I’ve been reading about applications on the cognitive developmental delay in children born during the COVID pandemic. My child’s case is delayed speech in terms of expected milestones, as in forming 2 or more words-sentences, while the behaviour and motor skills are meeting expectations. Some of my colleagues face the similar description for theirnown offspring, yet had their kids “diagnosed“ as ”ADHD“, ”behavioural issues“, as well as ”Autism spectrum”. Fearing that we are facing the same “Hasty diagnosis outbreak” as in our attempts to “understand and resolve COVID” by March 2020, and before anyone offer giving my child Choloroquin, could you share some input?
Here's what I’ve found so far in this topic:
A study by Giesbrecht et al. (2023) found that infants born during the pandemic exhibited lower mean scores and higher odds of screening positive for delay in communication, gross motor, and personal-social domains compared to those born before the pandemic. The differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic-born infants were small, but the increased risk for delayed development suggested the need for ongoing monitoring and support for healthy child development.
Another study highlighted a significant decrease in cognitive performance among infants born during the pandemic, with reduced verbal, non-verbal, and overall cognitive performance compared to pre-pandemic children. This research emphasized the notable decline in cognitive performance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to an average decrease of 27-37 points in cognitive performance measures for infants born since mid-2020.
Furthermore, a cohort study in Japan found that children exposed to the pandemic were 4.39 months behind in development at age 5 years compared with those not exposed. This study underscored the widened variations in development during the pandemic, regardless of age, and the importance of identifying children with delayed development to provide necessary support for learning, socialization, and mental health.
For supporting children facing developmental delays, especially in speech and social development, techniques such as shared book reading and engaging children in conversations about words and their meanings are beneficial. These approaches can help children develop larger vocabularies, better reading comprehension, and a stronger awareness of the connection between words and sounds, crucial for reading and writing.
These studies collectively underline the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the developmental trajectories of children born during this period. They call for concerted efforts in monitoring, identifying, and supporting children at risk of developmental delays to mitigate long-term effects on their growth and learning.
References:
Certainly, here are the citations for the studies mentioned, formatted in APA style:
1. Giesbrecht, G. F., Lebel, C., Dennis, C.-L., Silang, K., Xie, E. B., Tough, S., McDonald, S., & Tomfohr-Madsen, L. (2023). Risk for Developmental Delay Among Infants Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic. *Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 44*(6), e412–e420. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000001197
2. Deoni, S. C., Beauchemin, J., Volpe, A., & D’Sa, V. (2022). The COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Child Cognitive Development: A Comparison of Development in Children Born During the Pandemic and Historical References. *medRxiv*. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.21261846
3. Sato, K., Fukai, T., Fujisawa, K. K., & Nakamuro, M. (2023). Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Childhood Development. *JAMA Pediatrics, 177*(9), 930–938. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.2096
4. Allen, A. A. (n.d.). Pandemic Babies Are Facing Speech & Social Development Delays. 5 Ways to Help. *The 74*. Retrieved from https://www.the74million.org/article/pandemic-babies-are-facing-speech-social-development-delays-5-ways-to-help/
These citations include the key studies that explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's speech and cognitive development, formatted according to APA guidelines.
It could be just speech delay. But it is always better to go for a thorough assessment for ASD. We cannot draw a casual relationship between these two things. It's better that you go for a assessment and take therapy.
As a foster carer, I know many other carers looking after children born in this period, there seems to be a dividing line between those who were in care from birth in larger families and children who came into care later who were from families with no other children.
the children in care from birth (were no FASD , or abstinence syndrome is present)
due to the constant interaction with adults and many children, these children are open to interaction and have normal language development and seem to be hitting milestones.
Those children from smaller social groups seam to have language delay and are less willing to interact with others, it takes two to three years of intensive therapeutic care for children to start to catch up.
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