Follow up to DD PT eval freak out (long)

PurrCrasher

As you may or may not recall, a week ago I was a big sobbing mess of a person after finding out that my sons PT thought my daughter needed PT too. I was blaming myself for nearly killing my children during birth and causing their "special needs". FWIW AF made her mighty return that next morning which explains a little bit of why I was a huge emotional disaster.

Anyway, this morning was DDs eval. Every single thing she did the three women doing the eval commented on how it was "bad".  She sticks her tongue out too often, she always tips to the right if she loses her balance when sitting up on her own, she doesn't like tummy time for more than a few minutes, she uses the wrong muscles to pull herself to a stand, she doesn't reach her arms up high enough above her head...and on and on.

 At first I was feeling devastated and imagining all of the things that are "wrong" with my daughter and then I realized something more valuable...I think the PTs are full of $hit. Okay, maybe not entirely, but you get the point. Don't get me wrong, I think that physical therapists are really valuable and can do amazing things for children that really need them but I also think that due to their profession they are trained to see every little thing as a problem to be resolved.My daughter hates tummy time because she can't look at things, she sticks her tongue out because she is learning to blow raspberries, she was tipping to the right because her brother was sitting next to her and she was wanting to touch him. I am not convinced that what they were looking for showed a true picture of her abilities but I digress.

I will follow through with the PTs recommendation that Vivian get physical therapy along with Samuel but I decided today to not let myself get too worried about it. She just turned 6 months old. She is an individual that's full of spirit and does things in her own time. She is sitting on her own, loves to stand, is starting to scoot across the floor and "talks" constantly. I think she's right on track and I'm not going to let myself feel guilty anymore. She is the most amazing little girl I've ever known and I'm so blessed that she's mine. Today I decided that my love of my children would never again be tainted by guilt over something I can't control. I'm just going to keep doing the best that I can and I am going to cheer them on every little step and wobble of the way. I think that as moms that's a big gift we can give our children, love and support.

Thanks for your ongoing support ladies. I am so glad I found this community.

mindymaske

Purr, I must have missed last weeks post, why do they think that dd needs therapy? And BTW, my Lo is doing the tongue out, bubbles thing, wobbles over when sitting up and has ALWAYS hated tummy time

Cheerilee

As someone in the special education field, you get used to looking for red flags. What I've learned is ONE evaluation never tells the whole story. DSS had a two hour evaluation when he was diagnosed with autism. They placed him on the very low end of the spectrum. He's not. His social issues got in the way of testing so he got a lot of zeros on his IQ test. Your DD is doing just as much, if not more than, as my DD. You are doing an amazing job. You know your babies best. Heck, maybe the PT had a client drop and needs to fill the spot for financial reasons! You're a very convenient fill since your DS is already there.

PurrCrasher

I feel a little bad and feel like I should add that I spent the last 13 years working with special needs children so I feel like I have a little bit of insight into "the system". I didn't want it to look like I'm looking down on the system as a whole, I have seen really remarkable things done for children (and adults) who needed services and I'm just trying to maintain a realistic and honest perspective for my children. I hope I didn't come off as bashing the people that help children with special needs because that was not my intention at all.

PurrCrasher

mindymaske:

Purr, I must have missed last weeks post, why do they think that dd needs therapy? And BTW, my Lo is doing the tongue out, bubbles thing, wobbles over when sitting up and has ALWAYS hated tummy time

Both of my babies were without oxygen for an unknown amount of time at birth due to a placental abruption. My DD nearly didn't make it which is how we were "flagged" as potentially needing services. There was fear that my DS had cerebral palsy which has thankfully been ruled out and replaced with hypertonia. They believe my DD has the same thing. Thankfully this means that they are only delayed a little physically and do not have any cognitive delays.

I  hope it's not rude of me to say that I'm kind of thrilled that your daughter hates tummy time too. I think it's normal that not all babies will enjoy being face down on the floor.

 

halvorsonl00

You are truly an amazing, strong women.

mindymaske

PurrCrasher:

mindymaske:

Purr, I must have missed last weeks post, why do they think that dd needs therapy? And BTW, my Lo is doing the tongue out, bubbles thing, wobbles over when sitting up and has ALWAYS hated tummy time

Both of my babies were without oxygen for an unknown amount of time at birth due to a placental abruption. My DD nearly didn't make it which is how we were "flagged" as potentially needing services. There was fear that my DS had cerebral palsy which has thankfully been ruled out and replaced with hypertonia. They believe my DD has the same thing. Thankfully this means that they are only delayed a little physically and do not have any cognitive delays.

I  hope it's not rude of me to say that I'm kind of thrilled that your daughter hates tummy time too. I think it's normal that not all babies will enjoy being face down on the floor.

 

Absolutely not rude. Crazy thing is I hate tummy time too. Lol. To try to get my lo to spend more time on her tummy, sometimes ill get down in my tummy with her...ugh...its not fun.
I absolutely hope your lo's continue to progress. Even though your dd may not need the PT, it definately cant hurt

nopegoat

Hugs!! You have an amazing perspective and no one knows your LO's like you! 

Whittyone12

I am so glad you are keeping a great outlook on this. I totally agree with you, I've seen Vivian in action and she seems like she is doing great to me. All kids do thing differently and maybe she missed the class the part in class that said when you are 6 months old you have to use perfect body mechanics. I watched a documentary the other day called "The Science of Babies", and it was all about how kids do things at their own speed and how all kids crawl move and walk differently. It's on Netflix you should check it out it's pretty neat.

PhillyGal34

Op my son was sent to pt early on for torticollis ... After the pa missed it at two visits and I pointed it out... But that's another story. She sent me for a pt eval and it spiraled from there. They suddenly wanted him there 3 times a week and said he was behind of the expected milestones. Keep in mind he was over 2 months premature. It became clear that the pt only wanted him to come so we'd keep paying. Dh and I both felt this and we stopped going. I'm not saying all pt's are like this at all. I'm just saying we know our kids best. Id never do anything up harm him but after paying hundreds of dollars and them doing nothing at his appointments ... He was 4 to 6 months old... We realized what was going on. I'd ask for a second opinion if you are on the fence !

jessalynn521

I am so happy you are so positive purr.

FWIW your little girl sounds perfectly on track to me. Maybe even ahead of my little guy for all the talking you said she does. I hope things work out wonderfully!

brandyleighxx

1. Sticks her tongue out too much? That's insane. DS's son is always outside of his mouth.

2. Standing & scooting is way more than my son is doing. He knows how to sit and can spin himself in the opposite direction when lying down. That's about it.

 

CoUnTryBB1

kdm06c:

Hugs!! You have an amazing perspective and no one knows your LO's like you! 

All of this!   You are incredibly strong!