24/04/2016
Acupuncture and Global Developmental Delay
Global Developmental Delay, abbreviated as GDD, is an umbrella term used to describe the generalized disabilities that impede physical and intellectual development in children. GDD has many known contributing factors such as genetic and metabolic defects, complications during pregnancy or at the time of delivery, post natal infection and so on.
It is often parents or immediate relatives who notice when a child doesn’t roll over when he or she should, smiles less or struggles to sit without assistance. When a child does not reach their developmental milestones at the expected time or period there usually is a more specific condition which causes this delay. Certain milestones are reached at predictable times. Reaching these milestones later than usual is not of itself a cause for concern; infants develop at their own pace. However, delay does suggest the possibility of a problem, especially when combined with other risk factors and anatomic signs, such as evidence of excessively stiff or loose limbs.
A child with GDD may not reach one or more of such developmental milestones at the expected period. If a child has GDD his gross motor skills, fine motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, social and emotional skills, vision, or one or more of the above may be affected. In some cases, the delay would be short term and can be overcome with additional support or therapy. But in some cases, the delay may be more significant and such children may need specialized intervention and ongoing support to develop their skill sets, and their confidence, into adulthood.
It is here that acupuncture, a traditional Chinese method of treatment with over 5000 years of history, proves useful. The term “acupuncture” might elicit thoughts of needles piercing the skin, but it actually describes a family of treatment options that stimulate anatomical points along the body and needles are only one of several media for communicating with a patient's “Qi”, or energy. The needles used are very small and needling is a rather painless affair.
GDD in acupuncture is classified under the syndrome of 5 delays which are, delay in standing, delay in walking, delay in hair growth, delay in teeth eruption and delay in speech. These delays are attributed to a deficiency or insufficiency of the body’s energy flow. An Acupuncturist based on the evaluation of the condition of the child will select and needle certain points in order to rectify the energy imbalance. The earlier the child is brought in for treatment, the better the results are. If done before 6 months of age, the child could be brought to 100% normalcy; the smaller the child the lesser will be the energy disturbances.
Health care providers, such as primary physicians and physical therapists, should serve as resources to help parents determine if alternative treatments are right for their children. Talk to your pediatrician if you have concerns that haven’t been remedied by western methods alone. Keep an open mind when you bring your child to see an acupuncturist who specializes in pediatric care. Remember, a child’s progress depends on a multitude of factors, and his or her well-being relies heavily on health providers staying on the same page about the plan of care.
http://medholistic.com/global_developmental_delay
