Protective factor

• Among the key issues identified was that 20% of Australian children experience learning difficulties, developmental concerns, developmental delay or are found to have disability.
• This presents another challenge: which government systems outside the NDIS will embrace the large number of children who need developmental support?

What is a developmental delay?

• Many things can cause developmental delay.
• Developmental delay is a term commonly used in clinical practice, but not included in official diagnostic manuals like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.
• Developmental disabilities are included in official diagnostic manuals and include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability, specific learning disorders, communication disorders and developmental coordination disorder.

Developmental delay and the NDIS

The NDIS has a specific definition of developmental delay which encompasses three areas. Children are considered to have a developmental delay if their delay is:
• Around 11% of all NDIS participants are classified as having a developmental delay.
• There are also a significant number of children with developmental delay who are not within the NDIS.
• While there is a general community view that developmental delay is an increasing issue in Australia, there is a lack of data tracking over time to understand if this view is accurate.

Supporting children with developmental delay

• There has always been a large number of children experiencing developmental delay.
• But the fragmentation across state/territory and Commonwealth health and disability systems has meant the true scale of children struggling with development has not been clear.
• This figure is estimated to be a small proportion of the 20% of children who meet criteria for developmental delay.

Meeting children and families where they are

• Its future thriving is highly dependent on how our community supports children with developmental delay.
• Children with developmental delays receive supports within clinics, rather than in the natural settings in which they live and function every day.
• Building capacity to support children with developmental delay in their everyday contexts – at home, in childcare, kindergartens or preschools, in the local community – will be crucial to ensuring children with developmental delay and their families thrive into later childhood.

• CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI, July 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Young Canadians deserve to feel safe – both in their communities and online.
• The impact cyberbullying can be significant and far reaching, which is why the Government of Canada is taking important steps to keep young Canadians safe online.
• The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, today announced new federal support to fight cyberbullying and keep young people in Prince Edward Island safe online.
• That's why we're supporting projects that take direct aim at it, and keep young Canadians safe online.

• The NDIS independent review has released its interim report, which noted many more young children with developmental concerns were entering the scheme than was ever anticipated when it began ten years ago.
• However, less attention has been paid to another possibility: that there are actually more children than ever before who are struggling with developmental difficulties.

Early childhood development in Australia

• Early childhood is generally considered to be the period from birth to entry into primary school – typically around five years of age in Australia.
• Early childhood is a critical period of rapid growth and development in a child’s life.
• The Australian Early Development Census of more than 300,000 children entering primary school found slightly fewer children were “developmentally on track” in all areas of development – down from 55.4% in 2018 to 54.8% in 2021.
• At a time when Australia has never been wealthier, any backward shift in child development is a cause for concern.

Weakening of protective factors in early childhood

• Children learn best in the early years through a combination of play, exploration and social interaction.
• But these commodities are also finite – if they are spent in one place, then they must be taken away from somewhere else.
• The changes we have experienced as a society over the previous decades have put particular pressure on these commodities.
• Connectedness to community is one other protective factor for families, linking families to broader support as well as a sense of belonging.

Rebuilding protective factors

• Work can provide families with increased financial security, and parents with a sense of purpose and belonging outside of the demands of parenting.
• Digital technology has also created significant benefits to the community, including social connectedness through an online environment.
• However, we must also start the process of building back these protective factors for families.
• Read more:
  Don't forget play – 3 questions can help balance fun with supports and therapy for autistic children

• The University of La Verne has been awarded a $2.2 million U.S. Department of Education grant to establish the Institute of Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being.
• LA VERNE, Calif., June 28, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The University of La Verne has been awarded a $2.2 million U.S. Department of Education grant to establish the Institute of Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being — a significant driver for related campus and regional initiatives under the university's new College of Health and Community Well-Being.
• The institute was part of community project funding requests from longtime mental health advocate Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (District 31).
• Napolitano is a co-chair of the Mental Health Caucus and recently helped reintroduce the Mental Health Services for Students Act , a bill that aims to fund on-site mental health services for schools nationwide.