As a diagnostic label, however, this phrase has inherent shortcomings. Primary care practitioners have a key role in identifying children with developmental problems. This includes learning to recognize both delayed development and disordered development. A child who has developmental delay has slower than expected attainment of developmental milestones but progress occurs in the anticipated sequence.
Progress occurs in a non-sequential pattern.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that a child with developmental disorder often has developmental delay as well. The definition of what constitutes a developmental delay that is cause for concern varies somewhat depending on the particular assessment tool and its cut-off for passing the assessment criteria. Minnesota has adopted a definition of developmental delay to determine eligibility criteria for early intervention services. Primary practitioners can obtain more information about these criteria by contacting the early intervention team in the child's school district. Another useful reference is an article by Richard Solomon, M.D., about the early intervention system for children from birth to age 3.