What helmet does or will your child wear?CRANIOCAP - Kim & Jaxon?

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

I don't think I posted to welcome you to the group yet! I'm glad

you are here, and I hope we can help w/Jaden's plagio.

Regarding the insurance requiring proof of 2 months of repo prior to

authorizing the band... the CAPPSkids website at

http://www.cappskids.org/PlagioInsuranceHelp.htm has an excellent

letter written by a mom who received a denial because no proof was

given that she repo'd, you should definitely check it out. I would

start collecting photos that you may have already taken which show

Jaden's headshape not changing or worsening over the last month or

two, maybe that would help when you submit your info. Also, I think

the strong letter your Doctor would write in support of treatment is

called a " Letter of Medical Necessity, " and can be critical in

getting insurance approval.

About the CranioCap from Gillette, we have a mom who's active on the

board with CranioCap experience. Her name is Kim, and her son Jaxon

is in the PHOTOS section, OUR PLAGIO KIDS folder, where there are

lots of photos of Jaxon in his CranioCap if you are interested.

Hopefully Kim will see that I added her name to the subject line of

your post, or maybe you could email her at: kasaint_2@...

She's very friendly and recently posted about starting a local

support group in the MN area. If you haven't already been to the

site, Gillette has info and facts on the CranioCap at the following

links (if the link is two lines long, you'll need to copy and paste

the entire link to your address bar to get directed correctly):

http://www.gillettechildrens.org/default.cfm?pid=1.3.6.4#CranioCap

http://www.gillettechildrens.org/default.cfm?

pid=1.3.6.4.1#CranioCap™%20Fact%20Sheet

I think the CranioCap is a passive helmet, and it is FDA approved.

My own daughter was treated through aggressive repositioning only,

so I can't offer any personal experience with a helmet or band! I

support parents currently trying repo, which I'm sure you know from

personal experience can be extremely difficult... it certainly

isn't for everyone. I don't remember if you mentioned a concern of

tort in a previous post, but tort, which limits a baby's range of

motion of the head and neck, can make repo nearly impossible until

the tort is resolved. We have a lot of repo products, if you would

like to look at them, in the LINKS/REPO AND TUMMY TIME/REPO AND

TUMMY TIME PRODUCTS folder.

Please keep us posted on how the information gathering is going, and

keep us updated on Jaden's appt. with the specialist.

Take care,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

Plagiocephaly , " Ski Chick " <skisum88@h...> wrote:

> Howdy,

> Newbie mom from Minnesota here again. I made an appt for Jaden to

> go see a specialist the first week of April about his posi

plagio.

> I called my insurance, and if we end up going w/ headgear for him,

> they will probably cover it. They have 3 prerequisits, and one of

> them is that I had to have tried repo for 2 months w/o any

success.

> Well how the heck will they know if I did or not? Anyone else run

> into this w/ their ins? And I also spoke w/ the facility that he

> will be seeing, and they said if for some reason my ins. says they

> won't cover it because it's " cosmetic " (what a bunch of bull****),

> then the Dr. writes a very very strong letter to the ins. co.

> telling them otherwise, and to reverse the decision. So I'm not

> worried about ins. at the moment. In regards to the repo, I've

> tried it w/ Jaden and he is stubborn and will only sleep a certain

> way on his back. If I tried and place any wedges under him or

turn

> him he either fusses or turns back. During the day time I have

him

> sleep on his tummy and use a monitor to listen for his breating.

By

> the way, we have " The First Years " monitor, and it works

> incredible. You can hear a pin drop w/ that thing.

>

> What I am wondering here is a general poll of everyone on the

> board.... and what helmet does or will your child wear and to what

> degree have you noticed any improvements? I am also looking for

> anyone that has dealt w/ the cranio-cap by Gillette, since that is

> where I will be taking Jaden. Thanks. I think this will be

> informative for everyone, including newbies like me.

>

> ~Amy, mommy of Jaden 4 mo's, undiagnosed plagio.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Christie, I hope that Kim will post as I am interested in

hearing more about her and where she is from, along w/ her

experience w/ the CranioCap. What do you mean my " passive " tho?

