I Think My 8 Month Old May Be Slower than Normal?

I would definately talk with the pediatrician. Even if he thinks he is developing on the normal side, I would call Early Intervention and have them come and evaluate. It is a free service and it will also give you peace of mind to have professionals give you their opinion. If they feel he is at 25% behind developmentally, he will qualify for free services in whichever area he is delayed in.

A.,
Hi! My name is A. and I am a 26 year old mother of 4 children. my children's ages are 9 years old, 6 years old, 5 years old and 3 years old . As for your 8 month old son I really wouldn't be to concerned with it my second child was the same way. the only thing that we did was work with him on what we thought his problems were. my son didn't start to crawl until he was 11 months old and we had to work with him on that . he to us was a very lazy baby. But now he has recently been put on medication for ADHD. We thought that he would be our laid back child but as he grew he got more and more hyper. it was to the point that i thought that i would loose my mind. I even decided to quit my job and work from home . I started working from home recently in my spare time. It is actually easier than what i did working a 40 plus hour week and now i only work 15 to 20 hours a week and i have all the support that i need with the Staying home and loving it team. It is a exellent team to be a part of they help you through every step of the way. well this is what i have to say to you . i hope that this helps you with your problem a little bit.
A.

hello there,
my son was in early intervention starting at 18 months..he needed speech therapy..he didnt talk at all(even repeating sounds)till he was 2 1/2...our ped. told us to call..we got the number from the phone book...they will ask you who referred you but if no one has then that is fine too...at least in montgomery county this is how it worked...they come out to the house,several specialists and evaluate the child...talk to you and decide what therapists are needed...the therapists will come to your house for the sessions...my child did one hour once a week...its all free...they are not doctors so they do not and can not diagose anything...my son just turned four and still goes to speech therapy...up until three they come to your house...after that it goes to the intermediate unit and you may (depending on what services you need)have to take your child out to where the therapist is...usually a nearby school...i know someone who had the services in philadelphia and it worked the same way..if you have any more questions feel free to ____@____.com...i really cant say enough good things about the program...our therapist was awesome..they gave us alot of great ideas and ways to work with our son...they also pointed us in good directions as far as what specialists to see and what our next step should be..i recommend them highly...R.

HI A.
I live in south park. I had early intervention for my son. I totally recommend it IF you feel your child needs it. They actually come to your home and do an inhome eval to assess the child.
It's very simple and they make it fun for the child.
Are you in allegheny county?
If you are and want the phone # I'll be happy to get to you.

Remeber if there is a delay you shouldn't wait.

BTW
My son ended up being diagnosised with autism, BUT I feel that early intervention really helped him through is problems.

Let me know

N.

First of all, try not to worry yet. Every child develops differently. He may just be working on his own timeline. Also, sometimes, second children don't feel as big a need to do different activities because of their older siblings. My cousins daughter did not speak for the longest time because her older sister was always talking for her. =)

That being said, I would consult the doctor and have him checked. He may need some assistance in getting him to reach the developmental norms right now. That does NOT mean there is anything wrong with him or that he will have a condition for the rest of his life. What it would mean is that he MAY need a little help now. My friends little boy needed some help with his early developmental milestones. He is a very intelligent and active little boy now.

There could be any number of reasons why he may not be developing on the same timeline as your other son did. The biggest reason of all could simply be that he is a different individual who wants to do things when he wants to do them. Who knows, you may find that he develops faster than your first son in other ways.

Try not to worry. I know that's a lot like telling someone try not to breathe but you are already doing everything you can and you don't know there is anything to worry about yet. =)

some children take there time with stuff like that but since you are concern i always go with my own feeling. call your local hospital and ask for there early intervention program and have him evaluated. he may just have low muscle tone and they will send and physical thearapist to your house and be a great help to your son. My first was walking and talking at 9 months my daughter who has autism didn'tt walk until 15months and didn't say much until 2 and half and my third child now 8 months can feed herself and can sit and stand but can't get into those positions byherself, but when she is practicing and she get alittle frustrated the siblings run to her and help her.

