Since he was a few months old, Ryan preferred looking towards his left shoulder. We noticed this early on and figured out that we all tended to hold him with our left arm (on our left hip). So, we began to switch him around and try different techniques to get him to look to his right side. My dad (who we lovingly call "Big T") even came up with his own "therapy" for it - he placed Ryan on the pool table on the Bumbo (totally not recommended) and would roll pool balls to his left and right to get him to follow them. That Big T is an innovative man. As he began to get stronger and more able to hold himself up, we noticed that his head was slightly cocked (his chin would point towards his left shoulder). Being the neurotic people that we are, we began frantically researching what this could be. The simplest answer that we found was torticollis. Basically, a really bad stiff neck (from say, 10 months of being crammed inside the stomach of a 5'4 woman).
At his four month check-up, the pediatrician (the same one who recommended Children's) referred us to the Infants and Toddlers Program to be evaluated for torticollis (we are just so ahead of the curve with our googling powers). He said that if it is torticollis, it can be fixed with physical therapy but needs to be done soon before all the surgery starts. We are so fortunate to have a neighbor who works for the program, so she put in a "good word" for us in efforts to expedite our initial request. Within a few weeks, a social worker and a physical therapist showed up at our house to evaluate Ryan.
They were both very warm and knowledgable, and took about an hour and a half to adminster the Brigance Infant and Toddler Screen that included physical, social, and cognitive items (and a lot of questions for us). They asked what goals we had for Ryan and I told them that honestly, I just didn't want him to be diagnosed with anything new. After all the testing, the physical therapist said that he did not have torticollis (WOOHOO!!) They said it was possible that he may have had it slightly but that we corrected it through things like holding him on the other arm (and obviously through rolling balls by him while he sat precariously on the pool table). Even better, he scored in a higher age range in many areas (okay, like one to two months higher, but in baby development world, that's kinda a big deal). Because of this, he didn't qualify for any services. When they told us this, they looked sort of nervous like we would fight it. Instead, we told them it was the best news we'd heard in a while!
We sat and chatted with them for a while after the evaluations (as they typed up and printed out their reports on the spot). I was reminded of how blessed we are when they said that it was refreshing to walk into a home and see a healthy baby like Ryan.
So aside from the fact that they were so caring and bright, let me tell you the best part about the Infants and Toddlers Program ... it's FREE. They show up to your house and do all of this for free. For FREE. Well, it's not technically free if you pay your taxes (which you all do, riiiiight?). Also awesome? Because they understand the importance of early intervention, they prioritize babies under the age of 12 months. If Ryan did actually qualify for services (by being below age level expectation in two or more areas), they would be required to draft up a plan (essentially a baby IEP) for how we could improve his development within 60 days. Although he did not qualify for services at the time of this assessment, they said that we could call back any time if we wanted them to come back out. They said that specifically, if he seems to not be making developmental gains after his surgeries, they will come back to the house and reevaluate him. Like I said, I love the Infants and Toddlers Program.
They also provided us with a great resource for parents. http://www.marylandhealthybeginnings.org/
This developmental domains chart tracks the expected milestones that babies should hit at certain ages. Obviously, it is just a guide and all babies are different. So don't get all neurotic like us and call the pediatrician if your baby doesn't seem to be hitting a milestone.
But if you're curious/worried, call the Infants and Toddlers Program because they are AMAZING!
Matthew is in Babies Can't Wait down here which is essentially the samme thing but in GA. He got help with feeding issues due to being tongue tied and gets physical therapy for being frog legged. It is so amazing that these programs exist. I teach 3-5 special education and all the children are recommended from Babies Cant wait ith developmental delays. amazng interventions these programs have. You are an amazing women with a wonderful family. Keep up the blogs so we can follow your journey, were routing for you from down south!
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