Guest guest Posted April 10, 2002 Report Share Posted April 10, 2002 Hello I am new to this group. My six month old son has been diagnosed with plagiocephaly. I have been told that I should get him a head band as soon as possible as waiting will not gaurantee optimal correction. Is this really true? I would like to wait till he is about a year old to see if his head corrects itself naturally...I am also aggressively repositioning his sleeping position. If by age 10-11 months if there isn't much improvement then I will get him treated with a head bend. Did anyone in this group start the treatment at a later age? What were your experiences? I would greatly appreciate your comments. Also does anyone know of treatment centers in London, UK? Thanks __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2002 Report Share Posted April 10, 2002 Hi & welcome to our group We have several London & UK members in our group. I believe many of them see Dr. Blecher for their child's band therapy.....I am sure one will give you information on him & their own experiences. The decision whether or not to band your child, is very much up to you. Let me say though, that the earlier you begin with a band or helmet to correct plagio., the better & faster the results will be. The success of bands & helmets depend on growth spurts. After a child turns one, their head growth significantly decreases. 6 mos of age is really a great time to begin with therapy. But I don't want to tell you what to do. Have you had any success with repositioning efforts thus far? If you do wait & see,and at one year old his head is still flat & you would then like to begin therapy, you could still get results, but the results probably wouldn't be as good as they were if you were to begin earlier. My daughter began her DOCband treatment at 11.5 mos, wore one band for 4.5 mos - we rec'd 50-60% correction, which I am thrilled with, but of course I wish I would have began sooner to achieve even better correction. Good luck to you & your tough decision. I know how difficult it is! Remember, bands do not hurt your child at all, they don't even know the helmet is on their cute little head! Please, keep us updated. Debbie abby's mom DOCgrad MI USA > Hello I am new to this group. My six month old son has > been diagnosed with plagiocephaly. I have been told > that I should get him a head band as soon as possible > as waiting will not gaurantee optimal correction. Is > this really true? I would like to wait till he is > about a year old to see if his head corrects itself > naturally...I am also aggressively repositioning his > sleeping position. If by age 10-11 months if there > isn't much improvement then I will get him treated > with a head bend. Did anyone in this group start the > treatment at a later age? What were your experiences? > I would greatly appreciate your comments. Also does > anyone know of treatment centers in London, UK? > > Thanks > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2002 Report Share Posted April 10, 2002 Hi My second son Dylan is in a DOCBand (his second). I am originally from the UK and i noticed Dylans head was not quite right when he was 3 months old so i went to my G.P - i had to wait 4 months for an appointment with a pediatrician. So Dylan was 7 months old before he was seen. I was then told that it would round out with time but could take up to 18 months. I asked about the DOCband as i had been researching on the internet to find out what was wrong with my son. He smiled and told me that they don't do anything. I could go back to him in another 3 months if needed.!! I was at that time currently moving to Calgary, Canada. I think that was fate as i got help here straight away and was told that Dylan was a very severe case and with normal growth and without any treatment he would be GROSSLY DEFORMED!! So Dylan had the DOCband at 8 months old and i have seen an amazing correction to the back of his head also his face is back in symmetry and even his ears are not as misaligned as they were. Dylan will proberly be in this second band till june. I know its a hard decision to make to put your baby in a band but depending on how severe the plagio is. I wish i had help sooner as Dylan then proberly would not have needed the second band. From another post a lady called in the UK is being helped by a DR Blecher in London maybe you could contact her and she would be able to help you. I wish you the very best of luck but time is of the essence with babys head growth. They grow the most in the 1st year and that where we got good correction. Please keep us posted. Kind Wishes Kerry - Marcus (3) Dylan (1) Calgary,AB >From: n mok <nmok4000@...> >Reply-Plagiocephaly >Plagiocephaly >Subject: Re: Digest Number 1617 >Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 12:54:41 -0700 (PDT) > >Hello I am new to this group. My six month old son has >been diagnosed with plagiocephaly. I have been told >that I should get him a head band as soon as possible >as waiting will not gaurantee optimal correction. Is >this really true? I would like to wait till he is >about a year old to see if his head corrects itself >naturally...I am also aggressively repositioning his >sleeping position. If by age 10-11 months if there >isn't much improvement then I will get him treated >with a head bend. Did anyone in this group start the >treatment at a later age? What were your experiences? >I would greatly appreciate your comments. Also does >anyone know of treatment centers in London, UK? > >Thanks > >__________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2002 Report Share Posted April 10, 2002 Hello and welcome. From all that I've heard from our UK members, Dr. Blecher is the person to see for treatment of plagio in England. I'm sure one of our UK members will provide Dr. Blecher's information for you - he has an email address and that is how many of our members have contacted him. Have you had some good success with repositioning. With your baby being so young you should have good results from aggressive repositioning. I will say, however, that the optimal time for treatment is 5-6 months old. While we have had some members that started at 12 months, the correction is MUCH slower and less effective. Maybe you could try repositioning for another 3 months or so and if progressive is good then maybe a helmet would not be necessary. If you don't see any improvement then you may wish to see a specialist and discuss what other options are available to you. I have also heard that Dr. Blecher will give you an honest opinion as to whether or not your baby really would benefit from using one of his bands. The choice to band or not is a very personal one and I'm sure that your mommy instincts will guide you to the right choice for you baby! Good luck to you and let us know what you decide to do. You might check out www.plagiocephaly.org/support to find some good tips on repositioning. Marci (Mom to ) Oklahoma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 Hi there, We first noticed our son's flat head shape at about 3 weeks of age. We started repositioning at 2.5 months but it seemed to get worse. He is now 8 months and I can honestly say I have seen very little improvement. Our specialist recommened we wait until he was 12 mo but we decided to proceed with a helmet. We will be picking it up on Wed. Repositioning didn't work for us however I hear some people have some success. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Dana (mom to ) will be helmeted on April 17/02 > Hello I am new to this group. My six month old son has > been diagnosed with plagiocephaly. I have been told > that I should get him a head band as soon as possible > as waiting will not gaurantee optimal correction. Is > this really true? I would like to wait till he is > about a year old to see if his head corrects itself > naturally...I am also aggressively repositioning his > sleeping position. If by age 10-11 months if there > isn't much improvement then I will get him treated > with a head bend. Did anyone in this group start the > treatment at a later age? What were your experiences? > I would greatly appreciate your comments. Also does > anyone know of treatment centers in London, UK? > > Thanks > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 You have already gotten some great feedback, including Dr. Blecher's name from the UK. It is a tough decision, but keep in mind that 6 months is the optimum age for great correction. If you were to wait until 1 year old, there would be no guarantee as to the amount of good correction depending on the child's growth spurts, and unfortunately, you can't turn back the hands of time and say I wish I had done this 6 months ago. Good luck!! Please keep us posted on your decision! ' Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 In my experience agressive repositioning is most successful under four months of age, though you may still see improvements after. The ideal time to helmet (or band) is between 4-7 months, when the children are going thru the rapid growth spurts. Progress really slows after about 10-12 months, and the degree of correction you may get can be limited. Helmeting is a very personal decision - and I am sure you will know what is right for you and your family - Best of Luck - (PT) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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