brain disease, birth trauma, or were poisoned in the womb by toxins, suffered from infections or suffocation.

Timely diagnosis is the key to success

Regardless of the type of mental retardation in children, it is extremely important to carry out timely diagnostics to identify its root cause. Treatment must necessarily be carried out in a complex, with the involvement of parents, teachers, using drugs and modern techniques.

It is not recommended to apply to children not fully proven methods, for example, fetal therapy, manual therapy, as well as electrical procedures.

As for the task of parents, their main mission is to monitor the development of babies and, in case of suspicion of developmental delay, immediately consult an experienced doctor. And, of course, if the diagnosis is confirmed, do not give up hope and do everything to help children cope with the problem as much as possible.

Impaired mental function (ZPR) is a temporal lag in development mental processes and the immaturity of the emotional-volitional sphere in children, which can potentially be overcome with the help of specially organized training and education. Delayed mental development is characterized by an insufficient level of development of motor skills, speech, attention, memory, thinking, regulation and self-regulation of behavior, primitiveness and instability of emotions, poor academic performance. Diagnosis of cerebrovascular accidents is carried out collectively by a commission of medical specialists, teachers and psychologists. Children with mental retardation need specially organized correctional and developmental education and medical support.

General information

Mental retardation (PDD) is a reversible violation of the intellectual and emotional-volitional sphere, accompanied by specific learning difficulties. The number of persons with mental retardation reaches 15-16% in the child population. DPD is more of a psychological and pedagogical category, however, it may be based on organic disorders, therefore, this condition is also considered by medical disciplines - first of all, pediatrics and pediatric neurology.

Since the development of various mental functions in children occurs unevenly, usually the conclusion "mental retardation" is established for preschool children not earlier than 4-5 years old, but in practice - more often in the process of schooling.

Reasons for DPR

The etiological basis of CRA is formed by biological and socio-psychological factors that lead to a temporal delay in the intellectual and emotional development of the child.

1. Biological factors (non-gross organic damage to the central nervous system of a local nature and their residual effects) cause a violation of the maturation of various parts of the brain, which is accompanied by partial disorders of the child's mental development and activity. Among the causes of a biological nature, acting in the perinatal period and causing mental retardation, greatest value have:

• pathology of pregnancy (severe toxicosis, Rh-conflict, fetal hypoxia, etc.), intrauterine infections, intracranial birth trauma, prematurity, nuclear jaundice of newborns, FAS, etc., leading to the so-called perinatal encephalopathy.
• severe somatic diseases of the child (hypotrophy, flu, neuroinfections, rickets), craniocerebral trauma, epilepsy and epileptic encephalopathy, etc., arising in the postnatal period and early childhood.
• CRD is sometimes hereditary and is diagnosed from generation to generation in some families.

2. Social factors.A delay in mental development can occur under the influence of environmental (social) factors, which, however, does not exclude the presence of an initial organic basis for the disorder. Most often, children with mental retardation grow up in conditions of hypo-care (neglect) or over-care, authoritarian upbringing, social deprivation, and a lack of communication with peers and adults.

A delay in mental development of a secondary nature can develop with early hearing and vision impairments, speech defects due to a pronounced deficit of sensory information and communication.

Classification

The group of children with mental retardation is heterogeneous. In special psychology, many classifications of mental retardation have been proposed. Let us consider the etiopathogenetic classification proposed by K. S. Lebedinskaya, which identifies 4 clinical types of CRA.

1. CRA of constitutional genesis due to a slowdown in the maturation of the central nervous system. It is characterized by harmonious mental and psychophysical infantilism. With mental infantilism, the child behaves like a younger child; with psycho-physical infantilism, the emotional-volitional sphere and physical development suffer. Anthropometric data and behavior of such children do not correspond to chronological age. They are emotionally labile, spontaneous, and lack attention and memory. Even at school age, their interests in play prevail.
2. CRD of somatogenic genesisdue to severe and prolonged somatic diseases of the child at an early age, inevitably delaying the maturation and development of the central nervous system. The history of children with somatogenic mental retardation often includes bronchial asthma, chronic dyspepsia, cardiovascular and renal failure, pneumonia, etc. Usually, such children are treated for a long time in hospitals, which in addition also causes sensory deprivation. CRD of somatogenic genesis is manifested by asthenic syndrome, low performance of the child, less memory, superficial attention, poorly formed skills of activity, hyperactivity or lethargy with overwork.
3. CRD of psychogenic genesis due to unfavorable social conditions in which the child lives (neglect, overprotection, cruel treatment). Deficit of attention to the child forms mental instability, impulsivity, and lag in intellectual development. Increased care fosters in the child lack of initiative, egocentrism, lack of will, lack of purposefulness.
4. ZPR of cerebral-organic genesis occurs most often. It is caused by primary non-gross organic brain damage. In this case, violations can affect individual areas of the psyche or manifest themselves in mosaic in various mental areas. The delay in the mental development of cerebral-organic genesis is characterized by the lack of formation of the emotional-volitional sphere and cognitive activity: the lack of vividness and brightness of emotions, a low level of claims, pronounced suggestibility, poor imagination, motor disinhibition, etc.

