Developmental Causes for Concern
Consider contacting your pediatrician to learn the benefits of therapy if your child exhibits the following concerns.
Baby’s Motor Development Concerns:
By 3 Months:
- Has difficulty lifting his head when placed on his belly
- Holds his legs stiffly with very little movement
- When lying on his back, he pushes backwards with his head
- Keeps his hands fisted and doesn’t move his arms around
By 6 Months:
- When held in sitting, his back is rounded
- He is unable to lift his head up or hold his head steady
- When lying on his back, he has difficulty bring his arms forward to reach out or touch his toys
- He arches his back and stiffens his legs
- When held in standing, he pulls his arms back and stiffens his legs
By 9 Months:
- Uses predominately 1 hand
- Has difficulty using his arms when sitting
- Sits with a rounded back
- Has difficulty crawling
- Only uses one side of his body to move
- When held in standing, he is unable to straighten his back
- He can’t take weight through his legs
By 12 months:
- Difficulty getting to standing because of stiff legs and pointed toes
- Only uses his arms to get up to standing
- Sits with his weight to one side (always the same side)
- Strongly curled or straightened arms
- Needs to use his hand to maintain sitting
By 15 months:
- Unable to take steps independently
- Poor standing balance, falls frequently
- Walks on his toes most or all of the time
If your child displays concerns in the above areas, discuss with your child’s pediatrician if he/she may benefit from physical therapy.
Baby's Communication Development Concerns:
By 6 months:
- Cannot focus, easily over-stimulated
- Seems unaware of sound
- Cannot find a source of a sound
- Seems unaware of people and objects in the environment
- Does not seem to understand or enjoy imitating
- Lack of connection (eye contact, vocal turntaking)
- No babbling or babbling with few consonants (e.g., p, b, d)
By 12 months:
- Easily upset by sounds that will not upset others
- Doesn’t respond to common words that you use (e.g., up, eat, no)
- Lack of consistent patterns of babbling
- Does not clearly indicate desire for objects
By 19 months:
- Lack of communication gestures (e.g., pointing)
- Does not attempt to imitate or produce single words
- Does not persist in communication (may hold up hand for help, but gives up if adult does not respond immediately)
- Limited comprehension (understands less than 50 words)
- Lack of new words between the age of 12 and 19 months
By 24 months:
- Relies on gestures to communicate
- Limited vocabulary (speaks less than 50 words)
- Does not use any two word combinations
- Limited consonant production
- Mostly unintelligible speech
- Regresses in language development (stops talking)
By 36 months:
- Words limited to single syllable and no final consonants
- Few or no multiword utterances
- Does not demand a response from a listener
- Asks no questions
- Speech difficult to understand
- Tantrums when frustrated
- Echoing of speech without communicative intent
If your child displays concerns in the above areas, discuss with your child’s pediatrician if he/she may benefit from speech therapy.
Causes for Concern in Preschool and School-Age Children
Discuss with your child’s pediatrician if he/she may benefit from physical therapy if he/she displays any of the following issues:
- Uses poor or incorrect posture
- Falls or trips frequently
- Unable to hop, skip or jump
- Moves stiffly or avoids movement
- Always walks up on his/her toes
- Unable to keep up with peers in play
- Frequently complains of neck or back pain
- Appears clumsy and uncoordinated
- Motor skills are behind those of his/her peers
Discuss with your child’s pediatrician if he/she may benefit from occupational therapy if he/she displays any of the following issues:
- Shows no interest in fine motor skills (skills involving coordinated use of his/her hands)
- Using poor scissor skills
- Displaying difficulty holding small objects and manipulating tools
- Unable to complete mazes or dot-to-dots
- Difficulty copying text from the chalkboard
- Showing atypical levels of avoidance or motivation to move around
- Dressing with clothes put on backwards
- A messy eater
- Inattentive and distractible to written and/or reading tasks
- Poor at following instructions
- Displaying poor eye contact
- Not tolerating touch, or craving touch
- Doesn’t like movements or heights
