Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Hi tte - my daughter wasn't a toddler, but I wanted to answer some of your other questions: 1. What age did you treat your child and how successful was it? she was 6 months - 14.5 months old, 90ish% succussful 2. Was it uncomfortable for your child? she was ignorant of it on, but I suspect that each child's disposition determines if it bothers them. Most parents report that the kid never knew it was on. 3. How long was the treatment? 1st helmet=3.5 months, 2nd helmet=5 months 4.Have you noticed any delays with your child in developement? her delay in crawling/rolling was due to her torticollis (tight neck muscle). Once we were done with PT for that, she hasn't had any other delays. We saw an opthomologist yesterday to see if her residual head tilt is due to an eye problem. (NO!!) But he did see facial asymetry on the outside of her face still. My boss sees a bigger cheek on one side too, we don't really see any of it as we are used to her looks. The good news is that the eye structure/orbit don't have any asymetry inside her head and her vision wasn't affected by the bulging forehead. That was a worry to us as a side effect from her plagio. 5.Was it uncomfortable dealing with the " looks " from other people? I was in tears as we started the helmet - " No one will come over and interact with her now " , " she'll be a social outcast and her social skills will suffer " , etc. WRONG! That helmet was like a magnet for fun, happy people to say hi, tell her how cute she was, love on her sticker selection that week, or share their helmet story with us. BUT, a plain white helmet is scary to strangers - go to a Hobby Lobby, s and get stickers! The didn't stick to it, use a little extra rubbing if they do. I was afraid again as she exited the cast, " no one will talk to her without her helmet on " . Of course, everyone does...but now she doesn't have a pointy head!! Good luck, CT is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Hi tte & welcome to our group! I am so sorry to hear of the poor treatment (or lack there of) from your pediatrician. Unfortunatley though, that is a common story we hear in our group. It really is such a shame. Do you have the consultation scheduled with Cranial Tech yet? Cranial Tech. does band children up til age 2 as long as the child's sutures in their head remain open. We have had some other members band over age 18 mos., but those are few. We have a current member who is going thru DOC treatment older, I hope the mom will add her experience & let us know how her child's head is progressing. Luke most likely won't get 100% correction, but he still could benefit somewhat from a DOCband. I would get into cranial tech for an eval ASAP to see what they recommend. I'll answer your other questions below: > I would like to know the following: > > 1. What age did you treat your child and how successful was it? A)My daughter Abby began her DOCband at 11.5 mos of age. Abby's plagio was severe. She wore one band for 4.5 mos, graduated at age 15.5 mos with 50-60% correction which I'm thrilled with. > > 2. Was it uncomfortable for your child? A) No, not at all. Abby never knew the band was on her head. > > 3. How long was the treatment? A) DOCband 4.5 mos. > > 4.Have you noticed any delays with your child in developement? A) Abby graduated from her band one year ago, she's now 27 mos with no developmental delays. > > 5.Was it uncomfortable dealing with the " looks " from other > people? > A) At first a bit, but you get used to it. I always say that it's human nature for others to stare at something that is " different " . I'd probably stare at a helmeted baby too if I didn't know what it was for. Please keep us posted on your decision & your appt with Cranial Tech.. Best of luck. Welcome again. Debbie Abby's mom 3/1/00 DOCgrad 2/16/01-6/22/01 MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Hi Nicollette, My son, , is almost 1 (6 more days!), and he's been in his DOC band for almost 3 months now, so I figured I'd chime in and let you know how we've been doing. I am blessed that our health nurse knew that there was treatment for 's brachiocephaly (flat on the back), and told us we should get a referral from our family physician to go to the cranio dept. at the hospital. I am grateful for her knowledge because I know not a lot of people know there are things you can do about this. I know there are a lot of moms on this forum who are trying to increase public awareness so parents can force their doctors to help. Anyway...here go the answers... 1. What age did you treat your child and how successful was it? started at about 9 months. We have seen some correction so far. It's still flat on the back, and still have a ways to go, but there is definitely improvement. We were told he'd probably wear the helmet for 5 months, so I'm hoping for more improvement. I'm not expecting 100%, but any improvement is good. 2. Was it uncomfortable for your child? only cried when I put on the helmet for the first two days. He's actually gotten to the point where when I take it off, he taps it against his head as if to say put it back on. In all actuality it's saved his little bean a few times! He's walking around furniture, and going up and down stairs, so it's actually been a good thing to have from that point of view too. 3. How long was the treatment? As I said above we were told about 5 months. I don't care if he has to wear it for 8 or 9 months, if it's going to help. 4.Have you noticed any delays with your child in development? is catching on to things very quickly. He's smart just like his mommy (lol), and musically gifted like his dad (drums/pots you know). I'm a first time mommy, so I'm one of those who thinks my son is the cutest and the smartest. 5.Was it uncomfortable dealing with the " looks " from other people? The first week I was self-conscious. doesn't care, and doesn't notice the stares. I'm quite comfortable with it now. Sometimes people ask what it's for, and then I get the surprises like the 9 year old girl who knew what it was for because her teacher's son had one. I'm quite happy to talk about it now because I know how little people know about it, and they just may know someone whose child needs one. I'm sure there are many of us too who wish we knew earlier that there are things we can do about this. It's such a short amount of time in the helmet when you think about how old we all live to...under a year in probably 70 to 80 years...not much time at all. Good luck with everything. You'll find lots of great support here. There are SO many knowledgeable and caring people hanging out here. Velma, Mom to Calgary, Alberta, Canada http://www.momsforlife.com/?vg39616 Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 11:00:59 -0000 From: " knicnac " <nikknac@...> Subject: Treating Toddlers Hi, I have a 19 month old toddler boy named Luke. ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 > > I would like to know the following: > > 1. What age did you treat your child and how successful was it? Started at 9.5 months for first band; and 14 months for second band. Got about 60 percent approx. correction with first band and probably a total of 90 percent for both bands. Got quite a bit of correction with second band started later. He was categorized a moderate/severe to start with a lot of facial asymmetry from birth due to being breech baby with dislocated hip from intrauterine confinement. > > 2. Was it uncomfortable for your child? Fussed for about a minute then fine with it. > > 3. How long was the treatment? 5 months first band, 3.5 months second, 8.5 months total. > > 4.Have you noticed any delays with your child in developement? He had delays initially due to torticollis. Now he is active and running and getting into everything. Still has a little tilt we are working on for torticollis. > > 5.Was it uncomfortable dealing with the " looks " from other > people? > All I can say is you do get used to it. After a while I even forgot he was wearing when out until someone asked me about. Candy, mom to land > I greatly appreciate any response form anyone who has dealt > with this. It is a big decison for us and we so want to do the right > thing. > > Thank you so much, > tte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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