Developmental Milestones: What’s Normal, and When Can Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation Help Your Child?

 

Wolfson Rehab

Some jokingly say that a parent’s job is to worry, but most parents come equipped with instincts that usually win out when there’s cause for concern. Many find themselves watching how their child moves, behaves, plays and communicates, looking for proper developmental progress during the first few years.

Pediatricians and primary care providers play an important role during this time by monitoring development with charts and questions at each visit, but children grow at their own unique pace, sometimes making it hard to pinpoint a problem right away. Developmental milestones agreed upon by medical experts are established to give a general idea of what to expect at given ages; however, it’s recommended that if a parent has doubts, it’s best to get it checked out.

“We value our parents’ input and work as a team with them,” said Suzanne Barje, PT, a pediatric physical therapist and clinical supervisor for Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation in Mandarin, one of six locations throughout North Florida and Southeast Georgia. “If a parent has a concern, I will urge them to follow up with an evaluation because it provides baseline data.”

Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation centers see patients who range in age from newborn to 18. Some have congenital conditions like cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or fall along the autism spectrum, while others don’t have a diagnosis for their delay. Some children develop normally until dynamics change dramatically – such as going from sitting to standing – and the adjustment just takes them extra time.

“Red flags are things like not rolling over at six months, not sitting alone by nine months or not making any attempts to walk by 16 months,” said Barje.

A big factor in developmental progress is environmental: how much exposure a child gets to experiences that allow him or her more freedom to move. Babies who get a lot of tummy time have a better opportunity to explore surroundings, while those who spend more time in swings and bouncy seats don’t, and may take longer to acquire certain skills.

Nikki Hallick, OT, with Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation at Baptist Clay Medical Campus in Fleming Island, said that delays are found by using a variety of approaches including standardized assessments, observation of play skills and interviews with parents. Her role as a pediatric occupational therapist is to work with children to strengthen their ability to use the upper body, eyes and the small muscles of the fingers and hands to pick up and move objects during play or meal time.

“I collaborate with the child’s parents to identify areas of concern, and then develop treatment goals through appropriate, play-based activities like games and crafts to help the child strengthen skills and reach new milestones,” said Hallick.

When it comes to delays related to articulation and language, pediatric speech-language pathologist Jordan Swain, MS, CCC-SLP, at Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation in Mandarin, works with children to increase their ability to communicate effectively. This includes developing pre-language skills, improving vocabulary and comprehension, increasing intelligibility, and treating voice and fluency disorders. Speech therapy goes a long way towards building a new set of skills and self-confidence.

“Communication is essential for learning, and it is the foundation for all social skills,” said Swain. “Early intervention is a key component to developing these skills in children presenting with language delays.”

Feeding therapists are also available to treat children with food sensitivities, motor difficulties related to chewing, and swallowing difficulties.

Even though a child may not fall within a certain range for a milestone, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything is amiss. But if there is a problem, the good news is that the valuable services offered by highly skilled pediatric rehabilitation therapists can help manage and improve a child’s progress.

What’s Standard Developmentally?

Gross motor skills

  • Head control (4 months)
  • Rolling (4-6 months)
  • Sitting (6-8 months)
  • Crawling (9-10 months)
  • Pulling up/walking (12-16 months)

Fine motor skills

  • Grasping objects (3-4 months)
  • Transferring objects between hands (6-9 months)
  • Using pincher grip to pick up objects (9-12 months)

Feeding and communications skills

  • Babbling and cooing (4-6 months)
  • Single word utterances (12-18 months)
  • Managing pureed food (4-6 months)
  • Eating chunkier solids (6-9 months)

If you would like to read or leave a review about Wolfson Children’s Hospital, visit our Around Town Directory below.

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841 Prudential Drive, Suite 140 Jacksonville, FL 32207
14785 Old St. Augustine Rd. Jacksonville, FL 32258
1747 Baptist Clay Drive Suite 100 Fleming Island, FL 32003
1320 Roberts Drive Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
164 NW Madison Street Lake City, FL 32055
Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation provides comprehensive, family-centered services to children from infancy through adolescence who have neurological or musculo-skeletal impairments due to injury, illness or congenital developmental conditions. The overall goal of our service is to help children function to their full potential in their everyday life activities. We accomplish this…

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