Moms of kiddos with movement disorders
Rachel Sonnier
member
Hi All,
I'm stuck with more questions than answers after talking with our OT. She said that on top of the apraxia and motor issues (that we didn't meet our goals for :-/ ) she and the SLP are suspecting a receptive language disorder. Last time I asked here, a few moms said that seeing a neurologist is pretty useless, but our OT really wants us to see one anyway. We live in La and she is recommending we see someone in Houston at Texas Children's Hospital, to hopefully address the motor issues, tone and leg pain.
She wants me to tell him that she is seeing:
Primitive Movements
More symmetrical than asymmetrical movement
Decreased separation of two sides of the body and trunk rotation
Fluctuating tone
Decreased midrange control and grading of movements
I can't even find half of these terms on google. Anyone have any idea what we are looking at, or know what any of this means?? I emailed her, but its the weekend, so I know I won't hear from her till we go in Monday AM.
I'd really appreciate any insight or input from anyone wiling to share :-)
Re: Moms of kiddos with movement disorders
I don't know what you're looking at but with that list a neuro is the place to start.
Difficulty with midline movement and assymetrical movement is usually associated with issues in the corpus callosum. This is what connects the 2 sides of the brain.
My son has associated movement and prefers to move both hands or both feet. He has issues with movement opposing midline, like clapping or the sign for more.
My son has genetic issue that messes with neurotransmitters. At his last MRI he had no corpus callosum issues.
I agree you should start with a neurologist.I think an MRI may be in your future to rule out any brain differences that would be causing the reflex issues and mixed tone. A neuro would be the one to order this.
If the MRI is clean you may want to visit genetics.
Nate has Hypoplasia of the Corpus Callosum, hearing loss, vision issues and probably other stuff going on in his brain caused by genetic deletions. He has mixed tone and movement issues.
I'm an EI/preschool PT to give you an idea where I'm coming from. My oldest also has special needs. Here's a definition of the terms you listed. A lot of them relate to each other
-Primitive movements- As an infant there are a number of reflexes that cause them to move a certain way. as the brain matures these go away so that movements become more coordinated and intricate. Primitive movements limit development as your body is obligated to move a certain way when the reflex is triggered. These reflexes can be subtle, but obvious to someone looking for them. An up and coming treatment field has to do with making these reflexes go away (you can you tube or google reflex integration)
-more symmetrical than asymmetrical movement. I term this slightly different, but it may mean your child has difficulty doing something with one side of the body while the other side is doing something different. Difficulty with this makes it difficult for a child to climb stairs with only 1 foot on a step instead of 2 feet together on each step. It also makes pedaling a bike difficult. It may also mean hand dominance is not developing
-Decreased separation of 2 sides of the body and trunk rotation has to do with the above term. Trunk rotation is important developmentally for coordination and integrating both sides of the body.
-Fluctuating tone- muscles have an overall resting state to get ready to move. Your muscles have a different feel awake vs sleeping. It sounds like your child's resting tone is either low or high, and is not steady. This can be dependent on overall arousal level, temperature, weather, amount of sleep, and other unknown factors.
- decreased midrange control and grading of movements- midrange control is as your child is moving, the quality of his moving overall is not smooth and fluid. Holding in-between positions could be difficult as he is moving. Grading of movements refers to the ability to adjust how fast, slow, strong, or gentle you are moving. A child that can not grade their movements may be described like a "bull in a china shop"
I hope that helps. a lot of the kids I work with have a combination of the above. There is something called developmental coordination disorder you could look into. It's a bit of a newer catch all term to describe kids struggling with their movement. Does your child have any sensory issues the OT is dealing with? Any allergies or other developmental issues. A neuro or developmental pediatrician could help you get a handle on the big picture.
Thank you ladies so much for the input!! :-)
Susan, his first evaluation was for sensory integration and he has lots of trouble with that, mostly seeking prop and tactile. He was dx with apraxia shortly thereafter and started ST, in addition to OT. He has lack of sensation in his hands that his OT feels is inhibiting his motor memory. He has no hand preference. He has high tone in his face and mouth, and low tone throughout the body, especially in his hands. At the meeting this week she said that both she and the SLP suspect a receptive language disorder, and would like to have his auditory discrim tested.
He screamed non-stop as an infant and could not tolerate breast milk. He later tested positive for a mild seafood allergy. He has had an upper GI and all of the biopsies came back neg, as well as for celiacs (but he was 2.5 at the time). He does not sleep through the night and cries with leg pain frequently. Oh, and he also has a hard time recognizing family members. We are seeing a vision therapist for this next week to hopefully get some answers on that front.
I have looked into DCD as my nephew is suspected of having it. I asked our OT about dyspraxia (similar/same as DCD, am I correct on this?), especially in light of the apraxia/verbal dyspraxia. She seems to think it is not motor dyspraxia for some reason, and that his planning is ok, but says that we will keep that in mind and watch for certain things as he gets older. She is really interested in seeing what the neuro says, but if she's not thinking its dyspraxia/DCD, where does this leave us?
Again, thank you all so much for the info. You ladies are all so helpful!