Your children do not have to be the same as you, nor reach developmental milestones when you achieved them: Every child has to carry a curvebut this has to be ascending and improving. That is why it is important to know what the warning signs are that indicate that child development is (or is not) adequate. “Until very recently, it was thought that just the genes determined brain development. Currently, it is known that the interaction between these, the environment and early experiences is what allows the brain to develop the maximum potential with which we were born,” explains the prestigious neuropediatrician Rocío Calvo, from the Center for Advanced Neurology of Malaga, CNAa pioneering center in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological pathologies, where this expert increasingly sees more neurodevelopmental disorders in consultation. “Partly, due to greater social surveillance, something that is useful because now there are means to help these children, either through early care, or school support, etc.,” he reasons.
«At birth we have a brain with millions of cells, neurons. They transmit information and create a network of connections. This network is regulated by the experiences and stimuli that the baby receives. With appropriate and sufficient stimuli, the connections will be the most effective, and the child will achieve the best possible development,” he says.
«This -argues Dr. Calvo- is very important in the key period of the first years of life, where the brain is molded. Connections that are not useful or that are not used disappear and those most useful for the individual’s life are reinforced, which will lay the foundations for learning, development and adaptation to the world. This is what is known as the brain plasticity and synaptic pruning. Plasticity continues throughout life, although this capacity decreases with age,” he acknowledges.
Other important moments for brain development, he continues, “we find them in the school stage – in which adaptation and promoting autonomy are vital – and in adolescence, when the brain receives hormonal and vital stimuli that are key to becoming a mature adult. . At all these moments of development, present neurological problems “It can break the evolutionary harmony and cause problems for the future,” warns the neuropediatrician.
According to Dr. Rocío Calvo, society is increasingly aware of the importance of take care of the child’s brain through a healthy life, correct nutrition, adequate stimuli and collaboration with professionals who work with children. But, this expert remembers, “the current world is also plagued by distractions and harmful stimuli that parents themselves and the way of life we have today have encouraged: The lack of social and outdoor life, the excessive use of devices and new technologies, the loss of good structure and organization in the child’s daily life due to work-life balance problems…”
In this regard, the doctor recalls that inappropriate use of new technologies results in a loss of opportunities for communication, learning motor tasks, attention control, use of literacy, development of imagination and physical play, fundamental for motor development. “How many children now don’t know how to ride a bicycle or jump rope!” laments this neuropediatrician.
This use affects not only the direct development of brain areas and social resources and relationships with the environment, but it can also, Calvo specifically, “alter sleep rhythms; promote inattention (there are studies that show that children with more than 2 hours/day in front of the screen have a greater risk of meeting the criteria for ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), in addition to promoting a sedentary lifestyle, and with it overweight and poor development of agility and motor control.
Warning signs that should be consulted with neuropaediatrics
Regarding the stages or milestones that the child must reach according to his or her age, “there are some warning signs that indicate that childhood neurodevelopment is not evolving as expected. These warning signs can and “must be identified early”according to Dr. Rocío Calvo. “A timely assessment when in doubt can allow us to anticipate events and be quick to find the cause and be able to recommend the specific therapies or treatments that our patient needs.”
These are, according to Dr. Calvo, some of the cases in which families should consult a neuropediatrician as soon as possible:
Delay in reaching developmental milestones (walking, sitting, talking…)
– Disorders in the ability to speak or relate, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Such as hypotonia, low strength or reactivity in the baby, gait disorder in the child.
Episodes of seizures, frequent fainting, episodes of abnormal movements.
Recurrent or intense headaches that affect daily life.
Movement disorders, tics, abnormal movements.
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Learning or behavioral problems
Learning or behavioral problems: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (better known by its acronym ADHD), unjustified behavioral changes.
Sleep problems.
Loss of previously acquired skills.
Genetic or metabolic conditions that impact neurological development.
If necessary, it is advisable to look for a good neuropediatrician to help with all these uncertainties. This specialist, he explains, “treats a very broad spectrum of disorders, ranging from the brain in its normal development and its diseases, to the peripheral nervous system and its connections with the muscle.”
Thus, Calvo specifies, “in consultation we look at more banal and common processes, such as headaches or some delay in maturational milestones, we follow up on a patient with a possible risk of developing neurological problems, such as a child born prematurely. .. Or more complex diseases such as epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder follow; learning and school problems; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; degenerative diseases of the nervous system; neuromuscular diseases; infantile cerebral palsy and its comprehensive care or diseases of genetic origin that affect development, among others.
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