Hello, my name is L. and I am a mother to a 7 month old girl and an owner of a daycare center. My daughter is going through early intervention because she was born with her skull open and they wanted to put her in the program for monitoring reasons. Anyway, she still doesn't hold her own bottle - she insists I do it; and she will sit up only if I am there to support her. She is not even close to crawling and won't stand on her legs for more tna 2 seconds BUT I have been told that all of this is OK and does not mean she is delayed. Babies will all do things at different times. I have watched infants who crawled and talked by 10 months and then I have watched babies NOT crawl and talk until 15 months! Having said that, I always would recommend an early intervention therapist if you are worried, it would help the child reach the goals faster and it is free! Talk to you ped about setting up an appointment. I have the phone number for the program and I know 2 WONDERFUL physical therapist that I could recommend, they work with my daughter and a few kids at my daycare center!
If you want the number just email me at: ____@____.com

Good luck!
L. Nia

Hi A.,

I have not read all your responses so I am not sure if it was mentioned that crawling is really an "optional" developmental milestone and not indicative of a delay. Is your son bigger than average? Some big babies take longer to develop the gross motor skills. At 8 1/2 months he is not yet expected to come to a sitting position on his own or to stand on his own. It sounds like your experience with your first (who likely had significantly more undivided attention) has made you question your second child's development. Each child is different and will likely develop at very different speeds in various areas. If you are worried speak to your pediatrician and ask if s/he feels your child needs early intervention.

Best of luck!

D.

Has your ped shown any concern at all? I think we were referred to Birth to Three through our ped but you could call them and see if someone could come to your house for an evaluation. The think I loved the most about BTT is that they come to your house for everything and you get to choose the therapist if you end up needing to use one. I hope you are able to get the attention your son may need.

I believe so strongly in mother's intuition. You know your child best and if you think something is wrong then you should follow that. I almost didn't a coule of times and serious consequences could have occured. Just because you may need early intervention doesn't mean your child is guaranteed to be special needs his whole life. He may just need an extra push to get things going.

Don't be afraid, you are being the best mom you can by recognizing that something may b e wrong and trying to fix it. You are awesome!!!

Hi~

I just wanted to let you know that your son's development sounds normal to me. My 10-1/2-month old son has just started pulling up (last week). He still commando crawls and he only started getting to the sitting position about 3 weeks ago. Every baby is different, so I wouldn't compare him to your oldest. Is your baby verbal? I've noticed that my late "walkers" have been my early "talkers." I have 5 boys. The oldest walked at 15 months, 2nd at 10 months, 3rd at 12 months, 4th at 14 months, and Owen doesn't walk yet. It really is true that every baby is different and develops on their own timeline. As for the bottle holding, some babies just don't like to do that. It's something that you could work with him on if it bothers you. I know it's hard not to worry, especially if you have other moms around comparing their babies to yours, but try not to let it bother you. I wouldn't worry for at least a few months yet. Of course, talk to your ped, but try not to worry and just enjoy your baby! :)

Hi A.,
I am a mom to a six week old and a former preschool teacher. I have never used early intervention as a parent but have participated with them as a teacher. Normally a ped or teacher will recommend a child get evaluated to see if a child is delayed and need early intervention. Whether the child will be a life long special needs student depends on the evaluation and what services are required. I have worked with "intermediate units (IU's)" and school district specialists for the older kids I have worked with. The IU does make the eval like a game for the child and if they cannot evaluate for a specific area/diagnosis they feel may be needed they will recommend someone else who can. I beleive their services are free too. Our local IU provides different therapies and also a preschool for children. They also come out and work with children at local preschools - which is how I met them. Definately call your ped for advice but as a mom, you know your child better then anyone, so look into getting early intervention if you feel that there are concerns. I am not sure where you are located or which IU to use. You can call the local elemntary school and ask for advice as to who to go to for an eval. The united way also does certain evals and can recommend other places that so evals. Good luck!

First talk to your Dr.. Tell the dr your concerns.. They will be able to let you know if you need to have him go through early intervention.. If he does have to go through intervention don't worry they are great.. My son has been getting it since he has been about 10 months.. He is doing so well and I am glad that I called when I did.. Don't ever under estimate yourself. You know your child better than anyone else so do what you have to do.

A.,

Go with your gut. You're in tune with your children and if you feel something is wrong maybe there is.

True, some kids develop more slowly. Some kids never crawl and go straight to walking. Some kids are just late bloomers.

Some kids aren't.

I had to argue (literally) with my pediatrician to have my son evaluated. He was diagnosed with autism two weeks later.

If your gut feeling tells you that something is wrong, persue it. If it turns out to be nothing then so much the better.

