Home › Forums › Special Topics › Special Topics › What is Normal?
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March 24, 2009 at 9:11 pm #61814AnonymousInactive
I am a first time mom and sometimes, I feel like I worry about developmental stuff that is just normal for a toddler. Jackson is 18 mos old. He has had GERD since 3 weeks. He has also had a ton of ear infections. At 11.5 mos, Jackson finally started to babble. At 12.5 mos we were very worried about the fact that he did not communicate with us at all and did not understand anything that we said. We had him evaluated by the CDSA and he qualified with an expressive and receptive language delay. At 13 mos, he got tubes in his ears and the ENT said that he had “glue ear.”Since tubes, he has had around 3 infections and recently, one of his tubes is clogged.
On the brighter side, Jackson has changed dramatically with language. He understands most of what I say and has a good vocabulary (about 50-60 words that he says and 20 signs). His articulation is terrible, however. For example, milk is “nil,” fish is “shish,” and cookie is “coo coo.” He seems to get his consonants mixed up a lot. My gut tells me that this is all hearing related. He has tested normal for hearing since tubes, but I wonder about the months of fluid. Jackson makes great eye contact, has a fabulous sense of humor, loves kids and people in general, etc. Here is what has concerned me a bit- he seems to have some sensory issues and stimming. He will spin around in circles, especially when music is playing. He does not do this excessively, but he does it a couple of times a day for a less than a minute. When he does this, he has a big grin on his face and looks up at the ceiling. I KNOW that he is seeking sensory input and that he likes to make himself dizzy. He used to like swings, but now he seems uncomfortable on them and says “no” when I put him into the swing. This is odd to me b/c he does not mind when we swing him around in our arms though and he loves slides- just not the actual swings at the park. He seems to need a lot of sensory input. He will run with his eyes closed and a big grin on his face and he gets so, so giddy sometimes. I know that this stuff may not sound like a big deal, but sometimes I think that he is just a bit off when it comes to sensory stuff. Does that make sense? His play therapist thinks that it is not something to be concerned about since it does not seem to be interfering with development. She said that there are some kids who just have a few sensory needs but that they outgrow it and it does not negatively impact anything.
He is no longer in Early intervention b/c he is caught up in the communication dpt. He is a great communicator and asks for help with things and points at things and names them while looking at me, etc. He is very flexible in that I can take him on trips and he sleeps fine. He does not require rituals. But, I still think that these are odd quirks. I have read that ALL kids have some quirky sensory things that they do. Is this normal stuff? I feel like GERD has put me on edge with everything, you know? Sorry so long!
klmccart 2009-03-24 21:15:00 March 24, 2009 at 9:28 pm #61815AnonymousInactiveWell, I just did some research on sensory processing disorder. I do not think that J fits. It is not really disruptive or impacting development. I do find it odd that he does not like swings, but he does not freak out. He does not mind when we hold him upside down or swing him around in our arms. He does like to turn around when music is playing, but it is not excessive. Maybe I am just overreacting. Thoughts?
March 25, 2009 at 9:29 am #61817AnonymousInactivemaybe the swing thing has to do with the falling motion on the downswing? Maybe it turns his tummy? I know I can’t handle swinging because it makes me sick to my stomach.
March 25, 2009 at 10:43 am #61818AnonymousInactiveI used to worry about Isaac like that. I worried b/c Isaac loved to take paper and “make it dance”. I thought it was stimming but it turned out that it was just a phase and he moved on after a couple of months. I think not liking the swing at that age can be pretty normal too (Isaac was like that too but now loves to swing)
My thoughts on the speech is that it does sound like a lot of ear and tube issues. I am assuming that his hearing was checked when his ears were clear so that wouldn’t take in to account for the multiple times that he has fluid or when the tube is clogged…I would think that would affect his hearing temporarilyMarch 25, 2009 at 1:11 pm #61819AnonymousInactiveYeah. Naomi, maybe you are right about the swing. This morning he wanted me to hold him upside down and swing him around. He kept saying “again.” So, it is perplexing when he seems uncomfortable on a swing. I do not really like swings myself and I can remember feeling scared on them as a child- especially when others around me were swinging really high. That frightened me for some reason. As far as the spinning thing goes, I really think that he does this just b/c it is fun to him. He did it this morning for about 5 seconds that fell to the floor and looked at me with a big grin. Do you worry less with your second child? I am not sure that I can live through a second one! I am such a worrier by nature!
March 25, 2009 at 2:32 pm #61820AnonymousInactiveI definitely worry less with my second child. Part of that is just knowing that is learning that kids are all very different. My first is developmentally delayed and while I have worries that my second will be too…I just am confident that I will know what to look for and I am prepared to take action if need be. I think also with more than one child you tend to be busier and don’t have as much time to worry. At least I think so. I am a worrier too.
March 25, 2009 at 3:34 pm #61822AnonymousInactiveI am that club as well! hang in there, Jackson sounds amazingly adorable! Give him a squeeze and know that the things I used to worry about, within a month or two completely changed to something else and the first thing was always not an issue anymore.
Hang in there!!!!March 25, 2009 at 9:04 pm #61826hellbenntKeymasterfunny, I think I worried a bit more w/ the second- maybe not more, but about different things- the second didn’t have reflux so no worries there, but then I worried about his development- jonah was a talker- and this one is not, lol. jonah was an eater and this one, while he’s fine now, had me freaked out when he fell off the growth chart at 9 months…they’re all different and I have to keep telling that to myself, like a mantra in my head…ari like to twirl around too- he’s pretty goofy! he likes to dance and his dancing is a riot, complete w/ arms floating up in the air to the music, too funny!
I think J sounds fine, but you’re his mama…my niece had some sensory issues and she’s fine now- still some speech issues at 6yrs old but nothing major at all…
all of this babbling to say : keep on keeping on
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