Re: New Daughter and Plagiocephaly

November 30, 2010

Welcome to the group and congratulations on the adoption of your daughter.

Banding when young is definitely preferred but babies can be banded up to 18

months or 2 yrs, depending on your provider. I would try to get things started

as quickly as possible once she's in the US. I think cranial tech

(www.cranialtech.com) has the most experience banding older babies, but not sure

if you would be able to travel to one of their locations. My daughter wore a

starband and had very good results but was quite young. Still most starband

providers will keep a baby banded until 18 months or longer (especially if

you're seeing improvement).

Facial asymmetry is very common with plagio. The other thing to look into is

torticollis. This is a condition where the muscles on one side of the neck are

tighter and the child prefers to look to one side, rest on one side etc, which

contributes to plagio and facial asymmetry. Tort is treated through physical

therapy - most of which is done by you at home under the guidance of a

therapist. You probably want to have her evaluated for tort too once she's home.

There are definitely success stories. I think if you look in the photos section

there is a folder called Older Babies. I know Jake was one of the successes. He

was treated with 2 docbands starting at 17 months.

All the best.

-christine

sydney, almost 5 yrs, starband grad

>

> Hi,

>

> I'm new to this group and VERY new to plagiocephaly, but am about to jump

right in the middle of it all. DH is in China now to complete the adoption

of our 15 month old daughter. He was concerned about her head shape and her

face being " swollen " on one side. Through some Google research, we found the

Cranial Solutions site and he says that the assessment for plagiocephaly fits

her. Her little head is flattened on the right side, that ear is much bigger

than the other, the right side of her face looks as if is swollen, and her eyes

are not the same size...and I have to add that she is absolutely beautiful! I

can't tell a lot from when we have Skyped, but DH says she fits the description

on the website exactly.

>

> This condition was not mentioned in her referral paperwork, and was not

obvious in the few pictures we received, so we are a bit surprised. We were

prepared for a hand and arm difference due to amniotic banding. But, we are

ready to do our research and go with what we find to be the best course for her.

She should be having her China medical check-up done as I'm typing this, and I'm

anxiously waiting to hear from DH.

>

> So, please share any and everything that you think might be helpful. Looking

at some of the posts, it looks like most of your children have been treated at a

very young age. Is there anyone who has had success with treatment of a child

that is a little older? Success stories would be wonderful right now.

>

> We are so excited to be adding another child to our family and want to do

everything for her that we possibly can. Sorry for the lenth of the post, and

thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.

>

> B.

> Tennessee

>

December 2, 2010

Thank you for the comments. We will definitely get her checked out

for the torticollis once she is home. I looked in the older babies photo

folders and the pictures of the child named Jake were very encouraging! Thanks

for pointing those out to me.

Bottoms

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I'm new to this group and VERY new to plagiocephaly, but am about to jump