I'm not quite sure I understand what you were getting at w/ that.

Please explain. Thanks.

I checked out the links on the letters and am about to check out the

links on the repo accessories as well. Yes I did mention tort,

altho the pede did not diagnose him w/ this even tho he noticed a

lump on the right side of his neck. However, since Jaden can turn

his head like at owl at will, I'm not sure he has it either, but I'd

still like an explanation of that lump, since it's not a lymph

node. I'm sure the craniofacial Dr will go over all this w/ us at

his first assessment in the first week of April. Maybe I didn't

have enough info on the repo so hopefully these links will help me

out.

Thanks for posting those links, and thanks for the info. Everyone

here is so friendly and helpful and you guys are showing me where to

look on this site for answers which I really appreciate!

~Amy, mommy of Jaden 4 mo's (undiagnosed plagio)

> > Howdy,

> > Newbie mom from Minnesota here again. I made an appt for Jaden

to

> > go see a specialist the first week of April about his posi

> plagio.

> > I called my insurance, and if we end up going w/ headgear for

him,

> > they will probably cover it. They have 3 prerequisits, and one

of

> > them is that I had to have tried repo for 2 months w/o any

> success.

> > Well how the heck will they know if I did or not? Anyone else

run

> > into this w/ their ins? And I also spoke w/ the facility that

he

> > will be seeing, and they said if for some reason my ins. says

they

> > won't cover it because it's " cosmetic " (what a bunch of

bull****),

> > then the Dr. writes a very very strong letter to the ins. co.

> > telling them otherwise, and to reverse the decision. So I'm not

> > worried about ins. at the moment. In regards to the repo, I've

> > tried it w/ Jaden and he is stubborn and will only sleep a

certain

> > way on his back. If I tried and place any wedges under him or

> turn

> > him he either fusses or turns back. During the day time I have

> him

> > sleep on his tummy and use a monitor to listen for his

breating.

> By

> > the way, we have " The First Years " monitor, and it works

> > incredible. You can hear a pin drop w/ that thing.

> >

> > What I am wondering here is a general poll of everyone on the

> > board.... and what helmet does or will your child wear and to

what

> > degree have you noticed any improvements? I am also looking for

> > anyone that has dealt w/ the cranio-cap by Gillette, since that

is

> > where I will be taking Jaden. Thanks. I think this will be

> > informative for everyone, including newbies like me.

> >

> > ~Amy, mommy of Jaden 4 mo's, undiagnosed plagio.

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

There are 2 types of helmets/bands. Active and Passive. An Active band

works by applying a very gentle pressure to the skull to help reshape

it. They can be used on babies both very young and older. A Passive

band/helmet relies on a childs growth to mold it back into it's

original shape. Generally, passive helmets work better on younger

babies, as opposed to older, because they experience greater and more

frequent growth spurts. My daughter got her passive helmet at 8 months

(which is considered " old " for passive) and received very good

results. Let me know if you have any more questions. With Jaden only

being 4 months, he'll be a great candidate for a passive band. Again

though, my daughter was 4 months older and still did great.

.

> > > Howdy,

> > > Newbie mom from Minnesota here again. I made an appt for Jaden

> to

> > > go see a specialist the first week of April about his posi

> > plagio.

> > > I called my insurance, and if we end up going w/ headgear for

> him,

> > > they will probably cover it. They have 3 prerequisits, and one

> of

> > > them is that I had to have tried repo for 2 months w/o any

> > success.

> > > Well how the heck will they know if I did or not? Anyone else

> run

> > > into this w/ their ins? And I also spoke w/ the facility that

> he

> > > will be seeing, and they said if for some reason my ins. says

> they

> > > won't cover it because it's " cosmetic " (what a bunch of

> bull****),

> > > then the Dr. writes a very very strong letter to the ins. co.

