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WHAT IS IT LIKE TO RAISE A GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY (GDD) CHILD
By Derwina binti Daud

Imagine this.
You wanted your child to clean up her messy bedroom, you called her many times, but she
was nowhere to be found. Not a click sound, not even sounds of footsteps. You became
curious, and you got up from your seat to search for her, there she was, sitting nicely in her
room doing nothing. You caught her gaze, but she did not respond to you; no blinking, no
smiles. Nothing, except blank gaze.

As a normal human being, the first emotion that crosses your mind of course
anger and probably the thought of pinching or even spanking her. But, as soon as you
entered her room, you also did nothing, except to realise the fact that she will not be able to
comprehend your instructions clearly, let alone executing the instructions.

Yes, that is what we have been facing for the past eight years, and probably
for the rest of her life; our youngest child has been diagnosed with Global Developmental
Delay (GDD) since the age of 5. The moment we were informed, we were glad that finally
someone in authority said something about her condition. All this while, we thought that she
may suffer from ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder); in fact when she was in her preschool, the
teacher said the same thing.

I still remember few incidences when she was in her preschool; she refused to
enter the school, she even refused to make friends with other kids. She spent the first few
months in “isolation”, although she was in the class. I must admit that we felt bad, so bad
about this. Most of other parents must have thought that our child is a snob, for refusing to
play with their children.

The truth is, some of GDD traits are very similar to ASD, and one of the traits
is that children with ASD and GDD dislike when their routines are disrupted, and when their
routines are compromised, this may cause meltdown (a condition where an autistic child finds
it difficult to express their feelings appropriately). This happened very often in the first few
years of my child’s life, I would say up until she was about 5, and slowly disappearing when
she entered primary school. Other parents with ASD children may have their way to console
their children during the meltdown period, but we have our own way. Our therapist suggested
to us that hugging would actually help her when she is experiencing meltdowns; to be
specific, hugging her from her back, while caressing her hair and kissing her head, and
slowly bring her down to a sitting position.
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