Re: Re: Questions about experience with an older baby wearing a helmet

[Guest guest]

I question the ability of Orthomerica to even make a STARband that

isn't oversized by a month's worth of growth. Our second one was.

So, of the four months of viable treatment time you have left, they

would probably flush one down the toilet before the orthotist even

gets a chance to screw it up.

--

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara age 22 months, in STARband ~5 1/2 months

On Feb 9, 2010, at 12:21 PM, christineashok wrote:

> If you can't go to CT at least try and find an ortho that is not

> skeptical about pursuing treatment.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

We have had a positive experience with our Starband. I have read about

many others who have, but a couple people who have not. My

understanding is a lot of it depends on the ortho. For the Starband it

is recommended you go with a highly recommended ortho. CT seems to

have more experience with older babies. In our case the Starband has

worked better. If we needed to band again, in most cases we would go

with our Starband ortho over CT.

I have read about several older babies being banded at 20 to 22 months

for plagio, but not so much for brachy. The older plagio babies have

some success, but not complete resolution. I don't know about banding

for brachy at 20 months. Our son's brachy has not improved

significantly over the past couple scans, but this measurement is

already borderline almost normal and it is the plagio that we

concentrate on. Our scans improvement in brachy a few months ago at

around 17 months. There are a couple older brachy babies on this group

who got improvement after the helmet over several months. They might

know more.

-Kathy, mom to 20 months, 8 months in Starband

Thad Launderville wrote:

I question the ability of Orthomerica to even make a STARband that

isn't oversized by a month's worth of growth. Our second one was.

So, of the four months of viable treatment time you have left, they

would probably flush one down the toilet before the orthotist even

gets a chance to screw it up.

--

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara age 22 months, in STARband ~5 1/2 months

On Feb 9, 2010, at 12:21 PM, christineashok wrote:

> If you can't go to CT at least try and find an ortho that is not

> skeptical about pursuing treatment.

[Guest guest]

My daughter was banded relatively late compared to most (14.5 months). I agree that CT is probably your best bet in terms of getting an ortho to agree to do the band. It seems that most STARband providers appear to believe that banding doesn't help past 18 months.

Having said that, there is some variability with both CT and STARband providers. There are some on here with STARbands on babies that age and older. Also, I consulted CT (over the phone) regarding banding my daughter. The location I contacted told me that in general, they don't encourage parents to get helmets at my daughter's age (she was 14 months at the time), but only do it if a parent insists. When I asked about the possibility of a 2nd band at 19 months, I was told that they wouldn't band her that late. After my daughter graduated from her STARband, I actually went in for their free consult when my daughter was 22 months and they did not recommend a band for her. By then, she had improved some, but still had brachy that the clinician pointed out in her head and facial features. I don't know whether they would have done it if I had pushed for it.

There is a difference between 20 and 22 months. I only asked about the 19 months without them seeing my daughter so I don't know for sure whether they would have agreed if I really wanted it.

How much improvement you will get will depend upon growth. At least one good growth spurt will help.

Getting a toddler to keep it on when it is introduced this late may or may not be tough. My daughter did not like hats until she got her helmet. We got her brother a helmet as well and made a big deal about her wonderful helmet. She grew quite attached to it and actually had separation anxiety when we stopped.

Also, there is another group for moms of older babies with plagio that you might learn from. It is called olderplag.

, mom to , 29 months

STARband grad

Chiro and CST

land

Re: Questions about experience with an older baby wearing a helmet

at 20 mo I would make sure you are working with someone who has experience with older babies. Cranial Tech (maker of docband) seems to have the most experience with older kids that I am aware of. However from what I understand they take each child case by case to decide if they recommend banding, and sometimes they decide not to based on the particular baby and age. I would try to do a consultation with them as quickly as possible. I know they may not be located conveniently depending where you live. If you can't go to CT at least try and find an ortho that is not skeptical about pursuing treatment.-christinesydney, 4 yrs, starband grad>> My daughter was diagnosed with deformational brachycephaly at 20 months. The doctor prescribed a helmet saying it was possible to get results even that late, if she would wear it for a longer period of time, i.e. 6 months. The orthotist, however, was skeptical. > Are there any of you out there that have experience getting a helmet at such an advanced age? Did you get a meaningful correction? How did you manage keeping the helmet on the toddler's head for 23 hours a day? I've read that one of the challenges is preventing the toddler from taking the helmet off herself. Any ideas how to pitch the helmet to her so she would want to stick with it? She is a strong-willed, active toddler, that would throw an occasional tantrum.> Thank you.>

[Guest guest]

I totally agree that you should just go ahead and order the Hanger band. As you've seen, there are people that have had good experiences there. The key is to get the band ASAP. 97 percent is considered to be severe and even if you only got down to 94 or 95 percent, you will see a big difference. If you feel comfortable with the place, then just do it.

I am also going to recommend that you do alternative treatments at the same time. They can't hurt and might even help. Cranial sacral therapy, cranial osteopathy, and chiro are the most popular options. In my daughter's case, her head bones were stuck and the CST addressed this. Also, her spine was misaligned and the chiro addressed this. I've been considred consulting an osteopath and even started looking up some people, but I haven't followed through.

My daughter started at 95 percent and graduated 6 months later at 92.2 percent. We started chiro a few months later and restarted CST at the same time. I believe that her head has improved since her graduation and hand measurements seems to support this. She goes for what is probably her last CST appointment next Monday and I will get another set of hand measurements then.

Since Leila posted Maysa's recent scan, I am strongly considering taking her back for another scan to confirm the improvement that I see. I believe that she is now below 90 percent.

Here are some websites that might help you find some alternative practitioners:

for CST: www.upledger.com

for Osteopathy: www.cranialacademy.org

for chiro: www.icpa4kids.com

, mom to , 29 months

STARband grad May 2009 (at 20.5 months)

Chiro and CST

land

Re: Questions about experience with an older baby wearing a helmetI would definitely go ahead with banding as soon as possible. My daughter was quite young but started with about the same numbers. She got very good correction, but i can still see some remaining shape issues with her head (not obvious to others). I would want to know i did all that I could to correct the situation. Even small correction will help. I know some parents see correction post-banding as the baby grows older. I haven't really noticed any improvement since my daughter graduated. You just don't know if your child will improve on her own or not. It sounds like your otho is being reasonable. Just try to make sure you get a good fit on the band and he quickly follows up with any problems. Then hope you get some good growth in the next few months.-christinesydney, 4 yrs, starband grad> >> > My daughter was diagnosed with deformational brachycephaly at 20 months. The doctor prescribed a helmet saying it was possible to get results even that late, if she would wear it for a longer period of time, i.e. 6 months. The orthotist, however, was skeptical. > > Are there any of you out there that have experience getting a helmet at such an advanced age? Did you get a meaningful correction? How did you manage keeping the helmet on the toddler's head for 23 hours a day? I've read that one of the challenges is preventing the toddler from taking the helmet off herself. Any ideas how to pitch the helmet to her so she would want to stick with it? She is a strong-willed, active toddler, that would throw an occasional tantrum.> > Thank you.> >>