If your child received physical therapy for walking, etc.

what??

What were the reasons (weak core, etc.?)  My son is weak in his mid-section and not yet walking at 17 months.  You can tell he has difficulty balancing too (just with walking, not anything else).  He does get physical therapy and progess has been made.  Now the PT is suggesting maybe seening an orthapedic soon as his feet turn out like a duck which does not help him balance and most kids feet turn in when starting to walk and then go normal.  Any info, I would appreciate.  Thanks!

PS.  the feet issue may resolve in him getting braces which I am fine with as long as it helps him.

PinkPiano

My dd started getting therapy at about 15 months and incidentally she started walking right before it started.  She was barely considered delayed but she still received 6 months of therapy and she wore orthodics as well.  She also had a weak core and slightly low muscle tone. 

She received therapy again when she was 3.  She got a 2nd pair of orthodics too.  Her therapist said she has a lot of kids that are "in and out" for several years.  She also highly recommended keeping her active and doing activities that strengthen the core.  Your son is a bit young for that now but when he gets older it may help.  Our therapist highly recommended swimming but we mainly do dance (with swimming in the summer) and that has been enough to keep my dd out of therapy for the last 2 years.

 ***Did they specifically mention braces or are orthodics a possibility?  I am really no expert on this subject but the orthodics worked well for us.   

wellfleet04

My DD did not walk until 18 months.  She didn't stand unassisted until 17 months.  She had low tone in her hips, but honestly I think she is just slow for whatever reason on gross motor stuff.  She has a gigantic head, which I think made it hard for her to push up, roll, crawl, pull up, etc and she was late on all of that stuff, too.

She got PT for walking from 16-18 months and for torticollis from 3-11 months.  She went back into PT for gross motor delays (no jumping, no climbing stairs) just after her 2nd birthday.  There is no "issue", she is just slow.  She is 2.5 now and still crawls up and scoots down most stairs.  There is nothing going on with her that can be "fixed" with anything other than time.  The PT is just to keep monitoring her progress and to give me some ideas that may speed things up.  HTH. 

MichelleWP

My daughter has been in PT for about 14 months now. She has hypotonia, tight hips, and dev dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder - she has problems motor planning). I believe her low tone was due to her not pushing up and moving like a normal baby to build tone. She didn't roll until 14 months, but she took her first steps at 18 months, She's doing really well, but still has trouble with transitions and getting down from places.

Her lower legs turn out and her feet out-toe and are flat and pronated - she was a butt scooter which I think really affected her leg development. Her PT wanted her to get AFO's a year ago, our insurance doesn't cover them unless you're diabetic and they are very expensive  so we went to Shriners. She had just started walking during our first visit and he wanted her to have 6 months of walking barefoot to try to correct her arches before bracing. Her right foot is now looking pretty good, but her left foot is very pronated. We went back to Shriners last week and he wants to give her another year, but her PT still thinks she needs them, so  now we're going to get a second opinion.

PearlieGirl'sMom

DD received Physical Therapy because she had gross motor skill delays and sensory disorder. She is going to be 3 on Friday. She did not walk until she was 19 months old. But, now, you would never be able to tell she had problems.

what??

ThePT didn't specifically mention braces, just that it may be the case when we do go see the orthapedic.  I would believe it may be the only thing to fix his feet so they go straight.  I am seeing an ENT on Friday for him.  He went when he was 6 months old cause he has an ear infections on and off since 3 months and this can cause balance issues.  I have a follow-up with an neuro for when he is 19 months.  I took him at 15 months but they said they did not want to run any tests yet being he seemed to be progessing with the PT and by looking at my son, he did not see anything too alarming so he wanted to do a follow-up at around 18 to 19 months and then take things from there.  I am just trying to cover all my bases for him and make sure I am not missing anything.