Growth and development of the child is the transformation of a dependent living being into a self-supporting resourceful individual of the future.

After birth, the child survives with the help of others and looks out for assistance in each action. It is the growth of the tissues and development of various skills that converts the child into a normal adult.

Growth and development are mainly influenced by Genetic and Environmental factors.

The genetic factors may include race, sex, the intelligence quotient of the parents, absence of genetic and chromosomal abnormalities, etc

Environmental factors include those prevailing before birth (Prenatal) and those after birth (Postnatal). The prenatal factors may include mother’s nutrition, her endocrinal status, and her mental status, drug abuse, irradiations, and placental factors.

Postnatal may include the neonatal complications, birth injuries, nutrition, social and cultural factors, trauma, etc. Thus, growth and development of the child are continuous and orderly processes influenced by many number of factors.

Developmental disorders are those, which occur because of genetic abnormalities or environmental causes. These disorders can be progressive i.e worsening of the condition with age or can be non-progressive.

These disorders invariably affect either one or all of the developmental fields such as gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, personal social, speech and language, hearing and emotional faculties. Each developmental field has its own sequence and failure and/or delay in achieving that sequence may affect the child’s development and thus its future.

Developmental disorders include conditions like cerebral palsy, erb’s palsy, muscular dystrophies, myopathies, Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) like autism, attention deficit- hyperactivity disorder, epilepsies, etc.