Good luck!

Hi, My nephew had early intervention and it does not always mean he will need special care. My nephew is five now and is no longer in need of help. He is fine now. Talk to your ped and they will set you up with the county you love in. It should be free no matter what your income level. They will most likely come to your house and work with him. Good luck!

First of all, try not to compare your kids. I know it's hard. I have 2 girls and they couldn't be more different. My 7 yr-old didn't crawl until she 10 months old. Of course, I was worried at the time, but now she is a healthy, and VERY active kid. My 3 yr-old did everything early, and while that was reassuring, it wouldn't have bothered me if she was a little late with some of the milestones. Having said that, I think it is a good idea to talk with the pediatrician to make sure there isn't a physical problem. Think positive! It could just be that your son is a little delayed. He will most likely catch up.

Hi A.,
I know EXACTLY how you feel. I have a 14 month old daughter who still isn't crawling or standing, but she is making progress everyday. Early Intervention has been helping us since December. A physical therapist comes to our home once a week to work with her, and I follow through with the exercises all week long.

To answer your questions, you don't need a referral for early intervention. You are the one who can request a free evaluation for your child. What will happen is a couple ladies will come to your home and evaluate your baby. They make it very fun for them and do all of their testing through play. They bring in fun toys and my daughter had a great time. Then, they will tell you if your son qualifies for early intervention. If he does, you will have a meeting with the 2 people who evaluated him and with someone called your service coordinator (basically your advocate or a person who is only interested in what you want). You have TOTAL control over Early Intervention. If you want services to stop or change at any time, you can do that. They want what you want. They make suggestions, but everything has to be approved by you. Being in early intervention now does NOT mean that your child will always have special needs or will always be "branded" for the rest of his life. It's just a program that is there to help you and your baby catch up to where he needs to be.

I know you must be worried. I'd love to tell you more about it if you'd like... just let me know how I can help you. I really recommend Early Intervention. I know it has helped my daughter. =)

-C.

I actually have an appointment with early intervention tomorrow for an evaluation of my son. My ped told us about it for him after we expressed our concerns about his development. Early intervention is free in pa. My son is 17 months old and doesn't tlk at all. We also think he might have a hearing problem. It isn't just for kids who will have problems down the road. Everybody scares you thinking your child has autism. I hate that. Every child develops differently. I was so freaked out when the ped told me and hinted at autism. Untill you know don't be worried. You do not need a referrell for ei. If you live in pa (mercer county area the number is ###-###-####. They will come and evaluate your child and see if your son is eligable for their services. It is free so I felt like I had nothing to lose. They have speech therapy, phicial therapy, and occupational therapy. My case worker is very nice. Good luck. If you want any more info you can e-mail me directly at ____@____.com.

A.,

We had some of the same problems with our son Joshua. He is my middle child and I knew something was wrong around 4mo when he did not roll over and then around 5 he had a seizure. The pediatrician ran some blood tests and when some came slightly out of wack he sent them to doctors down in Atlanta GA to look into a rare metobolic disorder that first signs of are usually low tone. Most people are misdiagnosed with this disease since there are other problems that present first and no one finds the underlying conditions. Many children prestent with different problems which also make diagnosis missed quite often. This does not mean by any means that your child has this but my point is that if you feel there is somthing wrong go with your instincts! If I hadn't we would have never known that there was something causing our sons delays.

As far as early intervention is concerned, you do not need a doctors approval or note for it. You need to call the service number for your area. They will send someone out to evaluate your child. All the providers we have had so far have been wonderful. I suggest you do it now and not keep waiting and hoping that things will fix themselves. A lot of times the cost is nothing to you denepnding on your household size and income.

Not every kid who is in the program stays in the program for the duration. Some just need a helping hand and then they are ok. Others have more severe problems and stay in the program until they are three and then Early Intervention will transition the child into the school district. They do all the leg work and know the right questions to ask and know how to get the right help for each child. I have known kids who were in the program for a few months and didn't need them anymore. Just because your child needs services does not mean they will always need them but if they do there is not a better group of professional caring people you will come across. It does take a while sometimes for everything to get started so I would call tomorrow to inquire about it if you can. They do ask a lot of medical questions and things of that nature at your first call/evaluation. If you have any more questions or problems do not hesitate to email me directly at ____@____.com