These affect a child’s muscle tone, coordination, or movement. They can include conditions such as cerebral palsy and may make it harder for a child to sit, crawl, walk, or use fine motor skills like grasping objects.
Developmental Disabilities
A developmental disability diagnosis can leave a family with more questions than answers. This page is here to help you understand what a developmental disability is, what may have caused it, and what options your family may have.
What is a developmental disability?
A developmental disability is a broad term for a group of conditions that affect a child’s physical, cognitive, communication, or behavioral development. These conditions typically appear before school age and can affect a child for life. Some children with a developmental disability have a single diagnosis, such as cerebral palsy or an intellectual disability, while others experience delays across several areas of development.
Not every child who is slow to reach a milestone has a developmental disability. Many children catch up on their own. A developmental disability is generally diagnosed when delays are significant, persistent, and affect more than one area of a child’s growth.
Signs and symptoms of developmental disabilities
- Delayed rolling over, sitting up, crawling, or walking compared to other children the same age
- Weak muscle tone, stiffness, or difficulty controlling movement
- Limited vocabulary, unclear speech, or trouble understanding language
- Difficulty following simple instructions or learning new skills
- Trouble with social interaction, eye contact, or emotional regulation
- Falling behind academically or struggling with reading, writing, or math once school begins.
Learn more about developmental delays.
What are some causes of developmental disabilities?
Developmental disabilities can have many causes, and in most cases the cause is a combination of factors rather than a single event. Some are genetic or unrelated to a child’s birth. Others are connected to what happened during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the newborn period, including:
- Oxygen deprivation: When a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood before or during delivery, it can damage the developing brain. This is often tied to issues such as prolonged labor, umbilical cord complications, or a failure to recognize fetal distress.
- Traumatic delivery: Excessive force during delivery, including the improper use of forceps or a vacuum extractor, or a mishandled breech or shoulder dystocia delivery, can injure a baby’s brain, spine, or nerves.
- Untreated jaundice: Severe, untreated newborn jaundice can lead to a rare but serious condition called kernicterus, which can cause lasting developmental and hearing impairments.
- Infections: Maternal infections during pregnancy or infections such as group B strep, neonatal sepsis, or meningitis in a newborn can affect brain development if not identified and treated promptly.
- Premature birth complications: Babies born prematurely face a higher risk of developmental disabilities, particularly when complications such as bleeding in the brain are not properly monitored or managed.
When a developmental disability may be a sign of medical malpractice
Not every developmental disability is the result of medical malpractice. Many are caused by genetics or factors no doctor could have prevented. However, when a child’s developmental disability follows a pregnancy, labor, or delivery that did not go as it should have, it is worth asking whether a preventable medical error played a role. The following scenarios may point to negligence:
- A failure to properly monitor the baby’s heart rate for signs of fetal distress during labor
- A delayed response to signs of distress or not receiving enough oxygen
- Improper or excessive use of forceps, a vacuum extractor, or other delivery tools
- A failure to recognize or timely treat a maternal or newborn infection
- Errors in the use of labor-inducing or labor-enhancing medications
- A failure to order a timely C-section when the evidence called for one
- A failure to recognize and treat severe newborn jaundice before it caused lasting harm
Determining whether any of these scenarios apply to your child’s situation requires a careful review of the medical record. At Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC, our attorneys work with independent medical experts to examine what happened during your pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and to help your family understand whether a preventable error contributed to your child’s diagnosis.
Treatment and long-term outlook
There is no single treatment for a developmental disability, and a child’s needs often depend on the specific diagnosis and its severity. Many children benefit from a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and early intervention programs. Special education services and individualized learning plans can also help children build skills at their own pace as they grow.
Early diagnosis and intervention generally give children the best opportunity to build skills and independence, though outcomes vary from child to child and no specific result can be promised. Many families also face significant, ongoing costs for therapy, medical care, and educational support, which is often part of why families explore whether a preventable error contributed to their child’s condition.
Areas of Impact: Developmental Disabilities
Recognizing the types of developmental disabilities.
Developmental disabilities are generally grouped into a few broad categories. Understanding where your child’s challenges fall can help you ask the right questions, pursue the right evaluations, and connect with therapies suited to your child’s needs.
Physical and motor disabilities
Cognitive and intellectual disabilities
These affect a child’s ability to learn, reason, and solve problems. They can range from mild learning differences to more significant intellectual disabilities that affect memory, comprehension, and daily functioning.
Communication and language disabilities
These affect a child’s ability to understand or use language. A child may be slow to speak, have a limited vocabulary, or struggle to form words or follow conversations compared to peers of the same age.
Social, emotional, and behavioral disabilities
These affect how a child relates to others and regulates their emotions. They can include difficulty with eye contact, social interaction, transitions, or managing frustration, and can occur alongside other developmental disabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about developmental disabilities.
We know a diagnosis can raise more questions than it answers, so here are honest answers to some of the questions families ask most.
How is a developmental disability related to conditions like cerebral palsy or HIE?
A developmental disability is a broad, umbrella term rather than a specific diagnosis. Conditions such as cerebral palsy or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are specific injuries that can cause a child to experience developmental delays or disabilities. A child can have a developmental disability without a diagnosed underlying condition, or a diagnosed condition without significant developmental delays. Learn more on our birth injury page.
Is a developmental disability always caused by medical malpractice?
No. Developmental disabilities can be caused by genetics, prematurity, or factors that have nothing to do with the care a mother and baby received. However, some are connected to preventable errors during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. The only way to know whether medical negligence played a role in your child’s diagnosis is to have the medical record reviewed by an attorney and medical experts familiar with birth injury cases.
What treatment options are available for a child with a developmental disability?
Treatment depends on the child’s specific diagnosis and needs, but often includes physical, occupational, and speech therapy, early intervention programs, and individualized education plans once a child reaches school age. A pediatrician or developmental specialist can help build a treatment plan suited to your child, and early support generally gives children the best chance to build skills over time.
How long do families have to file a claim involving a developmental disability caused by a birth injury?
The deadline to file, known as the statute of limitations, varies by state and can depend on factors such as the child’s age and when the injury was discovered. Because these deadlines can be shorter than families expect, and because some states allow more time for claims involving minors, it is important to speak with an attorney as soon as you suspect your child’s condition may be connected to a birth injury, even before you have a full diagnosis.
