Making meaning through play: a psychotherapeutic intervention in a preschool child with global developmental delay

The prevalence of global developmental delay is estimated to be 1 –3 percent of children under 5 years of age. The child psychiatric and psychoanalytic literature, however, is very limited regarding effective treatment modalities for preschool-aged children with severe and/or multiple developmental delays, and care today for these severely affected children ofte n is highly fragmented. A child with attentional difficulties, speech and language deficits, sensory sensitivity and motor/coordination problems, enuresis/encopresis, and/or learning disabilities might have one or more meetings a week with a speech therapist, a physical therapist, an occupational th erapist, a behavioral therapist, a tutor or educational therapist, and perhaps even a child psychiatrist.

Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - September 30, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Susan L. Donner, Stanley Leiken Tags: Honors Presentations 2 Source Type: research