The first stages of a child’s development is very critical. Some say that these stages are the most important stages in shaping your personality and ability to function. When a child grows at the rate of their developmental benchmarks, it means the child is developing at the average speed. Some factors that could speed up a child’s development are factors such as the child’s environment, cognitive ability, and child motivation/support from parents. Unfortunately, some children don’t always meet these developmental benchmarks. Some children have a slow or delayed development that affect social and educational aspects of their life.
One historical person that did not meet the ‘developmental benchmarks’ was Albert Einstein. Einstein syndrome is a diagnosis used to children who visual skills develop faster than their speech. These types of children can also be referred to as ‘late talkers’. Albert Einstein was also a late talker, hence why the syndrome is named after him. Einstein did not speak until he was 9 years old. Although he couldn’t speak, he was very smart and was always interested in the laws of science but not everybody believed in him like teachers. They believed he wouldn’t amount to anything. Albert Einstein is the perfect example of someone who did not meet ‘developmental benchmarks’, but still had a great impact on society. Albert Einstein is known to be the ‘Father of the Modern Science Age’. One of his most famous creations was the equation E= mc2, which was used in creating the atomic bomb.
One current person that did not meet the ‘developmental benchmark’ is Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg was born with dyslexia, which is a learning disability. A child with dyslexia will have trouble reading, writing, etc. Their learning process would take a much longer time than it would with someone who doesn’t have dyslexia. Growing up with dyslexia, Spielberg had a tough time in school. Steven, unlike his peers, learned to read much later than the average student. He was bullied because he was different than others and hated going to school. He later directed his energy towards filmmaking; he is known as one of the best/popular filmmakers.
Einstein and Spielberg showed very different benchmarks compared to the average developmental benchmarks. According to Jean Piaget, language is made up of symbols and structure but exhibits itself as a child's mental abilities mature. While Einstein’s speech did not mature as fast as children his age, his other skills such visual learning and good memory were much more mature and active. According to a theory on dyslexia, there is difficulty reading and interpreting words as well as late talking and difficulty understanding letters and numbers. Even though his reading and writing abilities were stunted, Spielberg did not let his dyslexia stop him. Some factors that could delay a child’s development are disorders such as cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, genetic disorders or Landau syndrome.
In my opinion, I believe developmental delays do not determine your intelligence or how successful you will be in the future. Developmental delays just go to show that every child is different and everybody grows at a different rate. Einstein and Spielberg are the perfect examples of two brilliant people who had setbacks in the early stages of their lives. They did not let their problems discourage them from doing great things in the world and in their lives. Their situations will always be an inspiration to people in the world who are battling disorders/parents who are worried about how their children are going to turn out later on.