What is a milestone?

Milestones are developmental achievements that children grow into and through. These milestones are important because they indicate that a child is developing normally and acquiring the necessary skills to progress to more complex tasks and abilities.

Some examples of a physical milestone are bringing their feet to their mouth, crawling, standing, and walking.

Some examples of a speech milestone are making sounds with their mouths, saying words, and pronouncing more difficult sounds “ch, th, cr”.

Some examples of hand milestones are gripping and releasing objects, gripping with two fingers, and holding a pencil.

How does a physiotherapist assess my child?

By using assessment tools developed through scientific research, a trained physiotherapist can assess your child’s physical abilities and consider whether they are in the ‘normal’ zone for their age and skill level. 

My child is not moving at the same level as others in my mother’s group.

Every child will develop different skills at different rates, some children even skip milestones! We are not too strict on milestone development, but we like to check there isn’t a controllable or concerning reason for a child not developing at the same rate as others their age.

How do I get my child assessed?

Assessments must be conducted by an appropriately trained health care professional. As a general rule (though there are always exceptions to this!),

Physical assessment – trained physiotherapist,

Hand control movements and some social skills – trained paediatric occupational therapist,

Speech – paediatric speech pathologist,

Some social skills – trained paediatric psychologist.

My child has been identified as having a developmental delay, what next?

This is a varied answer, again, everyone is different!

The health care professional who assessed you may like to do some therapy to assist your child. They may refer you for investigations through your GP, paediatrician, or Perth Children’s Hospital to identify why your child is experiencing a delay. The therapist may also refer you on to a more experienced professional in that field. 

Usually delays occur because everyone is different, and your child may just need a little boost through some targeted therapy.