Walking Therapy

[kaiya23]

We just started with a new pediatrician for my daughter's 15 month checkup. The doctor expressed concern with the fact that she was no walking by herself and is connecting us with the local developmental center (Kiwanis center) for evaluation and possible therapy.

Now, I know that kids develop at their own pace. And I've heard of oodles of kids who don't take off until they're 18 months old. She did start to crawl later, teeth came in later, and apparently is walking later.

Her doctor's recommendation seems a little extreme, but I think I'm going to take her anyway for the evaluation first to ease my mind, then to maybe get some indication as to anything I need to watch her for in the future, in case there is something out of place.

My question is for those who have had to use developmental therapy for walking or any other developmental benchmark. What do I need to expect? Are there any important questions I need to ask of the therapists?

Thanks for any input!

[darplocho]

I haven't had any experience with developmental therapy, but I'm very curious to know how the evaluation and therapy goes. My twin boys are coming up on their 15 month appointment, and while one of them seems to be on par with the normal averages, the other is smaller and has yet to walk on his own. I've been wondering if our doc will suggest something similar to yours. Please keep us posted on how things go!

[MommaC]

I've been on a few different developmental teams. They're generally very friendly and helpful people. If they start using terms you don't know or you don't fully understand something they're saying, just ask them to clarify. They may ask 5,000 questions about his development thus far, so if you can have his baby book memorized ;) that would be helpful! Really, don't sweat it--it's usually lots of fun. :)

[kelly23]

While it couldn't hurt to check, don't get too worked up about it. A lot of kids will do things when they damn well feel like it. My 18 month old didn't crawl until ten months (he would only army crawl) and didn't walk until 14 months. He doesn't talk yet, just jabbers. I myself did not talk until I was 3. I swear I'm not exaggerating! Nowadays, I would be screened for every kind of developmental disorder there is! I bet your daughter will take off and not look back the day after the appointment! Don't worry!

[lena241]

My DD was referred to "Early On" which is a early childhood development program in our state. The doctor stated that she was behind in her gross motor skills, including walking, sitting up, and crawling. She had a visit with a physical therapist by the recommendation of the development program, but they said she was strong and didnt need therapy.

Although my daughter did things a little later than most kids, and still does, she is fine. She crawled at 15 months and started walking when she was 18 months. She learned to jump with her feet off the ground at 3 1/2 and is now at (4) years old, mastering the rock wall on our backyard swing set. There are alot of 4 year olds that can do so many more physical things than she can, but Im not worried. She develops at her own pace. This hasnt kept her from anything, and she is catching up. I am not worried anymore, but I remember when I was.

Go get the assessment. It will most likely put your mind at ease. As long as they dont find anything physically wrong with her: Poor Muscle development, etc, you can be assured that she will reach her milestones in her own time.

[kaiya23]

Oh, goodness...poor muscle development isn't the case...she proved that one in utero!

And she's walking fluently now...so much so that she tries to let go of my hand in the daycare parking lot...my arms feel so much better not having to lug her around anymore.

But they did the preliminary screening this morning and I'm waiting to hear results. I wanted them to check her hearing anyway, b/c she around a lot of school band events due to both of us being involved with the HS band, and the decibels can get pretty high. We do our best to protect her hearing, but I still wanted her checked out.