Developmental disorders are a group of conditions that originate during childhood and impact physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. These disorders can affect various areas such as language, learning, behavior, and motor skills. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial in managing these disorders and improving outcomes.

In most cases, the functions affected include language, visuo-spatial skills and/or motor coordination. It is characteristic for the impairments to lessen progressively as children grow older (although milder deficits often remain in adult life). Usually, the history is of a delay or impairment that has been present from as early as it could be reliably detected, with no prior period of normal development. Most of these conditions are several times more common in boys than in girls. It is characteristic of developmental disorders that a family history of similar or related disorders is common, and there is presumptive evidence that genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of many (but not all) cases.

Understanding developmental disorders involves recognizing the diverse range of conditions that can affect childhood development. With proper support, individuals with developmental disorders can achieve their potential and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

Furthermore, there is overlap with the other developmental disorders in terms of both the features of individual cases and familiar clustering.

Environmental factors often influence the developmental functions affected but in most cases they are not of paramount influence. However, although there is generally good agreement on the overall conceptualization of disorders in this section, the etiology in most cases is unknown and there is continuing uncertainty regarding both the boundaries and the precise subdivisions of developmental disorders. Moreover, two types of condition are included in this block that does not entirely meet the broad conceptual definition outlined above.

First:

There are disorders in which there has been an undoubted phase of prior normal development, such as the childhood disintegrative disorder, the Landau-Kleffner syndrome, and some cases of autism. These conditions are included because, although their onset is different, their characteristics and course have many similarities with the group of developmental disorders; moreover it is not known whether or not they are etiologically distinct.

Second:

There are disorders that are defined primarily in terms of deviance rather than delay in developmental functions; this applies especially to autism. Autistic disorders are included in this block because, although defined in terms of deviance, developmental delay of some degree is almost invariable.

The prognosis for individuals with developmental disorders varies widely depending on the specific disorder, severity, and the effectiveness of interventions. Early diagnosis and comprehensive, ongoing support can significantly improve outcomes, enabling many individuals to lead productive and fulfilling lives.