A person’s development can be affected by many personal factors, these are some

personal factors that may affect development;

Health- If a child has poor health this will affect their physical development and their
social development if they must take a lot of time off school. A child with asthma won’t
be able to take part in physical activities as easily as a child without and may need an
inhaler to help with breathlessness or may need to sit out of certain physical activities,
resulting in a slower physical development rate. A child born to a mother who drinks
excessively or takes drugs during pregnancy is at risk of being born prematurely or with
a low birth weight which can lead to learning difficulties and a slow growth rate.

A visual or hearing impairment would almost certainly affect all aspects of a person’s
development. A person who doesn’t see well will often be excluded from some physical
activities because of their safety so for example, may not be able to join in with a
football game. A person who is hard of hearing will not be able to communicate as
effectively as other children so may lack sufficient social skills.

Genetics- A child born with Down’s Syndrome will likely have mild to moderate learning
difficulties as well as different physical appearance which could lead to being bullied by
their peers. Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive disability that affects the brain. It affects
the motor functions of the body resulting in limited movement therefore, affecting
physical development.

Communication/language difficulties- A person may be unable to communicate

effectively with adults or other children because they struggle with speech, they may
need to see a speech therapist. If a child doesn’t speak English as a first language this
could cause a barrier and effect their social development and their relationship with
their peers. A communication barrier could cause a child to feel left out and frustrated.

Learning difficulties-  There are many different levels of learning difficulties, some are
very minor and are not always noticed, but others are very apparent, and support must
be put in place to help in any areas needed. A person with learning difficulties may
struggle with reading, writing and socializing. They may get frustrated with themselves
and others when they can’t communicate their needs effectively or can’t perform the
task they have been set.

Down’s Syndrome; Down’s syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome in your cells. A

person with Down’s syndrome will have mild to moderate physical and intellectual
delays, but also differ in appearance which can lead to bullying in school therefore,
impacting their social development as well as the intellectual delays impacting their
educational development. some people with Down’s syndrome will also have other
health related issues such as, heart problems and sometimes hearing and sight
impairments.

Cerebral palsy; A condition that affects movement and co-ordination. A child/young

person with cerebral palsy will not only struggle with physical development but may
also suffer with speech and language issues as well as other health complications such
as, epilepsy and seizures.

Cystic fibrosis; A genetic condition affecting respiratory, digestive and reproductive

systems. It affects the sweat and mucus glands making mucus dense and sticky which in
turn causes the air passages in lungs to become blocked and trap infection causing
bacteria and ultimately causes damage to lungs.  Other symptoms of cystic fibrosis are
liver damage, poor growth and diarrhea.

Fetal alcohol syndrome; When an expectant mother drinks excessively they are exposing
the unborn child to a similar strength of alcohol as the mother is taking in. Symptoms
are different for each pregnancy, however, may include learning difficulties, slow
physical growth rate, damage to major organs such as, the heart, liver and kidneys.
There is no proven ‘safe amount’ of alcohol during pregnancy but it is recommended
that expectant mothers should not drink any alcohol at all.

Learning disabilities can include;

Autism; Autism is a developmental disability that affects a person’s communication and

how they understand the world. A child/young person with autism struggles to
understand tone of voice or facial expressions. They can feel isolated from their peers as
they find interaction difficult. This may very well affect their social and emotional
development. Each person with autism have very different experiences, no two people
on the autism spectrum will present the same way.

Asperger’s Syndrome; A disorder closely related to autism. People with Asperger’s are
usually quite intelligent and don’t have the learning disabilities related with autism
although, they may still struggle to understand and process language.

Dyslexia; A child with dyslexia will find it difficult to learn to read and write, this will
certainly impact their educational development as well as their self-worth and may also
cause behavioural problems.
Each disability will affect each child/young person differently and affect each person’s
development differently. Any learning disability can be diagnosed at any point of
development. The earlier the identification for the child and for putting in place support
and help needed to help the child reach each stage of development.

A lot of physical disabilities will be obvious from birth and any medical procedures can
be performed and any help needed can be put in place as soon as possible to aid all
aspects of development.