developmental disability

[dih-vel-uhp-muhn-tl dis-uh-bil-i-tee]

noun

1. a disability, as autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy, that impairs physical, intellectual, language, or other development, beginning at an early age and continuing indefinitely, impacting day-to-day functioning.

developmental disability

1. A mental or physical disability, such as cerebral palsy or mental retardation, that is present during childhood, interferes with normal physical, intellectual, or emotional development, and usually lasts throughout life.

Other Word Forms

• developmentally disabled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of developmental disability¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Federal laws forbid references to the patient’s mental health, substance use, developmental disability or HIV status.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The new wording noted that the DAS program, then the most popular at the park, was “intended to accommodate those guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This year, state lawmakers appropriated more than $106 million to increase Medicaid rates for mental health and developmental disability service providers.

Read more on Salon

That final goal is the “bedrock” of Georgia’s mental health and developmental disability system, Goico said.

Read more on Salon

Between 2020 and 2021, the number of California children and teens served by the state developmental disability system who were deemed to have “complex needs” — a state term for those who needed a range of crisis services or landed in a locked psychiatric ward — rose from 536 to 677, according to a report released last year by the California Department of Developmental Services.

Read more on Los Angeles Times