Re: 16 weeks wearing helmet and no major change?

[Guest guest]

Sorry your progress has been so slow. My general impression is that

the sick kids helmet is okay, but not great - but that is based on

reading here, and no real first-hand experience. I think a starband

could be more effective, but a lot would depend on getting a good

ortho. We had a good ortho, but that was in california (and my

daughter had a giant head). Also cranial tech has a very good

reputation (doc band) and their reputation is more consistent across

locations. If you can afford the travel it might be worth it.

If not I would think you can still wear the helmet you have. If your

son has had very little growth it should fit for a few more months. It

does rely on growth for any helmet/band to work so your son's head may

be part of the problem. Still in 4 mo he must have had some growth so

you should see improvement - more than it sounds like you have seen.

If you do decide to switch to another band I would try and do it

sooner rather than later since you're not getting much correction now.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

-christine

sydney 2.5 yrs starband grad

>

> Hi

> We're from Toronto, Canada and we obtained our helmet from Sick Kids

> Hospital - the only place here that makes them. My son's head was

> very flat at the back when we started 16 weeks ago (which also means

> the sides of his head are way out). He is a slow grower (low birth

> weight and he has stayed somewhere around the 3rd percentile on the

> growth chart). Yesterday we went in for our 4 week check in and I

> have to say I didn't see any change from the pictures they took at 12

> weeks or 8 weeks. My son will be 10 months next week and I was told

> that in about 2 months, maybe 3, the helmet will have done all it can

> do and we may just have to accept his head the way it is. There is a

> small bump at the back - its lumpy and not rounded and smooth but

> that's it. The sides are still way out in my opinion.

>

> Our helmet looks a lot different from the ones made in the US. Sick

> Kids hospital is a very big hospital so I am sure the helmets they

> use must be up to standard....I'm so disappointed this isn't working

> after 22 hours a day for 16 weeks. I was wondering if the helmets

> made in the US actually push the head shape back into normal shape?

> My helmet holds onto the high spots and has a space at the back for

> the head to grow into. Since my son has been labeled a slow grower

> the back of his head isn't filling out as fast as I'd like. I'm

> wondering when our time is up if I should look into popping over the

> border and getting another helmet, is there any point at one year

> going into another helmet? Do the Star bands actually apply pressure

> to shape head or do they work similar to the one I already have? Is

> a one year old baby too late to make any changes?

>

> thanks for any advice, I know this was long.

> Marina

> I'll post a pic of Cal's helmet

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there-

Sorry to hear of your slow progress. The success of the band is

partially dependent on the growth rate of the baby, so his slow

growth rate could be the hinderance, more so than the helmet you're

using. It sounds like the Sick Kids helmet works similar to the

active ones in the States. There are holding points that keep the

prominent areas of the head from growing outward any further, and

open space in the flatter areas to allow for growth. It doesn't

actually " push " the head back into shape, it redirects the growth of

the head to fill in the flatter areas. Do you get adjustments to the

helmet (by scraping out the foam), or is it just a plastic shell

that doesn't get adjusted? Typically " active " bands (foam is scraped

out) works faster and more aggressively than the " passive " bands (no

adjustments).

Generally speaking, he's not too old to see correction, even after

the age of 1 (my son didn't start band treatment until he was 17

months old). But if he continues to grow at a slow rate, it might

not do any good. However, if you're willing to try everything you

can, it definitely couldn't hurt to go somewhere else for another

band. It could be worth at least a few phone calls to get some input

from other band providers.

Best of luck! Please keep us posted.

Jake-2 (DOCBand Grad 9/19/08)

Jordan-4.5

>

> Hi

> We're from Toronto, Canada and we obtained our helmet from Sick

Kids

> Hospital - the only place here that makes them. My son's head was

> very flat at the back when we started 16 weeks ago (which also

means

> the sides of his head are way out). He is a slow grower (low

birth

> weight and he has stayed somewhere around the 3rd percentile on

the

> growth chart). Yesterday we went in for our 4 week check in and I

> have to say I didn't see any change from the pictures they took at

12

> weeks or 8 weeks. My son will be 10 months next week and I was

told

> that in about 2 months, maybe 3, the helmet will have done all it

can

> do and we may just have to accept his head the way it is. There

is a

> small bump at the back - its lumpy and not rounded and smooth but

> that's it. The sides are still way out in my opinion.

>

> Our helmet looks a lot different from the ones made in the US.

Sick

> Kids hospital is a very big hospital so I am sure the helmets they

> use must be up to standard....I'm so disappointed this isn't

working

> after 22 hours a day for 16 weeks. I was wondering if the helmets

> made in the US actually push the head shape back into normal

shape?

> My helmet holds onto the high spots and has a space at the back

for

> the head to grow into. Since my son has been labeled a slow

grower

> the back of his head isn't filling out as fast as I'd like. I'm

> wondering when our time is up if I should look into popping over

the

> border and getting another helmet, is there any point at one year

> going into another helmet? Do the Star bands actually apply

pressure

> to shape head or do they work similar to the one I already have?

Is

> a one year old baby too late to make any changes?

>

> thanks for any advice, I know this was long.

> Marina

> I'll post a pic of Cal's helmet

>