Guest guest Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 We're getting our son banded in two weeks. I'm trying to prepare myself for the reactions of people. Can you share what some reactions were and how you handled them? Did anyone say anything rude to you? Did they mostly stare? If so, did you say anything? I'm thinking about decorating the band with the words... " Thanks for looking! " Thanks for any help! Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2009 Report Share Posted August 3, 2009 We've actually had the opposite experience. More people noticed and even spoke to her while she was wearing her helmet. Most people did not directly address the helmet, but they did notice her more. I suppose that maybe I should have felt bad about that, but I actually kind of liked it. She got a lot of attention that way. At first people just saw the helmet and after noticing her, they had conversations with her and then noticed other things about her (like her language, cute smile, etc.). Our experience was generally positive, but there was the occasional rude comment. I chalked most of it up to ignorance. , mom to , 23 months STARband grad plus CST land Re: What to expect We're in week 7 of our DOC Band and we haven't gotten rude comments at all...just lots of staring and double-takes. It didn't bother me too much at first, but I have become increasingly frustrated with it as each week has passed. A few people have politely asked why he's wearing it, which I much prefer over the staring. I find myself making less eye contact with people -- I tend to look away when I feel the double-take coming. That way, I don't have to see it. Prior to the band, everyone talked to my son when we were out...commenting on chubby cheeks and such. Since he got his band, I can probably count on one hand the number of people who have talked to him. In seven weeks. I didn't expect that. Sounds like from some of the other responses, others have had better luck with the general public. I guess it's a lesson for me in being patient and understanding with others. They don't know what to say, so they don't say anything. Anyway, it's temporary and for that I am thankful. We've had great success with the DOC Band and are glad we're doing it. He's still got his cute little chubby cheeks, so hopefully his fanclub will be chatty with him once again when he's band-free. Good luck with your little one. I think your "Thanks for looking" idea is cute! I was frustrated one day and almost put "ASK or Quit Staring!" I think your idea is better. :-) JillCade's mom, 7 mo, DOCBand 6/18/09Austin TX>> We're getting our son banded in two weeks. I'm trying to prepare myself for the reactions of people. Can you share what some reactions were and how you handled them? Did anyone say anything rude to you? Did they mostly stare? If so, did you say anything?> > I'm thinking about decorating the band with the words... "Thanks for looking!"> > Thanks for any help!> Laurie> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Hi Jen, It is true that often heads can't be fixed 100%. My daughter has odd spots that I still see, including the top/back of her head. She had brachy and was considered severe. It can be quite frustrating to realize that things could have been prevent or corrected more if we all knew more earlier. I'm not sure how old zach is, but his head may look very good when you're done. The problem is that once we plagio moms know about head shape we see too many problems that most people will never notice. At least console yourself with the fact that others won't see it. -christine sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad > > Hi all, > > We are almost 6 weeks in with our son's DOC Band, and I'm hoping you might have some feedback on what CT is telling us. > > Zach has mild/moderate left side plagio + tort. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations, but I was a little taken aback when CT told us that the sloped area on the upper part of the back of his head (is that the crown?) usually doesn't fill out, so it will always be diagonal (in farther on the left side). Also they have told us that it gets much harder to get growth the closer you get to the ear, and we probably won't see much correction there. The clinician said that it is not at all related to the fact that the velcro is holding there, but I can't help but wonder. > > I guess I am struggling to adjust my expectations... I had thought that since he was not very severe to start with, that he would end up " normal " . But while I can see progress, I can still tell very clearly where his head is weird. I guess some things just can't be fixed, but then I read on this board about people complaining to the head office and finding there were mistakes made, etc. and it makes me second guess what's happening. > > Anyway, does what they are saying sound correct? Does it fit with your experience? > Thanks! > -Jen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 26, 2010 Report Share Posted October 26, 2010 Your therapist does sound very pessimistic about the outcome but you are also only 6 weeks into the helmet which is about halfway though most treatment lengths so more improvement can still be had. Did the clinic give you an estimated length of treatment? Ours was estimated to be 8-10 weeks and we are on week 9 now and can hopefully stretch this helmet into 12 weeks. You may also need a second helmet to finish rounding out the residual flatness. We have been considering this since about 5 weeks into treatment because the therapist did say that although this first helmet would bring her very close to the normal area on the bell curve averages, we would likely need a second helmet to finish rounding out her head although it was completely optional at this point. Like others have said, full correction is nearly impossible to get. We can only hope for enough improvement to put them on the edge of the " normal " range on the bell curve. We have a sloped spot on the upper part of the back of the head (about the size of a silver dollar) and the therapist did say that it should fill in fairly well as my daughter gets older but it would never be completely rounded out but hardly anyone (even people without a history of plagio) has a nicely rounded spot there. You can take your child for a second opinion with a cranio-facial specialist. I did and was very reassured about the helmet and that it was not causing problems with my daughters head. He also was able to give me a better estimate on how much more improvement we could expect and his opinion on a second helmet. > > Hi all, > > We are almost 6 weeks in with our son's DOC Band, and I'm hoping you might have some feedback on what CT is telling us. > > Zach has mild/moderate left side plagio + tort. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations, but I was a little taken aback when CT told us that the sloped area on the upper part of the back of his head (is that the crown?) usually doesn't fill out, so it will always be diagonal (in farther on the left side). Also they have told us that it gets much harder to get growth the closer you get to the ear, and we probably won't see much correction there. The clinician said that it is not at all related to the fact that the velcro is holding there, but I can't help but wonder. > > I guess I am struggling to adjust my expectations... I had thought that since he was not very severe to start with, that he would end up " normal " . But while I can see progress, I can still tell very clearly where his head is weird. I guess some things just can't be fixed, but then I read on this board about people complaining to the head office and finding there were mistakes made, etc. and it makes me second guess what's happening. > > Anyway, does what they are saying sound correct? Does it fit with your experience? > Thanks! > -Jen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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