Re: Should We Get the Band?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Have you brought your son to Cranial Tech for an evaluation? They are

the true leaders in treating plagio babies. They will give you a free

evaluation and an honest opinion on whether or not your son would

benefit from a band. If you're interested their web site is

http://www.cranialtech.com

Ps.. the younger a baby is banded the better and faster the

correction. The window of opportunity to correct plagio isn't a big

one. If you do plan on banding, you really should get the ball

rolling.

> Our son is 8.5 months old. In December, his plagiocephaly was

> categorized as severe (he was 5 standard deviations from where he

> should have been on the bell curve). We went for his fourth

consult

> today - he is now just about 2 standard deviations from where he

> should be. We have been advised that the helmet would improve his

> condition - but that the improvement may not be visible to the

eye.

> We are really confused as to what we should do. On the one hand,

we

> feel that if we can improve his situation and avoid him being

teased

> when in grade school, then we should go ahead and do it. On the

> other hand, knowing that this is purely a cosmetic issue, we think

> that it may be an unnecessary intervention (especially if the

> improvement may not be detectable). We are not bothered at all by

> his headshape.

>

> Has anyone out there faced a similar situation and made the

decision

> not to go into treatment and later regretted that situation?

>

> Your thoughts and feelings are welcome.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Welcome to the group! I hope we are able to help you with some

information here at the site. First of all, I am really impressed

with the improvment in standard deviations your son has seen since

December! Congratulations to your son! Have you been trying

aggressive repo during that time, or just letting his head round out

on its own? Also, where did you go for your consult? I am

interested in the fact that measurements were taken, something not

always done at the specialist's office, and very helpful to the

decision-making process. Many times, babies with plagio have

accompanying asymmetries of the ears, facial features, or forehead

bossing. Was your son examined for these types of asymmetries as

well, and have you seen any improvement in them? I also noticed in

your subject line you said band, but in your post, you mention

helmet.... are you considering treatment with an active band or a

passive helmet? Sorry for all the questions, but it may help some

group members understand your situation a little bit better.

We have a large section of links to plagiocephaly studies here at

the site in the LINKS section, PLAGIO STUDIES AND RESEARCH that you

may find helpful in your situation evaluation. Emerging and recent

studies contest your statement that it is purely a cosmetic issue.

Auditory processing disorders, visual field development problems,

sleep apnea, astigmatism risk, and possible developmental problems

in grade school are just some of the subjects of studies conducted

in the last few years. FYI, our own daughter Remy is now 24 months

old, and fortunately has experienced no delays or problems mentioned

in these studies.

We used aggressive repositioning only to treat our daughter Remy's

plagio; we did not use a helmet or band. She had kind of a

brachy/plagio headshape. If you would like to see her progress

photos, they are in the PHOTOS section, BEFORE AND AFTER folder,

REPOSITIONED folder. From recent photos, I would roughly estimate

her cephalic ratio (length and width of head ratio) to be about 1

1/2 standard deviation of of the norm, making her flatter than a lot

of people, but we think she is a beauty!

If you feel you have realized all the natural or repo correction

that you are going to see with your son, then why not go for the

helmet or band if you think you could possibly improve his

headshape? You don't have anything to lose, and he is still at a

young enough age to see some good correction. You can't really

predict with total accuracy the degree of improvement that might be

obtained, so I wouldn't take the " undectable to the naked eye "

estimate as carved in stone. Borderline cases can really make the

decision process very, very difficult. In our own experience, we

just looked at Remy one day, and knew in our hearts that we were

totally happy with the way her headshape looked (and also that she

would be one day, too.)

Please keep us posted on how your decisions go, and let us know if

we can be of any help here at the group,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> Our son is 8.5 months old. In December, his plagiocephaly was

> categorized as severe (he was 5 standard deviations from where he

> should have been on the bell curve). We went for his fourth

consult

> today - he is now just about 2 standard deviations from where he

> should be. We have been advised that the helmet would improve his

> condition - but that the improvement may not be visible to the

eye.

> We are really confused as to what we should do. On the one hand,

we

> feel that if we can improve his situation and avoid him being

teased

> when in grade school, then we should go ahead and do it. On the

> other hand, knowing that this is purely a cosmetic issue, we think

> that it may be an unnecessary intervention (especially if the

> improvement may not be detectable). We are not bothered at all by

> his headshape.

>

> Has anyone out there faced a similar situation and made the

decision

> not to go into treatment and later regretted that situation?

>

> Your thoughts and feelings are welcome.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your insightful email. We took our son to Cranial

Technologies in Paramus, New Jersey. For anyone else that is reading

this email, we highly recommend Cranial Technologies. They are as

sensitive as they are professional. We have been to their office

four times (to date) and they have never rushed us, judged us or

appeared impatient. They have made a challenging situation easier

for us.

