Re: Occupational Therapy Student

[Guest guest]

DOC Band is referring to a brand of cranial molding orthosis sold by Cranial

Technologies. You can learn more at www.cranialtech.com.

The two top competitors are Hanger Orthotics and Orthomerica (Star Scanner,

StarBand, Clarren Helmet). They deal with other orthotics, whereas Cranial Tech

only does banding for plagiocephaly/ brachycephaly. Cranial Tech also uses PT's

instead of orthotists, and their helmets are about 2 ounces lighter but children

outgrow them more quickly because of the smaller amount of padding. Orthomerica

locations are basically orthotists who chose to invest in a StarScanner. Hanger

is a chain of orthotists, some of who offer bands in addition to other

orthotics. If you google them and read their websites, it will make a lot more

sense. There are also other local orthotists that sell cranial remolding

orthoses from what I hear.

My son had moderate plagiocephaly and mild/moderate torticollis (short/damaged

SCM muscle on one side of neck, sometimes trapezius too). He worked with a PT

for his torticollis. Torticollis is present in about 80% of babies with

plagiocephaly, FYI. Even very mild torticollis needs to be fully treated, or it

can cause worsening facial asymmetry in babies/ children with plagiocephaly and

reduce the possible amount of correction with the helmet/ band or repositioning

in young babies. Torticollis can also cause uneven or delayed motor development

because the baby is uncomfortable or can't look toward one side of body. Even

with somewhat mild torticollis and being in PT, my son had uneven use of his R

vs. L hand (development of skills with R delayed a month or sometimes much more

compared to L) and noticeable and worsening facial asymmetry caused by tort even

after his plagiocephaly was corrected. I would think OT could have helped with

this, though we never tried it. I got him to use his right hand by placing a box

of toys on his right side every time he played. Of course, this didn't help once

he could reposition himself. PT stretches had limited success for his

torticollis, though many parents find it works very well. We finally got him a

TOT Collar (google it), and that seems to be what is finally correcting his tort

after 8 months of treatment. It has also helped his facial asymmetry a little

since correcting tort usually reverses some facial asymmetry.

Challenges or issues that occur with plagiocephaly vary. As I explained above,

there are the issues that come with torticollis, which usually occurs in

conjunction with plagio. For more about torticollis, visit the torticollis

group.

For plagio specifically, the most common issue is deformation of the head and

face. If you don't think this is an issue, just imagine going to high school

with half of your face squished! Nobody wants that for their child. The other

issues come along with shifting of the facial features. Vision can be affected

if the eye is either partially covered from the eyelid being pushed down, or if

pressure changes in the eye damage vision. Torticollis can also cause temporary

vision problems because it trains the brain to think the child is seeing with

his/her head positioned neutrally when it is actually tilted to the side. The

ears are usually shifted as well, and I've heard that some children seem to have

more frequent ear infections because of this. The jaw can also be affected. This

is more common with severe plagiocephaly. The uneven position of the jaw can

cause TMJ. Finally, I've heard from some parents that the flat head made it

difficult for their baby to learn to roll over. My son had difficulty going in

one direction but could roll the other way. I think that it was more of a

problem with his uneven motor development from the torticollis in his case, but

that's just my theory. I've also heard that some children get more headaches

from plagio, and I've heard from parents of older children with resolved tort

that they still get a stiff neck/ aching after the tort is treated.

So, in my opinion, the main issues that an OT might be concerned with are

related more to torticollis than plagio. I'd recommend reading up on the tort

board.

>

> Hello everyone,

> I am an occupational therapy (OT) student and have not investigated

plagiocephaly in detail. I have been reading some posts and I was wondering,

what does DOC mean?! Also, can anyone explain some major challenges/issues that

may have occured with plageocephaly?! Have any of you ever worked with an OT

before and if so did it help?

> If anyone could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it!

> Thank you,

> Mel

>

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for ALL the information you posted to Mel. I found it to be so helpful. My son has the Hanger helmet and I too didn't know about the other bands. My son's left eye seems to be slightly smaller (because it doesn't open as much) as his left eye. The tech @ Hanger said it is "Lazy Lid", and said we can take him to a pediatric eye doctor. Have you experienced this? As for the torticollis, the tech @ Hanger did mention that our son has (mild) limited range on his left side of his neck. She didn't recommend therapy though. Should it be done? My son is 6 1/2 months old and has been wearing the helmet for 6 weeks now. Last week we were told that his progress is well, and he will need the helmet for maybe another month.

