Developmental Delays and MayRose
As a result of the diffuse brain damage that MayRose suffered when she went into anemic shock, she now has Developmental Delays. Although she is 2 years old, she does not have the muscle control to sit-up or walk. She wears leg braces that will help her with her leg positioning. She also suffers from siezures which have to be controlled with medication.
Overview: Developmental Delays is a group of disorders involving movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking that occur due to problems with brain development.
Symptoms: Injury to the largest part of the brain (cerebrum) can lead to the loss of nerve functions in different areas. Many children with this condition have increased muscle tone (spasticity). Spasticity may affect:
Symptoms may include:
Treatment requires a team approach, including:
Self and home care include:
Many adults are able to live in the community, either independently or with different levels of help. In severe cases, the person will need to be placed in an institution.
The following may help with communication and learning:
Medications may include:
Causes: Developmental delays are often caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain. Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the first 2 years of life, while the baby's brain is still developing.
In some people with developmental delays, parts of the brain are injured due to low levels of oxygen (hypoxia) in the area.
Types of developmental delays can result in:
Overview: Developmental Delays is a group of disorders involving movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking that occur due to problems with brain development.
Symptoms: Injury to the largest part of the brain (cerebrum) can lead to the loss of nerve functions in different areas. Many children with this condition have increased muscle tone (spasticity). Spasticity may affect:
- One arm or leg
- One side of the body (spastic hemiplegia)
- Both legs (spastic diplegia)
- Both arms and legs (spastic quadriplegia)
Symptoms may include:
- Abnormal movements
- Abnormal sensations
- Abnormal muscle tone
- Decreased intelligence
- Difficulty sucking or feeding in infants
- Hearing problems
- Increased drooling
- Irregular breathing
- Learning disabilities
- Limited range of motion
- Pain
- Partial or full loss of movement (paralysis)
- Peg teeth
- Problems swallowing (at all ages)
- Seizures
- Speech problems (dysarthria)
- Urinary incontinence
- Vision problems
- Vomiting or constipation
Treatment requires a team approach, including:
- A primary care doctor
- A social worker
- Nurses
- Occupational, physical, speech and vision therapists
- Other specialists
Self and home care include:
- Getting enough food and nutrition
- Keeping the home safe
- Performing exercises recommended by the health care providers
- Practicing proper bowel care (stool softeners, fluids, fiber, laxatives, regular bowel habits)
- Protecting the joints from injury
Many adults are able to live in the community, either independently or with different levels of help. In severe cases, the person will need to be placed in an institution.
The following may help with communication and learning:
- Glasses
- Hearing aids
- Muscle and bone braces
- Walking aids
- Wheelchairs
Medications may include:
- Anticonvulsants to prevent or reduce the frequency of seizures
- Botulinum toxin to help with spasticity and drooling
- Muscle relaxants (baclofen) to reduce tremors and spasticity
- Control gastroesophageal reflux
- Cut certain nerves from the spinal cord to help with pain and spasticity
- Place feeding tubes
- Release joint contractures
Causes: Developmental delays are often caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain. Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the first 2 years of life, while the baby's brain is still developing.
In some people with developmental delays, parts of the brain are injured due to low levels of oxygen (hypoxia) in the area.
Types of developmental delays can result in:
- Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type.
- Dyskinetic (athetoid) cerebral palsy involves abnormal movements (twisting, jerking, or other movements).
- Ataxic cerebral palsy involves tremors, unsteady gait, loss of coordination, and abnormal movements.
- Hypotonic cerebral palsy involves floppy muscles, especially at rest, and increased range of motion in the joints.
- Mixed cerebral palsy involves any combination of symptoms.
- Abnormal walk (gait), with a tendency to tuck the arms in toward the sides, make "scissors" movements of the legs, and walk on the toes
- Abnormal slow, writhing movements that get worse with stress and don't occur during sleep
- Delayed development of motor skills (reaching, sitting rolling, crawling, walking)
- Infant reflexes (such as sucking and startle) that continue past the age where they usually disappear
- Joint contractures
- Muscle contractions
- Muscles that do not stretch (spasticity)
- Muscle tremors
- Muscle weakness
- Blood tests
- CT scan of the head
- Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Hearing screen
- MRI of the head
- Vision testing