Re: I'n new to this...wondered if anyone could help me with a few questions?

August 20, 2008

Hi Gemma,

You will definitely find parents here with kids who have delays, but

it is hard to say if it is the plagio. If anything it is more likely

to be the torticollis which many plagio kids also have. Tort is

shorter/tighter muscles on one side of the neck that causes babies to

prefer to look in one direction, and sleep on one side (which leads to

plagio), tilt the head to one side.... Tort can be caused by

constraint in utero, or birth trauma. Physical therapy is used to

treat tort. However there are lots of tort babies who don't have

delays so I'm not sure if it does cause delays. My daughter had brachy

(flat in back) with no tort, and was early or ontime for her milestones.

How is your son's head shape now? Many doctors are very ignorant when

it comes to plagio and treatment. Some babies do round out on their

own, but many don't.

-christine

sydney 2.5 yrs starband grad

>

> Hi ya.... my son is now 22 months, when he was born myself and my

> partner noticed he had an odd shaped head, was flat on one side and big

> on the other, the opposite side on the back and front.... when we took

> him for his 6week check up the doctor told me he had plagiocephaly....

> and that we were to go back for check up's regurly, so we did. we were

> told that Luciano didnt need any treatment for it as long as it started

> looking better. but they never actually gace us any information ab out

> it, they just told us the name and that was it, left us to it..... i

> just wanted to know if any1's children with plagiocephaly have tended

> to develope late on.... my son didnt sit unaided until he was 9 months,

> didnt crawl til 11 months and only started walking just before he

> turned 19 months.... he is also quite behind with speech...has anyone

> else found this or is it just me?!?!

> would love to hear anyones oppinions

> Thank you for your time

>

> Gemma xx

>

August 21, 2008

My son was also born with plagio and torticollis due to to his position in utero

(frank

breech). I was trying to research on-line and did read one very small study

that found

school-age children who had plagio had a higher incidence of need for special ed

(such as

speech or other assistance). The group with the highest need was the boys who'd

been

born with plagio. (Incidentally, they found no significant difference in

children who'd had

helmet therapy and those who didn't)

Also, my son's physical therapist did explain that the torticollis can cause

delays in their

physical development. Once it was resolved and his back muscles became better

developed, my son did seem to catch up.

I don't want to worry you. I just think that as parents, we can watch for

warning signs and

then be better prepared to advocate for our kids if by chance they will need

some type of

support. I really believe that early support can may a huge difference in any

child's life.

All the best to you,

-, mom of Ethan, STAR banded from 7-12 months.