Need some advice, feeling overwhelmed
My dd is 6 months old, at her well-baby check up two weeks ago we mentioned to her pediatrician that she seemed to hold her thumb in a lot on her right hand (I think the medical term is adducted). Our dr. referred us to an OT to start some exercises. No big deal.
At our initial appt. with the OT, she put DD's hand in a splint. She also did a general exam and asked us a few questions about her about her movement on the ride side of her body. She arranged a 2nd appointment for this week. At this appointment she mentioned that DD seemed to have favor the left side of her body and seemed to have muscle tightness not only in her hand, but in her arm and leg. She also mentioned that dd seemed to be a bit behind developmentally (I didn't ask for specifics, but I should have!). Of course, I had googled before the appointment and ran across CP. I mentioned this to the OT and she said that she couldn't make a diagnosis and that she had forwarded her evaluation to our doctor. We are going to continue with weekly OT appts. for dd's hand.
I'm just not sure what to do now. Should I arrange an appointment with our doctor (the OT said this wasn't necessary), but I'd really like more information. And of course, I'm freaked out that there is something seriously wrong.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Re: Need some advice, feeling overwhelmed
My LO doesn't have CP but he does have hypertonia (increased tightness of muscle tone.) His is a little more prevalent or obvious on his left side of his body. Good luck with your appts. Follow your instincts- if you feel that having an actual appt to discuss the results is important then I would do it.
Our LO is in OT (and PT and speech)....along with working on meeting developmental milestones...the OT does stretches and ROM exercises. I do them at home as well to ensure his tone doesn't get worse.
I hope all goes well!
I'm sure that is very overwhelming to hear all at once/all of a sudden!
My DS also has thumb splints for adducted thumbs (although it took another bumpie to teach me this term...bad mama). He has had them on both hands for about 2 months and his OT already sees improvement, so hopefully that helps you feel better about the splint.
DS receives EI services weekly (PT and OT) and has always had weaker tone in his right arm due to a stroke at birth (among other trauma). However, with the weekly therapy and the exercises we do everyday as a result, he has shown significant improvement. I'd say the biggest jump came within the last month, his tone seemed to improve rapidly which might have something to do with his age/development level now.
Now because of his other neuro issues (seizures, stroke, lack of oxygen to brain at birth, etc), he will likely end up with a CP diagnosis if he remains delayed, but it's a 'wait and see' game as he gets older.
My son does see a neurologist in addition to his pedi and his CP diagnosis would come from the neuro if that happens. As a first step, I'd reach out to your pedi and voice your concerns with weak tone/delays and your conversation with the OT.
The 'wait and see' is the worst. Try to stay calm and look at the big picture and hopefully your LO will progress well with therapy!
Best of luck and feel free to page me on this board if you ever need to talk/vent about it!
Definitely make an appt with your pediatrician. You don't want to be walking around not knowing.
Just for good measure... I'd also call and make an appt with a dev't ped. They're super hard to get in (major waiting lists) to and there's no way you'll see them before the regular ped. If the ped says s/he is concerned and you should see one, you'll be one step ahead of the game. If not, you can cancel the appt with no skin off your back.