Plagiocephaly-Untreated, Did It Fix Itself or Not? Please Share Your Experience.

My preemie had that from being on the back of his head a lot. The helmet was an option but my husband said no way. Once i started to reposition his head and keep him off the flat spot (as much as i could), it started to reshape. He was probably around 6 months or so when i started to reposition him. It took a long time, but it worked itself out. Dont assume you child needs it just because the place tells you that. My pediatrician said either way would be fine since it wasnt severe. He wasnt too concerned about it and it worked out fine.

Generally you can get the flat spot to pop out, with some at home physical therapy, and re-positioning. Have they completely ruled out that he has Craniosynostosis or premature fusion of a skull suture? IF that was was ruled out, then its quite possible to go helmet-less. Especially if the flat spot is minimal. my oldest had a pushed in plate on the back of her head, they recommended that it be helmeted but with just some positioning, it filled out fine and she was spot free in a few months. She is 4 now and she was 5 months when the saw the spot.
My second daughter was actually born with Craniosynostosis. It was evident at birth but I was shot down by every doctor and ped, until I demanded a CT scan at 4 months and sure enough she had a 1mm pre-mature fusion of the Orbital suture. It required a complete brain/skull surgery and facial reconstruction at 6 months old. She HAD to wear a helmet for months to try to re-mold her skull after the surgery. She still has some degree of dis-alignment, strabismus of one eye, and torticullis as a result of her eye orbit being off. She is 2 year old now, cant see any flat spots or evidence other than a slightly lazy eye, and a huge scar on her head if you pull her hair into a pony tail. So I have done both and both work. It will depend on you and your commitment and research on alternatives. I will tell you DO YOUR HOMEWORK with your insurance. BE 100% sure what they will cover before you start, and be sure they dont require some PT before you sign to have it done, if they have some sub requirements, the doctors dont always tell you. We had a problem with our insurance covering the helmet for our daughter, and footed a 4 thousand dollar bill ourselves.

EDIT: of course they are going to say it wont get better on its own, because they are Cranial Technologies. They need the money. LOL However your baby is over 6 months and those plates are getting more solid, and falling more and more into place, it could be that the plate in question is already shifted to its position, and they feel with out a constant pressure applied it will not pop on its own. Though my daughter was 5 months going on 6 and it did it just fine, but that was the back of her head.

I did not use a helmet for my daughter. I did take her to the chiropractor for neck adjustments and reshaping her head (the muscles in her neck were so tight). Her head was so bad that her face was crooked. The ped said it could cause damage to her brain if it was not corrected and was not against us having chiropractic treatment for it.
I notice that my husband and a flat spot on the back of his head. I think that if it is hardly noticeable then it shouldn't be a big deal, but you must consider that it can get worse. In our case my daughters head became misshapen in a matter of days and was corrected in a couple of weeks. They skull is still soft the first year of life and can get worse if it is not corrected.

My oldest looked to the right all the time. His head became flat around 2-3 months. I recognized it and put all interesting toys on the left so he would look left. I also got a rug for under his play mat. I talked to my doctor and husband who reassured me that it would get better, and it did...without a helmet. It is not perfect but I think only I can tell. You definitely can not tell under his hair...not sure what it would look like if he shaved it off but I have his hair cut to a 2 and you can't see it.

My son has mild plagiocephaly. We noticed it by 2 weeks of age and did all the 'right' things - constantly repositioned his head, kept him upright/off his head, did more tummy time, etc. No improvement. When we saw the craniofacial specialist they told us his case was mild and we could either treat with the helmet or not. We elected not to. It is still there but much less noticeable. That said, my son has a head full of long curls and zero genes for pattern baldness based upon family history. I might be more concerned if he was going to be one of those little boys with the military hair cut. It is also more noticeable when they are very little because you are always looking down on their heads. Not a usual perspective once they are adults. If I had to do it over, I still think I would elect against the helmet but then and now I did not have really strong feelings.

My daughter was diagnosed at 5 months, we had brought her in for another issue and they discussed it then. We decided not to get the helmet and just see what we could do on our own since it wasn't a severe case. We switched the side we held her and fed her on, we also would change around toys when she was playing, we even rotated the way we bathed her. She is now 2 years old and perfectly fine.

With my DD since it wasn't a bad case it corrected itself. The same with my third. Now with my second the Pediatrician and Daycare said it wasn't that bad but I thought it was a moderate case...He's now 4 I can tell where his flat spot was. We should have looked at getting the cranial helmet for him in my opinion.

My niece has a severe case and it was recommended that she get her a helmet. Her parents refused. It has only been a few weeks and they swear that they have noticed a difference by changing her position laying down, but I can't say that I have. So I am not sure.

Good luck.