Hypotonia. - Hilton,NY

Hi Shanie,
First thing is �Don�t worry�
I am a therapeutic foster mother. And have care for a few children That had hypotonia. This was along with other developmental delays, that ranged from mild to severe. My adopted son has this with CP. Pick an activity he likes to do, (We chose swimming) simply because he's more likely to stick with it if it's fun. Although physical therapy is sometimes recommended for children with low muscle tone, few studies have been done and experts disagree on how effective it is. Mild hypotonia typically improves over time with or without therapy. _Robin_

I signed too when my daughter wasn't talking and the signing did seem to ease her fustration. I also had her speech evualated and they also said the same as yours. My pediatrician (at the time) wasn't much help either. I knew there was something else to it. And there was...
I had discovered that my daughter's speech delay was due to the milk she was drinking! Two days after stopping her milk consumption, she starting talking! It was amazing! Her pediatrcian and speech therapist were amazed!
I stopped her milk consumption and substituted with other products that had as much calcium as milk. About 3 months later, I had decided to test the milk theory and gave her a sippy cup full of milk. About twenty minutes later she started acting out emotionally and she wouldn't talk!
Basically, for some reason, my daughter's body was producing pep tides (tiders) and was reacting negatively to milk.
Hope this helps and hey it's worth a try! Contact me anytime!
Good luck

It would really help if you said who did the evaluation but I know you can't. Try getting a second opinion if you don't like the first one. Call 275-kids and they can set you up with one. If your daughter still doesn't qualify (which from the sounds of it she will) They can at least offer you more helpfull suggestions. You have to pick an agency to do the evaluation my suggestion would be Step by Step or Rochester speech and hearing. I have used them both and they were wonderfull.
A. C.

Here in CT there is a program called birth to 3 where they come to your house and work with your child to develope fine motor skills or gross motor skills. Also something to keep in mind when your child enters school if needed they have to provide services like physical therapy at the school.
Let me know if I can do anything for ya.
M.

Hi
If you have any doubts about her diagnosis, I would talk to your pediatrician and ask for a re screen from a physical therapist and speech therapist. I am not sure where your PT and speech therapist work from but you might also want to check out any state run programs. I was involved with our state(RI) program tempoprarily because my son was born prematurely. Also I am not sure if sign language would be your best choice as this may discourage your child from using words. Hope it all works out for you. sounds like you already have a handle on things and know in your gut which direction to go. Good luck.

Hi,

Was this therapist from any type of birth to three location, or someone you paid on your own. If you paid them I could contact your local birth to three and put in a request for an evaluation. Otherwise, ask your pediatrician to send you to a developmental pediatrician, speech therapist , psychologist or someone to do an evaluation, your insurance should cover it. Trust your judgement. The earlier any child receives services the better.

C.

Good morning,
I have not read the other responses, but wanted to let you know that Westfield Infant Toddler Services is available to help. We see children birth to age three. My son was in the program and I am now employed by them. They serve Westfield, Southwick, Chester, Hungtinton, West Springfield, Agawam, and a few other hill towns. The number is ###-###-#### and you can just explain that your child was diagnosed with hypotonia and you would like to set up an intake and an evaluation. 3-4 members of the team will come out and assess your child. They will then work with you to set up appointments that work for your family. You can have a physical therapist, speech, occupational therapy, social worker, nurse, developmental specialist, etc. depending on who is available and what you and your family need. I hope this helps; let me know if I can be of any further help... Take care.
Jenn~

I would call early intervention. You don't need a dr to do it, you can self refer. If you do qualify (which it sounds like your daughter will) they come to your house to provide services. They can do both the muscle tone and speech problems if she needs therapy in both areas

Do you have a local Early Intervention group in your area? Both my children (now adopted, but at the time were foster), had delays in many areas. EI will work with them to catch up, and offer many resources to refer to. Ask your doctor if there is a group in your area.
S.