Characteristics of children with CRD

Intellectual sphere

Emotional sphere

The personal sphere in children with mental retardation is characterized by emotional lability, easy mood swings, suggestibility, lack of initiative, lack of will, and immaturity of the personality as a whole. There may be affective reactions, aggressiveness, conflict, increased anxiety. Children with mental retardation are often withdrawn, prefer to play alone, do not seek to contact their peers. The play activity of children with DPD is characterized by monotony and stereotype, lack of a detailed plot, poverty of fantasy, non-observance of game rules. Motility features include motor awkwardness, lack of coordination, and often hyperkinesis and tics.

A feature of mental retardation is that compensation and reversibility of violations are possible only in the context of special training and education.

Diagnostics

Delayed mental development can be diagnosed only as a result of a comprehensive examination of the child by the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission (PMPK) consisting of a child psychologist, speech therapist, defectologist, pediatrician, child neurologist, psychiatrist, etc. This is done:

• collection and study of anamnesis, analysis of living conditions;
• the study medical records child;
• conversation with a child, research of intellectual processes and emotional-volitional qualities.

Based on information about the development of the child, the members of the PMPK make a conclusion about the presence of mental retardation, give recommendations on the organization of the upbringing and education of the child in special educational institutions.

In order to identify the organic substrate of mental retardation, the child needs to be examined by medical specialists, first of all, a pediatrician and a pediatric neurologist. Instrumental diagnostics may include EEG, CT and MRI of the child's brain, etc. Differential diagnosis of mental retardation should be carried out with oligophrenia and autism.

Correction of mental retardation

Working with children with mental retardation requires a multidisciplinary approach and the active participation of pediatricians, child neurologists, child psychologists, psychiatrists, speech therapists, and defectologists. Correction of mental retardation should begin with preschool age and carried out for a long time.

Children with mental retardation must attend specialized preschool educational institutions (or groups), type VII schools or correctional classes of general education schools. The peculiarities of teaching children with mental retardation include the dosage of educational material, reliance on visualization, repeated repetition, frequent changes in activities, and the use of health-saving technologies.

When working with such children, special attention is paid to the development of:

• cognitive processes (perception, attention, memory, thinking);
• emotional, sensory and motor spheres with the help of fairy tale therapy,.
• correction of speech disorders in the framework of individual and group speech therapy classes.

Together with teachers, correctional work on teaching students with mental retardation is carried out by teachers-defectologists, psychologists, social teachers. Medical care for children with mental retardation includes drug therapy in accordance with the identified somatic and cerebral-organic disorders, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, massage, hydrotherapy.

Forecast and prevention

The lag in the pace of the child's mental development from the age norms can and must be overcome. Children with mental retardation are learnable and with properly organized correctional work, positive dynamics are observed in their development. With the help of teachers, they are able to assimilate knowledge, abilities and skills that their normally developing peers master on their own. After leaving school, they can continue their studies at vocational schools, colleges and even universities.

Prevention of mental retardation in a child involves careful planning of pregnancy, avoidance of adverse effects on the fetus, prevention of infectious and somatic diseases in children early age, providing favorable conditions for education and development. If the child lags behind in psychomotor development, an immediate examination by specialists and the organization of correctional work is necessary.

Development delay is a symptom of a pathological process that leads to physiological or psychological disorders. It should be noted that the delay in psychoverbal development may have a hereditary etiology. In some cases, depending on the etiological factor and general condition child health is an irreversible pathological process. Early, and accordingly timely, diagnosis of the violation is rather difficult. Definitely, at the first manifestations of the clinical picture in a child, you should urgently apply for medical helprather than ignore the symptom or try to fix it yourself.

