How to prevent and care for neurodevelopmental delay?

Neurodevelopmental delay requires timely intervention and training to improve the patient's ability to take care of themselves. It is also necessary to pay attention to examinations before or during pregnancy to rule out and prevent some infectious diseases or genetic diseases, and to strengthen education and training for children with the disease.

1. Primary prevention is mainly to eliminate the cause of the disease. It is necessary to carry out genetic counseling, avoid consanguineous marriage, strengthen prenatal care, pay attention to nutrition during pregnancy, avoid contact with harmful chemicals, quit smoking and drinking, absolutely prohibit the intake of drugs, avoid taking potentially teratogenic drugs, avoid exposure to radiation; prevent viral and protozoan infections; do a good job of prenatal examinations, prevent pregnancy complications, improve obstetric techniques, and avoid pathological deliveries. Do a good job in children's health care, implement planned immunization, prevent infectious diseases, especially nervous system infections, pay attention to nutrition and hygiene, prevent poisoning, and avoid brain trauma. Promote parenting knowledge, improve parents' cultural level, arrange a good parenting environment, provide good stimulation for infants and young children, and run preschool education well.

2. Secondary prevention: Early detection of diseases that may cause mental retardation and treatment before symptoms appear, thereby preventing brain damage. Work in this area includes prenatal diagnosis, neonatal metabolic disease screening, detection of heterozygotes for genetic diseases, birth defect monitoring, and health screening for preschool children with high-risk factors.

3. Tertiary prevention: Comprehensive measures are taken against brain diseases, injuries, defects, etc. When the disease has occurred, various comprehensive treatments are adopted to prevent or reduce the adverse consequences caused by the disease and prevent it from developing into intellectual disability. Treatment should be carried out from two aspects: medical, psychological and educational. To enable the sick child to take care of himself as much as possible, enhance his independence, and learn to interact with others and live in society.

4. For some congenital metabolic diseases, such as phenylketonuria, galactosemia, maple syrup urine disease, etc., early diagnosis and dietary treatment should be carried out as soon as possible. Treatment of congenital cretinism with thyroxine may improve intelligence. For homocystinuria, supplementation of its coenzymes (vitamin B6, B12) is required. For certain congenital cranial malformations such as craniosynostosis and congenital hydrocephalus, surgical treatment can relieve brain pressure and help its development. It is very important to strengthen education and training. School-age children with mild intellectual disability can receive education in ordinary primary schools, while those with moderate intellectual disability need to study in special education classes. Patients with severe or extremely serious illnesses will need lifelong care, but they can still be taught simple hygiene habits and basic living skills through long-term training. No drug has yet been found that is guaranteed to improve intelligence.