developmental disability

noun

plural developmental disabilities

: any of various conditions (such as autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, blindness, or fragile X syndrome) that usually become apparent during infancy or childhood and are marked by delayed development or functional limitations especially in learning, language, communication, cognition, behavior, socialization, or mobility

Two to three babies in 1,000 have cerebral palsy (CP), making it one of the most common developmental disabilities.

—Melanie Howard

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and relates to other people.

—Braema Mathi

developmentally disabled adjective

developmentally disabled students

Examples of developmental disability in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Researchers have found that mental health workers are often unprepared to work with people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or may chalk up symptoms to their disabilities, rather than overlapping needs. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2024

Hollywood residents had the highest rate of overdoses (40%) and nearly a quarter of them reported developmental disability, nearly three times the rate in Venice. —Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024

Nineteen of the Tahoe Park cafe’s 21 employees have mental, physical and/or developmental disabilities. —Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 13 June 2024

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that causes people to communicate, interact and learn differently from neurotypical people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

developmental disability

noun

: any of various conditions (as autism, cerebral palsy, or intellectual disability) that are marked by delayed or impaired development (as in learning, language, or mobility)

developmentally disabled adjective

Medical Definition

developmental disability

noun

: any of various conditions (as autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, blindness, or fragile X syndrome) that usually become apparent during infancy or childhood and are marked by delayed development or functional limitations especially in learning, language, communication, cognition, behavior, socialization, or mobility

Two to three babies in 1,000 have cerebral palsy (CP), making it one of the most common developmental disabilities.

—Melanie Howard

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and relates to other people.

—Braema Mathi

developmentally disabled adjective

developmentally disabled children