Etiology

As for this pathological process, there are no uniform etiological factors, since each type of developmental delay has its own provoking factors. However, it should be noted that for almost all cases there is one common cause - intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).

Delayed speech development (RAD) may be due to the following etiological factors:

• head trauma or neoplasms in the brain;
• pathology of the nervous system;
• infectious diseases that the mother suffered during pregnancy;
• impaired hearing or complete deafness;
• social maladjustment;
• if adults do not stimulate the development of the child's speech - by sounds or incorrectly pronounced words, they understand the meaning of what was said and react to it. In such cases, the child simply will not try to speak correctly, since he achieves the desired result immediately.

As a rule, the delay in speech development in children is determined up to three years. If, before this age, the baby has not learned to pronounce correctly, does not have a certain vocabulary, which is optimal for his age, then consultation of a psychologist, neurologist and speech therapist is required.

Mental retardation (PDD) can be caused by both pathological and social factors. The first should include:

• lesions of the central nervous system of the child during the formation period. In this case, fetal growth retardation (FGR) is observed with all the ensuing consequences;
• bad habits mothers - smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs, frequent stress and severe nervous tension;
• infectious diseases (most often leads to such a symptom,);
• diseases with hereditary etiology;
• autoimmune pathological processes;
• malfunctioning sensory perception information (sight and hearing).

Social provoking factors include the following:

• frequent psychological trauma;
• pedagogical neglect of the child;
• restriction of the child's activity, which leads to social maladjustment.

As a rule, children with mental retardation are withdrawn, do not like to let strangers near them, including their own age. This diagnosis is made in early preschool and school age, when the child begins to communicate with other children.

The delay in psychomotor development has the following etiology:

• endocrine pathologies of congenital and acquired nature;
• household or chemical (typical for children in the first year of life);
• IUGR, which have a chromosomal nature -,;
• infectious diseases;
• consequences of perinatal and postnatal pathology (delayed fetal development);
• ailments of a genetic nature.

Social reasons are no exception in this case - lack of care and nutrition, frequent and pedagogical neglect of the child.

We can talk about delayed puberty when boys by the age of 14 and girls by the age of 13 do not have age changes... The following factors precede the onset of a symptom:

• chromosomal abnormalities;
• oncological processes that lead to improper production of hormones;
• transferred severe infectious diseases;
• dysfunction of the thyroid gland;
• malnutrition.

In some cases, delayed sexual development can be observed in girls who go in for sports from an early age - constant physical exercise change natural physiological processes.

Symptoms

Each form of developmental delay has its own clinical picture... Delayed speech development is characterized by the following features:

• in the first months of life, the baby does not walk;
• children aged one year do not respond to their name;
• the child does not recognize pictures in books, cannot fulfill the simplest instructions of adults;
• at the age of 2-3 years, the child does not speak simple sentences and meaningful phrases;
• the child asks questions less often than other children.

Disorders in psychomotor development are manifested as follows:

• lack of concentration on bright objects or sounds (children from two months of age);
• there is no emotional interest in new subjects, no physical activity;
• the formation of babbling speech lags sharply behind;
• by 12 months, the child does not understand the speech addressed to him;
• aimless activity is observed after 15 months;
• no vocabulary after two years.

Pathological processes in mental development have the following clinical picture:

• slow, often inaccurate perception;
• superficial, unstable attention;
• violation of figurative and abstract thinking - the child cannot express his thoughts;
• limitation of vocabulary, speech impairment.

Violations in the development of puberty appear only by the age of 13-15 and have the following symptoms:

• girls by the age of 14 do not have periods and there is no increase in the mammary glands;
• in boys by the age of 14, the genitals are not developed;
• by the age of 15, there is no pubic hair.

The manifestation of any type of developmental delay requires consultation with a specialized medical specialist.

Diagnostics

The diagnostic program may include the following methods:

• standard laboratory research (collection of blood and urine);
• determination of the level of blood hormones;
• immunological studies;
• CT and MRI of the brain;
• psychological tests;
• consultations with related specialists (depending on the type of developmental delay and the current clinical picture).

Treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor, you should not do anything on your own in such cases, since you can only aggravate the condition.

Treatment

Concerning drug therapy, then it will be purely individual, since it will depend on the underlying factor. Treatment almost always involves the child and parent working with or. If we are talking about a violation of speech development, then consultations and classes are required. In more complex cases, doctors recommend continuous education of the child in specialized educational institutions, where the program is adapted for them.