Walking Worries

[Anonymous]

Well, Quinn is 15 months old. She started walking about a little over a month ago. Quinn has always been really clumsy. She didn’t start sitting up until just about 8 months old. ECI came and evaluated her at that time and said that she had some low muscle tone, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for services. Then she had trouble swallowing… diagnosed dysphagia and hypotonia around 9 months old. She fell every time she tried to crawl her shoulders would give out. We were going to have PT at the hospital evaluate her per recommendation from her ST, but then i moved out of state, leaving behind a wonderful ST!!! So we had to try to get services in our new location. Well, they told me that because she was not too far behind in her milestones, all she needed was the OT. But so many people have always commented on how very wobbly she has been. She was late to roll over. I thought she bumped her head an aweful lot when she was learning to pull up at 10-11 months, but boy was I wrong. My friend would watch Q and notice that she was very unsteady while learning to pull herself up. She even still fell over while she was sitting down.

Well, now I’ve been watching my little nephew grow up and surpass lots of milestones that it took Quinn forever to accomplish, catch up to her in weight, (but Q grew so now he’s smaller again) and he is so much sturdier than Quinn. When Quinn was 13 months old, she still was not walking or standing up by herself. She had a truck that she got for Christmas and she still could not hold herself up on that truck. We had to hold her up so she wouldn’t topple over. Here is my nephew, 8 months old and he needs no assistance what so ever while sitting on that truck. Quinn still needs a little assistance when riding that truck.

It starting to scare me now because it’s so much more noticeable now that Q is walking. It seems somewhat worse. She falls all the time. She bumps her head. She stumbles on anything. She looks really dizzy and like a drunk. She will just take two steps and then lean to her right side and fall. Her right leg seems to drag a little more. It’s just down right scary and I don’t think it’s normal… niether does my family. She can’t even stand up for more than 5 seconds without toppling over. IF I just touch a finger to her while she is standing or walking she will literally fall as if I pushed her hard. It’s too scary… and I just wanted to know if anybody else’s child falls so hard to this extent. She has more bruises on her head than I can count and she hits the back of her head on cement, tile, carpet, anything really. And it’s hard. I feel so bad for her and I’m afraid she’ll get brain damage from it or something… I mean she hits the ground hard and many times per day. She’s already busted her lip and given herself a knots on her forehead. Am I worrying too much? I strongly think she needs to have this checked out. I know that lots of kids are clumsy, but honestly, hers is very extreme. What do you guys think?

-Sarah

[Anonymous]

Sarah, I would certainly call and have her re-evaluated. It is possible that her hypotonia is more evident now that she is walking and that she needs some intervention. What you describe doesn’t sound typical, maybe she just needs a little bit of help after the rough patch she had and all her time sick and in the hospital. I would definitely check it out. I know it’s hard not to worry about falling b/c it looks so scary. What happens when she falls? Does she have the protective reactions/reflexes to protect herself? (i.e. If you sit her on the couch and lean her to the side or backwards, does she put an arm out to stabilize herself, or does she try to correct her trunk? If she’s walking and she falls, does she put out an arm/hand to protect herself, or does she just smash into everything?). If you’re really worried, they do have head protection at safety stores for children learning to walk. I always thought it was extreme for typical situations, but if you’re really worried, then you might want to check it out until she gets evaluated again. Until then, I’d also try and safety proof her environment as much as possible so that if she does fall, she’s not hurt. HUGS. Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Lori, thanks for your continued support and encouraging words. I’ve never really looked to see if she has those reflexes. I know that if she is falling forward, then she will protect her face with her hands… that she does quite well at. She’s got so many scratches on her palms and knees from that. She will fall like that every three to five steps… but luckily she does catch herself on most occasions. I get so nervous about her knocking those teeth out because she falls so hard. But those trusty hands do her well in the front. It’s falling backwards…. she’s not too good with protecting the back of that head of hers. Sometimes she will fall from a standing positions smack on the back of that head. And all you hear is a loud THUD on the pavement or tile or whatever it is. It’s so hard because we were at the store and there was this other 15 month old standing up so sturdy she never even stumbled when she took a step and she walked like a pro. And here is Quinn, stumbling all over. Falling then getting up. Hitting her head on the shelves. I find myself putting my hand out in attempt to protect her head, but I end up knocking her over just from barely touching her. I think I will get her re evaluated. She has her pedi appointment for her 15 month check up on the 1st of May. Hopefully he will either back me up, or ease my worries.

-Sarah

[Anonymous]

Sarah,

I never think there’s any harm in getting kids evaluated. The worst thing that will come of it is that it was a waste of time b/c nothing was wrong (and that alone is good b/c it eases your mind). Either way, I’m a huge fan of early intervention. Sometimes there’s a very simple solution that needs just a bit of tweaking, and then everything falls into place. Good luck. Please keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Lori…if nothing else it will ease your mind one way or another. You will either find there is nothing wrong, or you will get a plan of action! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Up until this weekend, your description could almost be describing Abby to a T. If I would even say her name when she was trying to walk, she would fall down. This weekend, she made great strides and all of a sudden, she is finally walking much better. She will be 15 months on Wednesday.

As the others said, if you are concerned, then I would definitely get her checked out. Hopefully she is just taking a little longer to get the whole standing/walking thing figured out – good luck!!!

One other questions, does she do better with shoes or without them? I have found Abby’s best success comes without wearing shoes – just something to consider….

Robin

[Anonymous]

She deffinitely does better without shoes, but she is still VERY VERY unsteady. Just last night, she was walking down the hallway, without shoes and she was walking straight, she starts leaning to her right and slams her whole body right into the wall, tries picking herself back up only to fall down again and tumble… Yesterday, she was outside playing and our porch is cement she falls backwards and BANG… the back of her head hits the cement twice… it bounced because she hit it so hard. I watched her for signs of a concussion last night. And then, she also fell walking into the house, I was holding her hand even, she has three large scratcheson the side of her right thigh from falling on the grooves of the sliding glass door. Imagine, this is only a fraction of the horrible falls she takes on a day to day basis. I’d hate to think that someone may accuse me of beating my child. She falls on her right side al the time, come to think of it, it’s always her right side.

-Sarah

[Anonymous]

That is interesting that it is always the right side. I would err on the side of caution and have her checked out. It probably isn’t anything to worry about but we mommies always worry!!

Robin

[Anonymous]

I know it sounds ridiculous, but if she’s really taking repeated blows to the head, you can always try a helmet while you’re waiting to get her checked out. They make some specifically for toddlers learning to walk.s&h’s mum2007-4-30 16:3:5

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