Developmental delays?

[Natey's Momma]

My ramblings and sort of a release of my thougths.

I think I have pretty much determined that Nathan may be delayed a bit in his gross motor skills. He is 10 months old now. He doens't stand up holding on to anything or pull himself up to a stand. I know that all kids develop differently but I can't help but wonder if his cranio is causing it. Some of the main concerns is that he doesn't crawl on his hands and knees but scoots himself along on his belly but only uses his right foot to push off. In alot of things he does he favors his right foot. That seems to be his stronger side. He also used to jump alot in his jumperoo. Now he still loves his jumperoo but doens't jump at all. Thinking back to when he was a newborn he never had that stepping reflex either. He doesn't wave bye bye altho he did in the last week or so start to clap. Oh and another major this is his lack of head control. My thougth is that since his head is long and narrow it would be hard to keep it balanced. But shouldn't his neck muscles have learned to compensate for that. Also if he is on his belly scooting around, every 5-10 seconds he puts his head down almost as if he is resting it. He also lays it on my shoulder all the time. All of these things I think about and wonder "is this because of his cranio? Or is this just how Nathan is? Is it going to all magically go away after his surgery?" I keep looking at my 10 month old and just keep saying to myself "he doens't look or act like a 10 month old" I've thought that for months now. But the only thing I have to compare him to is my other son who was walking at 9 months and climbed over the baby gates at 10 months. OK that is my ramblings on and I feel like I just needed to let that out. Any thoughts?

[Etinker]

My daughter is also almost 10 months and is officially developmental delayed. There was an interesting study posted here the other day that said while 70-80& of the kids don't have delays there are definitely some that do. I just can't imagine having your brain squished in certain spots doesn't do something. Of course my CF said there are no developmental delays its just cosmetic.

Maya does not have any hand motions - still not clapping or waving good bye. She just started getting into sit last week. However she does pull to stand like crazy. mostly because she has high tone and likes to be extended all the time.

If you are really worried have her evaluated through early intervention. Its probably free in your state and if he is behind a little help couldn't hurt!
-Beth

[Natey's Momma]

I'm really thinking about looking more into early Intervention. My husband thinks that I'm rushing things, but I'd rather do it sooner than later. thanks for the input!

[angeleka]

We had Andrew tested. It is testing that our NS and CFS recommend for every patient. It is called neuropsychological testing. I was pretty sure there was something going on with Andrew pre op even though no one else seemed to see it. Andrew was incredibly strong, even right after birth. He could hold his head up with control the day we brought him home for the first time. He rolled over at three weeks. One day I started to realize that even though he was strong he could not crawl and did not grab things. He did an army crawl up until the day of surgery. Two or thee days after being home he pulled himself up and started to walk.
The tests showed he was advanced cognitively an din speech, but behind in fine and gross motor skills. Both seemed to improve amazingly right after surgery. He is still a bit behind in fine motor skills, IMO, but I can see him improving all of the time.
You have to remember though... ever kid is different. You can't compare him to anyone else. The only thing you can do is have him tested to see where he is in his own right, not how he compares to others. It is hard. I know of kids who never crawled. My nephew did not ever crawl. One day he pulled himself up and started to furniture walk and shortly there after he was walking on his own.
At this point all you can do is try to work with him to strengthen his muscles and use them. If you can't find neuropsych testing in your area, I would call your school district and see if they do any early testing. I got Andrew a bunch of toys that forced him to use the muscle he did not want or know how to use.
I hope this helps!

[happy2bjustmommy]

my son is 7 month, and is delayed for gross motor, and social. He has b een in therapy 2 times a week for a few weeks, and we are already seeing improvment. He just learned to sit, but cant stand, doesnt clap, bang toys, cant get on knees, just rolled over for the first time less than a month ago. I see bits of improvment every day, and i think that the early intervention people helped us a lot. He is actually part of the DDD program out here, ( dept of developmental delays) he has 2 therapist, that he sees weekly, and they teach me how to play with him to help him best.

Evals are easy, quick and painless. They will tell you exactly where your son is developmentaly for all parts of development.

Good Luck

[Etinker]

I know my husband was a little hesitant - I think he didn't want to admit there might be a problem. I convinced him by saying we needed to ask the experts - which we certainly weren't. Plus even recovering from surgery can put a kid a bit behind so how could a little help hurt?

