Re: Specialists in Vermont?

March 30, 2004

Hi ,

Welcome to the group! I don't about any docs in vermont, but

hopefully someone will chime in.

If you are concerned about his head shape then definately try and

get it started now. Better to get going on it now as sometimes the

wait to get into see a specialist is a bit long.

Plenty of others will give their advice as well I just wanted to

welcome you!

Kim

mom to Kaela (9) and Jaxson 8.5 mo tort/plagio/craniocap

--- In Plagiocephaly , " d_mom1974 " <d_mom1974@y...>

wrote:

> Hello,

> I'm new to this board and have a few questions about

> Plagiocephaly. My son Devin is now 4 1/2 months old and has a very

> distinct flat spot on the right side of his head...I looked at the

> before and after pictures that are posted on this site and his head

> looks to be worse than a lot of the before pictures. I voiced

> concern about this to his pediatrician at his 4 month check up. He

> said to try repositioning and he'll take another look when I bring

> him in at 6 months. We've been repositioning him for about 3 weeks

> now and I don't see any difference (I took a few before shots when

we

> started this). My older son had the same thing, but not so bad and

> the repositioning worked well for him. My concern is I don't think

> Devin's pediatrician thinks helmets or bands are necessary...he

said

> he's never had to have a baby use one. I guess I'm wondering

what's

> the best way to find specialists on this. I live in Vermont so I

> don't know if we'd have to travel somewhere to get him fitted if a

> band or helmet was needed. Should I persue this before his 6 month

> check up or is it ok to wait until then? I just want to make sure

we

> do the right thing for him...I don't want to just count on

> repositioning and have it not work for him. His pediatrician is

> great, but with this I'm not sure he would take it as seriously as

> necessary. Any info anyone could give me would be greatly

> appreciated.

> Thanks so much!!

>

March 30, 2004

Hi ,

Welcome to the board!

Something in your post really caught my eye - you posted that you

think your son's plagio looks worse than many of the before pictures

in the PHOTOS section. I think you are right to wonder if you

should wait another month and a half for another assessment. As you

know, plagio treatment (whether repo'ing, or using the helmet/band)

is time-sensitive, and if your son has a moderate/severe case, you

will want to get the ball rolling on some treatment. Does Devin

have any ear misalignment, forehead bossing, or facial asymmetry?

All are very common in plagio babies. These are best viewed by

holding the baby up to a mirror, viewing the baby from the chin up,

or viewing the baby from the top of the head down. Many babies with

plagio also have tort, which limits the range of motion of the

head/neck area, and causes the baby's head to tilt and always look

to one side. It is nearly impossible to repo a baby with tort. Do

you know if Devin has been evaluated for tort? It sounds as though

your pediatrician is resisitant to the idea of helmeting or banding,

so you may need to directly request a referral to a specialist in

spite of his opinion.

We have a couple of databases in the DATABASE section of the group

for specialists and helmet/band facilities. Unfortunately, I

couldn't find any helmets/bands listed yet for Vermont. You may

want to check the two databases out for nearby states. Also, with

Vermont in your subject line, hopefully any members in your state

will reply with some information.

I hope this helps,

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

--- In Plagiocephaly , " d_mom1974 " <d_mom1974@y...>

wrote:

> Hello,

> I'm new to this board and have a few questions about

> Plagiocephaly. My son Devin is now 4 1/2 months old and has a

very

> distinct flat spot on the right side of his head...I looked at the

> before and after pictures that are posted on this site and his

head

> looks to be worse than a lot of the before pictures. I voiced

> concern about this to his pediatrician at his 4 month check up.

He

> said to try repositioning and he'll take another look when I bring

> him in at 6 months. We've been repositioning him for about 3

weeks

> now and I don't see any difference (I took a few before shots when

we

> started this). My older son had the same thing, but not so bad

and

> the repositioning worked well for him. My concern is I don't

think

> Devin's pediatrician thinks helmets or bands are necessary...he

said

> he's never had to have a baby use one. I guess I'm wondering

what's

> the best way to find specialists on this. I live in Vermont so I

> don't know if we'd have to travel somewhere to get him fitted if a

> band or helmet was needed. Should I persue this before his 6

month

> check up or is it ok to wait until then? I just want to make sure

we

> do the right thing for him...I don't want to just count on

> repositioning and have it not work for him. His pediatrician is

> great, but with this I'm not sure he would take it as seriously as

> necessary. Any info anyone could give me would be greatly

> appreciated.

> Thanks so much!!

>

March 30, 2004

Hi & welcome:

I see Christie gave you a very helpful reply, so I'll copy what she

said. But bottom line, go with your gut here on what to do for

Devin. IF you feel uneasy about his headshape now & aren't noticing

correction w/your repo efforts, then I'd suggest demanding a

referral to a ped. neuro or another specialist for Devin's plagio

to be evaluated.

I wish we knew of someplace to refer you to. Ugh. I'd imagine

there's a band or helmet provider somewhere in your state. The only

Cranial Tech nearby for you is in Conn., would that be do-able

(don't laugh if it's like 24 hrs away, I don't know! I'm very

geographically challenged, lol) Their website is

http://www.cranialtech.com Or perhaps you could find out if there's

a STARBand provider in VT, not sure if Orthomerica's website would

have that info or not, but it's worth a shot

http://www.orthomerica.com

In the mean time, keep plugging away w/your repo efforts. It's a

VERY difficult & often frustrating task.

Please keep us posted.

Debbie

MI

>

> > Hello,

> > I'm new to this board and have a few questions about

> > Plagiocephaly. My son Devin is now 4 1/2 months old and has a

> very

> > distinct flat spot on the right side of his head...I looked at

the

> > before and after pictures that are posted on this site and his

> head

> > looks to be worse than a lot of the before pictures. I voiced

> > concern about this to his pediatrician at his 4 month check up.

> He

> > said to try repositioning and he'll take another look when I

bring

> > him in at 6 months. We've been repositioning him for about 3

> weeks

> > now and I don't see any difference (I took a few before shots

when

> we

> > started this). My older son had the same thing, but not so bad

> and

> > the repositioning worked well for him. My concern is I don't

> think

> > Devin's pediatrician thinks helmets or bands are necessary...he

> said

> > he's never had to have a baby use one. I guess I'm wondering

> what's

> > the best way to find specialists on this. I live in Vermont so

I

> > don't know if we'd have to travel somewhere to get him fitted if

a

> > band or helmet was needed. Should I persue this before his 6

> month

> > check up or is it ok to wait until then? I just want to make

sure

> we

> > do the right thing for him...I don't want to just count on

> > repositioning and have it not work for him. His pediatrician is

> > great, but with this I'm not sure he would take it as seriously

as

> > necessary. Any info anyone could give me would be greatly

> > appreciated.

> > Thanks so much!!

> >

March 31, 2004

,

I agree with the others, if you feel that Devin's headshape is really

bad then go ahead and start pursuing treatment. Please keep us

posted.

Natasha