> > > telling them otherwise, and to reverse the decision. So I'm not

> > > worried about ins. at the moment. In regards to the repo, I've

> > > tried it w/ Jaden and he is stubborn and will only sleep a

> certain

> > > way on his back. If I tried and place any wedges under him or

> > turn

> > > him he either fusses or turns back. During the day time I have

> > him

> > > sleep on his tummy and use a monitor to listen for his

> breating.

> > By

> > > the way, we have " The First Years " monitor, and it works

> > > incredible. You can hear a pin drop w/ that thing.

> > >

> > > What I am wondering here is a general poll of everyone on the

> > > board.... and what helmet does or will your child wear and to

> what

> > > degree have you noticed any improvements? I am also looking for

> > > anyone that has dealt w/ the cranio-cap by Gillette, since that

> is

> > > where I will be taking Jaden. Thanks. I think this will be

> > > informative for everyone, including newbies like me.

> > >

> > > ~Amy, mommy of Jaden 4 mo's, undiagnosed plagio.

[Guest guest]

Amy,

Perhaps some helmet/band parents can better explain some design

differences between helmets/bands, but I can tell you what I have

read.

A passive helmet relies on the baby's growth alone to fill out into

the round shape of the helmet. Generally, these types of helmets

are best on younger babies, since they have many growth spurts ahead

of them. Since they are more passive in nature, the adjustment

schedule can be about every 4 weeks or so, varying on the baby's

age. We have lots of members currently in passive helmets, of

varying ages, who can speak to the correction that they have been

able to realize. Some examples of passive helmets are the

CranioCap, Ballert, Clarren, etc., or other locally designed helmets.

An active band relies on both the baby's growth spurts AND applying

gentle pressure to the baby's head to actively recontour it.

Because it uses both methods, active bands can have the added

benefit of being effective on older babies, sometimes up to 24

months in certain cases. Since the bands are of an active design,

the adjustment schedule can be every 2 weeks, or even more

frequently in the case of a younger baby such as Jaden. The

DOCband, Starband, and Hanger Cranial Band are examples of active

bands.

Jaden is a younger baby who should expect results from either a

passive or active band/helmet.

There are over 20 unique, FDA approved helmets and bands. If you

would like to see some different pictures of what some of the bands

and helmets look like, check out the FILES section, HELMET AND BAND

BRAND PHOTOS folder.

I hope this information helps!

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> > > Howdy,

> > > Newbie mom from Minnesota here again. I made an appt for

Jaden

> to

> > > go see a specialist the first week of April about his posi

> > plagio.

> > > I called my insurance, and if we end up going w/ headgear for

> him,

> > > they will probably cover it. They have 3 prerequisits, and

one

> of

> > > them is that I had to have tried repo for 2 months w/o any

> > success.

> > > Well how the heck will they know if I did or not? Anyone else

> run

> > > into this w/ their ins? And I also spoke w/ the facility that

> he

> > > will be seeing, and they said if for some reason my ins. says

> they

> > > won't cover it because it's " cosmetic " (what a bunch of

> bull****),

> > > then the Dr. writes a very very strong letter to the ins. co.

> > > telling them otherwise, and to reverse the decision. So I'm

not

> > > worried about ins. at the moment. In regards to the repo,

I've

> > > tried it w/ Jaden and he is stubborn and will only sleep a

> certain

> > > way on his back. If I tried and place any wedges under him or

> > turn

> > > him he either fusses or turns back. During the day time I

have

> > him

> > > sleep on his tummy and use a monitor to listen for his

> breating.

> > By

> > > the way, we have " The First Years " monitor, and it works

> > > incredible. You can hear a pin drop w/ that thing.

> > >

> > > What I am wondering here is a general poll of everyone on the

> > > board.... and what helmet does or will your child wear and to

> what

> > > degree have you noticed any improvements? I am also looking

for

> > > anyone that has dealt w/ the cranio-cap by Gillette, since

that

> is

> > > where I will be taking Jaden. Thanks. I think this will be

> > > informative for everyone, including newbies like me.

> > >

> > > ~Amy, mommy of Jaden 4 mo's, undiagnosed plagio.