Cranial measured Luke and took photographs at the first consul in

December. Back in December, he had some asymetry in addition to

the " flatness " . As mentioned, the asymetry has corrected entirely.

We look at Luke and know that he is perfect. (If only there were a

band that would make my big boy sleep through the night!). We are

looking at the DOC band. I am sorry to have confused the issue by

using " band " and " helmet " interchangeably. On a day to day basis, I

change my mind as to what I think we will do. I agree that there is

absolutely no harm in putting him in the band. But we ask

ourselves, at what point does intervening in making a cosmetic

change become unnecessary?

Luke will be 9 months old in just 2 weeks. We need to come to some

kind of a decision. I worry about him being teased in grade

school. However, Cranial made an interesting point - since the Back

to Sleep campaign began, many kids have misshaped heads. This is,

of course, not meant to persuade in either direction.

Thanks again. Hopefully, this will be the toughest decision that we

have to make on behalf of our son.

--- In Plagiocephaly , " redlocks2003 " <redlocks@d...>

wrote:

> Hi,

>

> Welcome to the group! I hope we are able to help you with some

> information here at the site. First of all, I am really impressed

> with the improvment in standard deviations your son has seen since

> December! Congratulations to your son! Have you been trying

> aggressive repo during that time, or just letting his head round

out

> on its own? Also, where did you go for your consult? I am

> interested in the fact that measurements were taken, something not

> always done at the specialist's office, and very helpful to the

> decision-making process. Many times, babies with plagio have

> accompanying asymmetries of the ears, facial features, or forehead

> bossing. Was your son examined for these types of asymmetries as

> well, and have you seen any improvement in them? I also noticed

in

> your subject line you said band, but in your post, you mention

> helmet.... are you considering treatment with an active band or a

> passive helmet? Sorry for all the questions, but it may help some

> group members understand your situation a little bit better.

>

> We have a large section of links to plagiocephaly studies here at

> the site in the LINKS section, PLAGIO STUDIES AND RESEARCH that

you

> may find helpful in your situation evaluation. Emerging and

recent

> studies contest your statement that it is purely a cosmetic

issue.

> Auditory processing disorders, visual field development problems,

> sleep apnea, astigmatism risk, and possible developmental problems

> in grade school are just some of the subjects of studies conducted

> in the last few years. FYI, our own daughter Remy is now 24

months

> old, and fortunately has experienced no delays or problems

mentioned

> in these studies.

>

> We used aggressive repositioning only to treat our daughter Remy's

> plagio; we did not use a helmet or band. She had kind of a

> brachy/plagio headshape. If you would like to see her progress

> photos, they are in the PHOTOS section, BEFORE AND AFTER folder,

> REPOSITIONED folder. From recent photos, I would roughly estimate

> her cephalic ratio (length and width of head ratio) to be about 1

> 1/2 standard deviation of of the norm, making her flatter than a

lot

> of people, but we think she is a beauty!

>

> If you feel you have realized all the natural or repo correction

> that you are going to see with your son, then why not go for the

> helmet or band if you think you could possibly improve his

> headshape? You don't have anything to lose, and he is still at a

> young enough age to see some good correction. You can't really

> predict with total accuracy the degree of improvement that might

be

> obtained, so I wouldn't take the " undectable to the naked eye "

> estimate as carved in stone. Borderline cases can really make the

> decision process very, very difficult. In our own experience, we

> just looked at Remy one day, and knew in our hearts that we were

> totally happy with the way her headshape looked (and also that she

> would be one day, too.)

>

> Please keep us posted on how your decisions go, and let us know if

> we can be of any help here at the group,

>

> Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

>

>

>

>

> --- In Plagiocephaly , " takbeck " <takbeck@y...>

wrote:

> > Our son is 8.5 months old. In December, his plagiocephaly was

> > categorized as severe (he was 5 standard deviations from where

he

> > should have been on the bell curve). We went for his fourth

> consult

> > today - he is now just about 2 standard deviations from where he

> > should be. We have been advised that the helmet would improve

his

> > condition - but that the improvement may not be visible to the

> eye.

> > We are really confused as to what we should do. On the one

hand,

> we

> > feel that if we can improve his situation and avoid him being

> teased

> > when in grade school, then we should go ahead and do it. On the

> > other hand, knowing that this is purely a cosmetic issue, we

think

> > that it may be an unnecessary intervention (especially if the

> > improvement may not be detectable). We are not bothered at all

by

> > his headshape.

> >

> > Has anyone out there faced a similar situation and made the

> decision

> > not to go into treatment and later regretted that situation?

> >

> > Your thoughts and feelings are welcome.