Home Support for Global Developmental Delay

Who this program is for

• Children with global or general developmental delay across more than one area
• Parents who feel unsure where to start and want a whole-child plan
• Families waiting for, or between, assessments and therapy
• Children whose skills sit below what is usual for their age
• Anyone wanting to help without pressure, at their child’s own level

Your step-by-step roadmap

Move at your child’s pace, not the calendar’s — the “weeks” are just a gentle order, not a race. Feel free to repeat any stage for as long as it’s helping.

1. Stage 1 — Notice where your child is now

   Gently map your child’s current level in each area to find the next step.
   • Over a normal week, just watch how your child communicates, moves, plays, thinks and manages self-help.
   • For each area, jot down what they can already do — that, not their age, is your real starting line.
   • Pick the very next small step in each area, rather than a goal that’s way off ahead.

   Try this: Aim just one step above where your child is right now — close enough to reach, so success comes often.

   Mark week done

2. Stage 2 — Connect and communicate

   Build back-and-forth interaction and early communication.
   • Get face to face, follow your child’s lead, and pause to give them plenty of time to respond.
   • Treat every sound, look or gesture as if it were a whole message — and answer it.
   • Add simple signs, gestures or pictures alongside your words to make the meaning clear.

   Try this: Wait longer than feels natural after you speak — that quiet gap is often the moment your child steps in.

   Mark week done

3. Stage 3 — Move and explore

   Support motor skills so your child can reach the world around them.
   • Build active play into each day at your child’s level — reaching, rolling, sitting, cruising or walking.
   • Set toys just within reach to invite the next movement, and lend support for balance where it’s needed.
   • Break each new movement into tiny parts and celebrate every small gain in strength and control.

   Try this: Pop a favourite toy slightly out of reach — it gives your child a gentle, motivating reason to move towards it.

   Mark week done

4. Stage 4 — Play and think

   Grow play skills, since play is how young children learn to think.
   • Match play to your child’s level: cause-and-effect toys, posting, stacking, then simple pretend.
   • Show one new play idea, then sit back and let your child try it in their own way.
   • Use everyday things — cups, boxes, spoons — to explore in, out, on, under and “what happens if”.

   Try this: Repeat the same simple play many times before you add anything new — mastery first, variety later.

   Mark week done

5. Stage 5 — Everyday self-help

   Turn daily routines into learning for independence.
   • Break eating, dressing and washing into tiny steps, and let your child do the easiest step first.
   • Keep the same order and the same simple words each time — that’s how repetition does its work.
   • Offer small, real choices so your child practises deciding and telling you, right inside the routine.

   Try this: Hand over the last step of a routine first — finishing it themselves gives your child a real “I did it”.

   Mark week done

6. Stage 6 — Repeat, embed and generalise

   Help new skills stick and spread into everyday life.
   • Practise the same skill in different rooms, with different people and different objects.
   • Keep sessions short, frequent and playful rather than long and effortful.
   • Once a step feels solid, gently nudge the bar up to the next small step in that area.

   Try this: You know a skill is truly learned when your child uses it somewhere new without your help — that’s your green light to move on.

   Mark week done

7. Stage 7 — Work with your team

   Join up home support with assessment and therapy.
   • Keep a simple note of new skills and any concerns to share at your appointments.
   • Ask your therapists which one or two goals are worth focusing on at home right now.
   • Weave any exercises they give you into everyday play rather than running them as separate drills.

   Try this: Bring your notes and a short phone video to appointments — real examples help your team give you the most useful next steps.

   Mark week done

Little tricks that make it work

• Follow your child’s developmental level, not their age — it keeps every task within reach.
• One tiny step at a time, with lots of repetition, beats trying to do everything at once.
• Keep routines predictable — the same words and the same order help learning stick.
• Celebrate effort and the small wins; steady, slow progress is still progress.
• If you haven’t had an assessment yet, push for one — it can uncover support you didn’t know was there.