Is my nephew delayed?

My nephew was born at 32 weeks, he is now 15 months (13 corrected). He does not crawl, try to stand (he can stand if given full support of an adult), or cruise. He sits unsupported, but will not make any effort to move from that position, and if he is laid down he makes no effort to roll over. Even my sister-in-law has said "Oh he will just sit there like lump." He appears to have okay hand-eye coordination, can feed himself things like goldfish crackers with prompting, but does not hold his bottle himself. He also still needs to be "burped." His language development also seems a bit off -in the week we just spent with them we never once heard him say anything like dada, baba (the usual early vocalizations). He is a very affectionate and happy little guy.  My sister in law refuses flat out to talk about this - and will tell one family member one thing and another something else. We are concerned that if he is delayed he is not receiving the assessments and follow up care that would seem necessary.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

There is no doubt that he is delayed in his motor development, and this may be due to his early birth. As you likely know, when children are born early they are prone to displaying some developmental slowness, though this does not necessarily predict permanent delays. In other words, he may well catch up - time will tell. For now, his development should be tracked by his pediatrician for the purpose of identifying any need for intervention.