INTRODUCTION
Development refers to qualitative & quantitative changes and gaining a variety of competence for performing optimally in a social setting. Developmental delay is said to exist if the child does not reach developmental milestones at the expected age. Human development is a multifaceted observable fact. It comprises of physical development, intellectual development, personality and social development. Development of a child is influenced by many factors that can mainly be categorized into genetic (intrinsic) & environmental (extrinsic). Children are placed at genetic risk by being born with a genetic or chromosomal abnormality. Environmental risk results from exposure to harmful
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First, most aspects of individual competence are multidetermined. This means that interventions designed to facilitate development must be multifocal in nature, integrating influences from different domains. Second, influences upon children's development tend to be specific in nature. This emphasizes the importance of targeting specific interventions to specific outcomes. Third, individual developmental influences rarely operate in isolation from each other. Developmental risk factors tend to cluster together, as do developmentally protective influences. The extent of the impact of a given developmental risk factor will depend, in part, on the degree to which this risk factor covaries with other risk factors. Fourth, developmental risk and protective factors operate across time. Early exposure to developmental risks may increase the individual's susceptibility to later risk factors (sensitizing) or may limit the degree to which the individual is exposed. (Chilton M,