Anyone with a child who "caught up"??

sunkissed7804 · July 2014

Evening everyone!

My DD is 13 months old (on the 4th). She is assessed at being closer to a 10 month old developmentally. She just started crawling (YAY!!) about a week ago. Although, she only does so when she reeeeaaaally wants something. She does not yet say any words (not even mama or dada) although she does know who dada and sissy are. In fact, her sister is her favorite person.

She is obviously behind cognitively. She does not understand to do most things she is asked to do although she does know a few such as "turn the page" of a book. She also understands a few signs and actually does more. She just started clapping (somewhat) for "yay!" ...when she feels like it! jaja

My question is to all the parents who have had a child or have a child who is behind like this....

Did your child catch up? Was it a long road and what was it like? What can I expect? I know that each child is individual. I just want to hear from others who have had these developmental issues. Also, any tips or advice on how to really get her motors running would be most appreciated!!

TIA!!

kjsmith9 · July 2014

I didn't have a preemie, but I'm a pediatric PT so I see lots of kiddos who are behind (some due to prematurity, some not). They will continue to adjust her age until she's 2, so she's not really expected to "catch up" until then. Crawling at 10 months is in the realm of normal. And there are posts on here all the time about toddlers >1 year old not saying any words yet. A lot of kids have language explosions around 15 and 18 months (so for her it may be closer to 18 and 21 months).

The best things you can do for her are give her opportunities to learn and play. Floor time helps them learn how to crawl more efficiently, gives them chances to pull up on furniture, etc. Read to her whenever she'll let you, and talk to her like she's an adult (no baby talk).

Why do you say she's "obviously behind" from a cognitive standpoint?

Since she was that premature, does she go to a developmental assessment clinic regularly? Or at least the developmental pediatrician? They should be able to give you a better idea of how close she is to norms for her adjusted age.

sunkissed7804 · July 2014

Thanks so much for your response!

My DD was not a preemie...in fact she was a week late!

I say she is behind cognitively because she does not respond to most commands/questions/requests. From what I have read she should be doing MUCH more at this age.

kjsmith9 · July 2014

sunkissed7804 said:

Thanks so much for your response! My DD was not a preemie...in fact she was a week late!

I say she is behind cognitively because she does not respond to most commands/questions/requests. From what I have read she should be doing MUCH more at this age.

ooooh! When you said "assessed at being closer to 10 months old" I assumed that you meant preemie. Even so, I wouldn't be overly concerned yet. We don't start to worry about lack of walking til 18+ months. And most kids do catch up by 2-3 years old. I would have early intervention evaluations done just for piece of mind.

ashiscute · July 2014

I'm a bit confused. What did your Pedi say at her 12 mos checkup? Has she been evaluated or have you contacted EI? I'm just not sure where the 10 mo assessment came from.

DD was evaluated by EI for speech concerns at 15 mos. She had no words, was not imitating, and had very limited babbling. The evaluation came back that she was between 8- 12 mos for both expressive and receptive language. She started speech therapy at 17 mos. Since then she has been diagnosed with a mild form of Childhood Apraxia of Speech which is a neurological speech disorder.

She recently transferred from EI to preschool through the county. She came in at like 40% for her words and sentences for other 3 yo which is huge progress. However, she came in at 2% for articulation. So basically she is speaking at the 40th percentile for her age which is huge considering she had no words at 18 mos. But she can be very difficult to understand.

If your DD has not been evaluated then she really needs to be checked out by EI to see if there is a delay or if she is just a bit behind because these are not the same thing. 13 mos doesn't seem old to not have any words. DD was 18 mos when she first said dada and 20 mos when she first said mama. Good luck!

sunkissed7804 · July 2014

I really appreciate the comments...

The pedi said that she isn't overly concerned right now and that if she hasn't seen improvement by her 15 mo checkup that at that point she will be.

DD was assessed by EI at 8 months because I just wasn't satisfied with "she's fine" which is what I was being told by her doc office. When they assessed her she was only behind in gross motor. However, I requested that the dev specialist come back at 12 months just for a look-see and she agreed with me that she is prob around the 8-9 month mark across the board. Still, she even said that she doesn't see anything sending off major alarms at this time because the most important thing is that you see a natural progression across all the developmental categories (not off the charts in one and another way behind). I agree that she is definitely progressing but I am still worried about my lil gal.

If she is simply following her own time line--GREAT! I just wanted to be proactive because I noticed that she was definitely a late bloomer. It is very difficult (and a little selfish on my part) because there are a few munchkins right around her age in our family right now and they are all right at the average mark. It just makes me worry more and I want her to catch up.

Another question...do you personally believe that DD's lack of exposure to other kiddos could also cause her to be more on the baby side. We have no family or friends where we currently are and she never gets to play with other munckins her age. Thoughts?

ashiscute · July 2014

I honestly do not believe that. Kids do things on their own schedule no matter what. Doesn't matter if they're a first or second or fifth or boy or girl or in daycare or at home. They will get their when they're ready. I was 100% sure DS would crawl and walk a bit early because he was active early, he was a boy and he'd want to catch up with his big sis. Nope. He crawled at 9 mos and walked at 13 mos.

I do think it would be good for you and your DD to get involved with others though. Try story times at local libraries or a moms group. Something to get your LO some time with kids. She will definitely enjoy. Good luck. Hopefully you can get your answers. I know how it feels to be told "she's fine" and not believe it. It's very frustrating.

cynthia2007 · July 2014

@sunkissed7804, my DD is behind in gross motor skills and she will 13 mo on the 23rd. It's been a long frustrating road and still going. At her 9mo appt, I told the pedi that she wasn't crawling or cruising and was worried about it, he suggested we go see a PT. She hates it but we go weekly. She JUST started to crawl this week and its also only if she really wants something. She's been cruising along furniture for the past 2-3 weeks.

And I don't think that not being around kids has anything to do with it. My DD is in daycare 5 days a week and has lots of other babies around her crawling and moving and that didn't make her want to move. All babies move at their own pace. And you can't compare to other babies as hard as it is to not do that. TRUST ME, I still do it but I TRY to not get so upset about it.

I really do think that babies do things when THEY are ready. And some people say that babies may develop in one area better and be behind in another. For us its behind in gross but she understands a lot and babbles a LOT.

Good luck

Crequito · July 2014

DD was walking at 10 months so I can't offer any help there but I can tell you she really didn't start using words until 14 months. Now at 15 months we all of a sudden have almost 20 words - english and spanish! I was worried at her 12 month appointment that she wasn't talking and the pedi said he wasn't going to be worried until 18 months so I just let it go. We have definitely had the language explosion that you read about in the past month.

I've tried to remember that all babies develop at their own pace and DD will get to where she needs to be eventually. Keep engaging your DD and who knows, one day she might surprise you and start talking in full sentences - my younger brother did!

SusanC111 · July 2014

I would suggest PT if your insurance covers it. We go for torticollis, but the PT is really good at suggesting exercises to promote sitting and crawling (for my 6 mo old, but we went with my now 20 mo old too).

And my 20 mo old only has about 10 words, pedi is not concerned and thinks he'll have a big jump by age 2.

An anecdote for you, my aunt just told me yesterday her son didn't crawl until 15 months! He had to stay in the infant room at daycare and was talking and talking and completely immobile. Anyway, I don't know when he caught up, but he always played a ton of sports growing up and is normal as can be as a teenager.

cooperme2871 · July 2014

I just wanted you to know that we are "behind" as well. My son will be 13 months at the end of the week, and cannot crawl, pull to stand, etc. We are also in PT, and it is very slow moving.