The 5 Areas of Child Development

Introduction There are 5 areas of childhood development examined in each evaluation of an infant or toddler suspected of having a developmental delay or disability. The 5 areas are (1) Cognitive Development; (2) Physical Development; (3) Communication Development; (4) Social or Emotional Development; and (5) Adaptive Development. This issue of NASET’s Parent Teacher Conference Handout will provide a quick synopsis of each of the 5 developmental areas.