[Natey's Momma]

Thanks for the input! I think I'll call his pediatrician in the morning and get her to at least get the ball rolling for an Early Intervention appointment. My mom works with Special Education students and she said sometimes it can take awhile to be seen. Worst case we have to postpone the appointment till a few weeks after surgery. I'm going to look into that neuropsychological test. Thanks!

[grayridge]

Early Intervention is a great program and it wouldn't hurt anything to have him evaluated. My son did not roll over or sit up or crawl or wave or do anything really until he was 10 months old and then it all clicked and he was walking at 12 months. All kids are different. I think Early Intervention would be a great next step for your little one.

[evergreenmom]

I think what you have described sounds more like weakness than delay. I think some work with a physical therapist would be really beneficial. EI can probably get you one, but around here anyway, it takes a while to get an appointment, then another while to do testing. If your Ped recommended PT your insurance would pay most of it and you could probably get started right away. Ei is good too, don't get me wrong, just from experience it seems to take a little longer with the state to get the ball rolling...

[Etinker]

I think it definitely depends on the state. In PA you have to have a completed Evaluation 30 days from when you call and a therapist has to call and schedule therapy 5 days after that. Also everything is absolutely free. I've never seen a bill. Guess we're really lucky here but I'd definitely check out your state laws because I know some are federal and some are state.
-Beth

[*jules*]

Hi. I didn't have time to read thru all the posts, so sorry if I repeat the same info.

First, reading this was just like reading about my own son a few mos ago. Alex had metopic cranio and didn't sit unsupported until about 10mos of age. He also didn't crawl until 12mos, but would scoot along on his belly only pushing with his right let. His left leg would just kind of drag behind him.

Alex also hated tummy time and didn't seem to be able to hold his head up for any length of time. Weak muscles in his neck, IDK??

Alot of what you said is so similar to my son, but I do have good news for you. With the help of EI, Alex is now walking and doing all the things he should be. I think that some of our cranio babies just need a little more time mastering some of these skills, but they DO master them...just in their own time. :)

[QueenB]

Glad you asked this question. I was just thinking about delays myself in my son. My husband and I have started to think he is a little behind. At least compared to my other 3 kids. My son just turned 7 months and can't sit by himself yet. He hasn't even attempted to crawl or even creep. If you lay him on his stomach, he just rolls over the other way. He does clap however. I'm going to wait and see how he is doing at his next checkup (9months) I figured that should give him a little more time to master some skills and give us a better idea where he is at. I try and remind myself that they are all different. My oldest son didn't talk until he was over 2 and my 4 year old didn't walk until 15 months. Other than that, they were on time or earlier for all other milestones. I think we just get a little more paranoid with the cranio. But we also need to be more aware and keep on top of things just incase there is a problem.

[Natey's Momma]

I think that if there was no cranio I would be telling myself "all kids are different, he's much more laid back, he'll do it when he's ready." But knowing that he has a problem with his head and possible pressure on his brain and those types of things I just don't know. Being that we were in a "wait and see" pattern for his head and got shafted there, I don't want to be in that same "wait and see" in his development and get shafted again. grr. So hard to know whats cranio and what's the kid. I guess I'll probbly be thinking these things for years to come. Thanks ladies again!

[craniomommynbaby]

When Simon had his first surgery, he was diagnosed with hypotonia and developmental delays. Right after the surgery, we did not see a whole lot of improvement. We had him evaluated, and he was definitely delayed. (I had seen him regress on quite a few things until he was 8 months old and had the strength and skills of a 3-month-old.) With physical and occupational therapy and time, he took off! Now, he is one of the strongest kids I know. There is definitely a link between cranio and delays in some of these kids. I am glad that you are getting it checked out. We used my health insurance so that we could get right on it, but if we had used Early Steps here in Florida, they would have filed with my health insurance first and then picked up the rest of the tab. Early Steps did have a strict timeline for the babies. When the kids get older, it gets harder to be seen. We are trying to use Child Find for Simon's speech right now, and it has been a 3-month process to get a real evaluation. I think that I am going to go with a private therapist through my insurance after the holidays.

[Natey's Momma]

Cindy- It's good to hear that the intervention did well! I love that story "Divine Kiss" on your site. Do you mind if I use it?

[craniomommynbaby]

I love that story "Divine Kiss" on your site. Do you mind if I use it?

Thanks! Sure, you can use it. I am glad that it can help.