People diagnosed with a developmental disability have intellectual and everyday living skills substantially below their age and often require support in many aspects of everyday life. Specifically, criteria for a developmental disability are defined as follows:
the person must have general intellectual ability (IQ) in the sub-average range, also known as the range of Mental Retardation.
there must be impairments in the ability to manage the activities of daily living such as personal care (e.g., banking, shopping), or workplace activities (e.g., able to follow instructions)
this impairment must have occurred before the age of 18 years.
Developmental Disabilities can include diagnosis such as: Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy etc.
There are different levels of Developmental Disabilities:
Borderline
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Profound
When working with people with Developmental Disabilities:
Teach skills that are age & socially appropriate, with expectation that is realistic to the individual’s level of functioning.
Abstract reasoning is usually difficult, use objects in the environment to teach new skills.
Communication deficits may be present. You may have to change the way you talk to be understood.
Verbal behaviour is not the only way of communication. Inappropriate behaviour may be a result of lack of comprehension or inability to perform the required task.
Treat the individual as you would like others to treat you.
If you have concerns about your child’s development, you can contact:
Your family physician / Pediatrician
Public health nurse
Community health centre
Teacher/counselor/principal of your school
Developmental clinics in your local hospital
Surrey Place Centre (City of Toronto)
Kinark Child & Family Services (York Region)
被診斷患有發育障礙的人的智力和日常生活技能遠遠低於同齡，並且往往需要在日常生活的許多方面提供支持。具體而言，發育障礙的標准定義如下：
該人必須具有在低於平均範圍內的普通智力（IQ），也稱為智力遲鈍範圍。
管理日常生活活動的能力，如個人護理（如銀行，購物）或工作場所活動（例如能夠遵循指示）必須存在障礙，
這種損害必需發生在18歲以前。
發育障礙可以包括諸如以下的診斷：唐氏綜合症，脆性X綜合徵，自閉症譜系障礙，胎兒酒精綜合症，腦性麻痺等。
有不同程度的發育障礙：
邊緣
溫和
中等
嚴重
深度
與發育障礙患者合作時：
教授適合其年齡和社交的技能，對個人的使用水平具有現實意義。
抽象推理通常是困難的，使用自身環境中的事件來傳授新技能。
溝通障礙可能存在。你可能不得不改變你說話的方式來理解。
言語行為不是唯一的溝通方式。不適當的行為可能是缺乏理解或無法執行所需任務的結果。
以他為己。
如果您擔心孩子的發育，可以聯繫：
你的家庭醫生/兒科醫生
公共衛生護士
社區衛生中心
你學校的教師/輔導員/校長
當地醫院的發育診所
Surrey Place Centre（多倫多市）
Kinark Child & Family Services(約克地區）