Every child has his own pace.
Children develop according to a natural basic pattern that is subject to individual fluctuations. If certain threshold values are undershot, one speaks of a developmental delay.The human brain is neurobiologically primed to learn very specific skills at a specific stage of child development. Therefore, during child development exist several Development phaseswhich flow smoothly into each other.
Development takes place on different levels at the same time, which in turn influence each other positively. Here are some examples of "development programs
- Vision
- Hearing
- Language development
- Motor development
- Mental development
- Social development
- Emotional development
- Sex Development
At the same time, however, there are also "Time Window" in development that need to be taken into account.
We adults know the phenomenon when learning a foreign language. We laboriously listen to a foreign language and learn grammar and vocabulary by translating terms from our mother tongue. However, if we learn another language in the first 2 years of life by being consistently raised bilingually, this is a "language acquisition" that is much more sustainable and also faster.
Language acquisition means "learning the rules of the respective mother tongue and learning how to express one's own thoughts and feelings with language, how to perform actions and how to be understood by others. In this process, non-verbal signals such as facial expressions and gestures are also significant." (from Klann-Delius, G. (1999). Language acquisition. Stuttgart: Metzeler)
So basically the same goal, learning a language, but in different time windows. Raised bilingually, however, we will always master the 2nd language better and pronounce it without accent than if we learn it at a later time.
Our task is therefore to record the developmental status at various levels of your child, to match it with the corresponding time window and, if necessary, to initiate necessary therapy steps from this. If these developmental delays are identified too late, it becomes increasingly tedious and sometimes impossible to catch up. So be careful with the remark "it will grow out" or "he/she is a late developer" if you are unsure yourself. It is better to let a specialist carry out the appropriate examination so that support can be initiated early enough.
Take note of your questions and observation, even if they are just unsure. Here also applies: "there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers."
If you have any questions, here is the Questionnaire.