Developmental Delays in Children Blamed on the Pandemic Response

A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 1 in 10 children in the US were diagnosed with a developmental delay in 2021. This is a rise from prior years. Specifically, developmental delays in children ages 3-17 rose from 5.1% in 2018 to 6.1% in 2021.

Benjamin Zablotsky, Ph.D., a statistician for the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and lead author of the new report clarified, “A lot of times developmental delays might be temporary diagnoses that evolve into something like autism, potentially, or intellectual disability.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, when a child is slow to reach one or more developmental milestones when compared to their peers, they are diagnosed with a developmental delay.

Brian Hooker, Ph.D., senior director of science and research for Children’s Health Defense, has this to say about the reports findings:

“Given the draconian lockdown measures, it is no wonder that more children are lagging behind in development. School closures, ineffective online learning, masking and lack of socialization place a huge burden on children, and I believe this is why we’re seeing the effects of non-optimal learning now.”

Link to the Defender article here.

Image credit: Yannis H on Unsplash