Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 - Hi. I am from Washington too. What area are you from? We are in the Tacoma/Fife area. I will tell you this. Your child is at the optimum time in his life to begin helmet/band therapy. Yes, you are right. There is no Cranial Technologies here in Washington state, unfortunately. The nearest one, I believe is in California. If you have the time and money, you could travel, but you'd be going to CA every other week for adjustments. Your other option is helmet therapy, which is available through Children's Hospital in Seattle, where my son is going to receive treatment. The only difference, my son isn't receiving his helmet until his first birthday. You are at an advantage because you are acting now, not listening to doctors tell you it will round out on its own, and try repositioning, until it's too late! I'm not saying repositioning doesn't work, it has for some people, but it just didn't for my son. We have noticed a lot of rounding out and correction due to not so much time spent on his back, and the constant need to turn his head to the right has dissipated. Most people don't notice it anymore, but there is the occasional, "Oh, how cute, one cheek is bigger than the other." The DOC band seems to be the ultimate choice around here, but for us up here where we don't really have that option, the helmet has worked for a lot of babies. Especially with your son being so young, his head is going to still be growing rapidly, so you'd get a lot of correction, even with the helmet. I wish I could do the DOC band but it's 3,000 dollars and I don't think we could swing the trip to California every other week, as much as I'd like to. So even though my son is almost a year and will probably have to wear this helmet for ten months to get any significant correction due to lessened head growth, we are going ahead with it, and it's half the price of the DOC band. If you'd like the information for Children's let me know. There is another person on this list named who went through Children's in Seattle, and she could probably give you more info than me because her son is graduated, I believe. And there are lots of people on this list who had helmets rather than the band, and if the baby was young enough, had great correction. Someone else responded to your post and said not to mess around with anything else, just get the DOC band, and that would be great if we all could do that, but if you're not economically able to travel all the time, you have to accept what is available to you. And believe me, you should do all right with helmet, with your son being so young. Let me know if I can help you out in anyway. kellie, mom of , Tacoma, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 , Hi and welcome to the group! Don't feel bad, most parents here have experienced the same slow to none advice concerning plagio- its great that your son is only 5 months old- some parents don't get that lucky! My son was dx with tort, so when I hear, he likes to sleep tilted towards the left, or his left side is flat, it makes my tort mind kick in. Definitely pose the question of tort to the Doc, so that they can rule this out as the cause of the plagio. My son could not turn his head to the left, and tilted his head to the left, so he favored his right side and thereby created a flat spot. Some tort can be from bony anomalies, very rare, most is muscular. Does your son tilt his head at other times? Does he favor one side? Is he constantly turning in one direction only? Or, does he use his entire body to turn in one direction? Address these questions with your Doc to make sure its not tort. If it is, tort is very fixable through physical therapy- you essentially stretch out the muscle because it is so tight it causes them to have limited use of it. I encountered a mom at pt whose child was dx with plagio and then months later dx with tort as the cause of plagio- so it wouldn't hurt to ask your Doc now, especially at this young age! Good luck and if you have any questions, please ask away and I'll do my best to help! ' Mom (DOC grad/ semi-resolved tort) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 , Welcome to the group and let me assure you that you are not alone! I think everyone here has felt the whole range of feelings you described at one point or another. Guilt, frustration, anger, sadness, fear to name just a few. You are doing the right thing now and let me say that 5 months is a GREAT age to start! You will get all sorts of correction. Your specialist will be able to direct you to a local orthotist since there is no DOC clinic in your area. If you don't use a DOCband then you will probably get a STARband or a locally made passive helmet (which is what my daughter used). Don't worry, these are also good products. I will caution you, however, to interview the orthotist very thoroughly before using their product - you need an ortho who has tons of experience with treating infants with plagio and tons of experience in using whichever product he/she chooses to use. Ask to see before/after pictures, ask if he/she has any references or people you could call for a reference. The information about his/her experience the higher your confidence level can be. Also, make sure you ask your specialist about torticollis. If your son has tort he will need physical therapy to correct it. It might be good to note that not all specialists support and/or promote band/helmet therapy. Some feel like it will correct itself on its own or that it is " no big deal " . So be prepared for that - since you have researched plagio some then you will be able to weigh your options more objectively. Good luck and hang in there. We've all been there and trust me, you come out on the other end a stronger person! Please keep us posted and let us know how the appointment with the specialist goes. Marci (Mom to ) Oklahoma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 In a message dated 01/15/2002 3:38:51 PM Central Standard Time, Kelliesmith@... writes: << Someone else responded to your post and said not to mess around with anything else, just get the DOC band, and that would be great if we all could do that, but if you're not economically able to travel all the time, you have to accept what is available to you. And believe me, you should do all right with helmet, with your son being so young. >> I'm going to agree here that not everyone can afford the cost or the travel involved with the DOCband. We could not. I have no regrets with the locally made helmet my daughter wore. If your orthotist is experienced, skilled and conscientious then you will have good luck with whatever orthotic device you use! The DOCband is a great product, no doubt, however, it is not the only thing out there that works to correct plagio and it is a good idea to explore all of your options and then make an informed decision that fits your lifestyle and financial situation. Marci (Mom to ) Oklahoma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2002 Report Share Posted January 15, 2002 , About 3 months ago, I was in the same place you are at right now. My son also had a flat spot on the back left side of his head, along with torticollis and his ears were getting unaligned. We started on the Doc band on Nov 1st, and graduated from it on Dec 23rd! 7 weeks, and we now have a baby with a beautiful head !!! 5 months is the perfect age to start, because they are growing so much, you should see results the fastest! Good luck. I wouldn't mess around with anything else, get the DOC band! mom to Conner-now 7 months old. --- barryandnancys <barryandnancy@...> wrote: > Hi. My name is and I'm new to this group. My son is almost > 5 > months old and we just discovered he has this problem. Oh, we > always > knew he had a flat spot on the left side of his head but everyone > including our ped. said that it was normal and it would go away. > It > wasn't until my husband looked at our son from above that we > noticed > one ear is way forward, his cheek is bulging, and his forehead is > protruding a bit on the flat side. I am just so angry that we > didn't > know, angry at myself I guess for not knowing. My son likes to > sleep > with his head tilted to the left. I don't think he has > torticollis. > We are seeing a specialist on Fri. and will probably end up getting > a > band or helmet. We live in Wash. and I noticed that the DOC band > clinic is not here. I've gotten alot of good info from the web > site > and other sites. Thanks for the info and for letting me vent. We > are just afraid and frustrated. Thanks. > > > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2002 Report Share Posted January 16, 2002 this is such a scary time but 5 months is still a wonderful time for treatment and to capture correction-you are very fortunate in that respect. Don't kick yourself for not knowing-that is part of the major problem out there not enough people are educated in plagio or know enough about the treatment but we are slowly but surely getting the word out and someday you will be able to help another Mom too. There are over 1000 members at this site alone so we have some experience to share with you. We are so glad you have found the site and I think you will find great support and friendship here as well as knowledge and advice-so welcome. Again let me reiterate that 5 months is still a great time to get started and as long as you actively pursue things now you should see great results. Who is your appointment with on Friday? What has your ped said about his head so far? Since there is not a DOC clinic close to you are you familiar with what type of band/helmet therapy will be available for you? I would make sure you pursue the tort evaluation - My son didn't get diagnosed with tort but he had very tight neck muscles in which we did a lot of beck stretching at home with him and it was effective. You sound like a great mommyw ho has a great hubby so you will do well. Just don't settle until you get the answers you want and the treatment you think your little one deserves. Good luck Friday and be sure to post to let us know how it goes! Beck Mom to doc grad TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.