Thanks !

--- Tommy's Mommy

[Guest guest]

Thank you . I will look into physical therapy for our son. I appreciate the information.

[Guest guest]

My daughter does meet with an occupational therapist once a week and then has a

physical therapist check on her once a month, both of whom we receive services

for through ECI (Early Childhood Intervention - If you are interested in

torticollis or other infant/toddler occupational therapies, your local ECI may

have some internships or volunteer programs). I met with both in the beginning

and they explained that at this age (6 months when we started with them),

physical and occupational therapy is fairly interchangeable. I especially like

that these therapists both go to my daughters daycare and do the therapy there,

saving me time off of work and they also help to instruct the daycare providers

on how to help my daughter.

We have noticed an improvement with the therapy. My daughter now fights the

original stretches for torticollis with a screaming vengeance so we have had to

craft more exciting ways of getting her to stretch and exercise the weaker

muscles. Also those stretches just didn't seem to be making a difference

anymore. I also do yoga and massage with my daughter, as well as help her to

stretch out and balance on a small exercise ball (it's actually one of those big

colorful balls that you can buy at Walmart for $2). My daughter's torticollis is

fairly well controlled for now and we generally only see the associated head

tilt and a regression of muscle use when she is going through a growth spurt.

(I'm told this is not uncommon to see)

We did see developmental delays between left and right sides as was mentioned

above and they could be as far apart as a month or more. However, since starting

the therapy that time delay has decreased to an average 2 weeks.

Hope this helps...

>

> Hello everyone,

> I am an occupational therapy (OT) student and have not investigated

plagiocephaly in detail. I have been reading some posts and I was wondering,

what does DOC mean?! Also, can anyone explain some major challenges/issues that

may have occured with plageocephaly?! Have any of you ever worked with an OT

before and if so did it help?

> If anyone could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it!

> Thank you,

> Mel

>

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for providing information! I very much appreciate you taking

time out of your day to help me better understand how I can help as an OT. I do

agree that an OT could have helped your little one use the right hand more -

that may be something you might consider in the future as well if you feel that

is an area of growth. Again, thank you so much!

Mel

> >

> > Hello everyone,

> > I am an occupational therapy (OT) student and have not investigated

plagiocephaly in detail. I have been reading some posts and I was wondering,

what does DOC mean?! Also, can anyone explain some major challenges/issues that

may have occured with plageocephaly?! Have any of you ever worked with an OT

before and if so did it help?

> > If anyone could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it!

> > Thank you,

> > Mel

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you very much for replying! I am glad to hear that OT (and PT) have

helped your little one - it is also great that the services are provided at the

daycare so that extra time does not need to be spent at another location!! The

information you provided is very beneficial and I feel as though I have a better

understanding of plagiocephaly.

Take care,

Mel

> >

> > Hello everyone,

> > I am an occupational therapy (OT) student and have not investigated

plagiocephaly in detail. I have been reading some posts and I was wondering,

what does DOC mean?! Also, can anyone explain some major challenges/issues that

may have occured with plageocephaly?! Have any of you ever worked with an OT

before and if so did it help?

> > If anyone could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it!

> > Thank you,

> > Mel

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Mel - Your are welcome. I am keeping an eye on the R/L discrepancy and, though

he's improved, I don't think it's 100% resolved. I'm going to wait and see a

little longer. I want to see what happens when his hand preference is developed.

I think he's going to be right-handed, so I'm hoping that it will resolve itself

as he feels the urge to use his right hand more. If he still seems to have

trouble, I'll look into OT. Thanks!

> > >

> > > Hello everyone,

> > > I am an occupational therapy (OT) student and have not investigated

plagiocephaly in detail. I have been reading some posts and I was wondering,

what does DOC mean?! Also, can anyone explain some major challenges/issues that

may have occured with plageocephaly?! Have any of you ever worked with an OT

before and if so did it help?

> > > If anyone could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it!

> > > Thank you,

> > > Mel

> > >

> >

>