When can you tell if your child is handicapped?

[Nessie]

Well, I know three people right now who have somewhat recently had babies. One of my cousins has a ten month old (who was born premature), another cousin has a nine month old, and my pastor has an eight month old.

My 10month old nephew is close to walking, and is able to say at least 5 words. My pastor's daughter can roll, and can say two words. My neice, the 9month old, can neither crawl nor talk. She is able to roll... but she seems to be developing way slower than the other two, and her head kinda leans to the side a little. I haven't said anything, because it might just be that some babies develop slower, but I'm starting to get a little worried, because my nephew, a premature baby, has developed pretty quickly, and my pastor's daughter, who's younger, is developing quicker too. How can you tell if your child has development issues/

 

[psychoceramic]

The only true way is to get the child to a specialist who can through interviews and time spent with the child can determine if any special needs issues need to be addressed.

call the dr for referals, but if the dr hasnt said anything yet they might feel the child is fine where they are at.

 

[lucypevensie]

Most of the 9 month olds I know do not talk, so I don't see a problem with that. Did you know that crawling is not taken into consideration with regard to normal child development? There are enough babies that don't ever crawl that they don't even consider the ability to crawl that important. Walking would be a different story though if the little girl were old enough to walk, which in most kids happens after the one year old mark. As to her head leaning, does she have a large head? Is she a big baby? That could cause it. Does she get plenty of exersize on her tummy? With all the back-sleeping babies these days neck strength is sort of becoming an issue. Lots of babies that sleep on their backs don't get placed on their tummy very often for playtime, which would encourage them to lift their heads and thus exercise their neck muscles.

(I have a friend who's a children's physical therapist, she tells me lots of things )

 

[CoffeeSnob]

My daughter took her sweet time walking and talking and was a neuro-typical child *not delayed*

My son, however, when I weaned him (around 19 mo) is when I noticed he was delayed significantly. It took a grieving process for me to recognize my son had a problem.

He is 24 months now and he has been going to therapy for only 3 weeks and has started responding well to it.

The place we take him for his therapy does birth to three years-- so I betcha you can find someplace in your area that is similar-- I actually had no idea they had therapy for a newborn-- so they certainly have programs to evaluate and help your neice if she is delayed somehow.

I think the thing that people tend to do most is "This kid does so much more than that kid, so that one must be behind."

I think that comparing them at the ages that they are and thinking the one might be delayed might be a little much. In 3 months-- it might be a different story-- especially since the kids have their one year checkup and the dr looks at developmental areas.

But if the parents are willing to hear your concern now and double check then it wouldnt hurt to discuss it with them. Personally, I got a bit narky when people (mainly family that didnt spend near as much time with my daughter as I did) would say "Well she's not doing this or that and this kid is." Some people (even well meaning ppl) were downright tactless. My daughter was just quiet by nature, but bang on with development.

It can be a tricky situation. I'd be doing some praying first before bringing it up.

 

[Nessie]

Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, unless I felt like it was really a big deal and real. But I know that babies devlop differently from one another, so I didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

 

[Martin Calvin]

I work in a Day Care and have a two-year old. I've seen the entire spectrum, including ADHD, FAS, and Autism.
My son took his own sweet time in walking and incrawling for that matter. We just got a check up on friday and he got signed off with a clean bill of health. But we're a little nerveous that he's a little too interested in running around and not interested in learning words.

Most doctors and child specialists say that you really can't tell until 18 mos and can't usually diagnose untill three. Untill then lots of time and love. And when those aren't working know that God is.

 

[lovemysoldier]

I would like to follow up on the Early Childhood Intervention that was mentioned in an earlier post. It is a federally funded program and is present in every city in America. It is free in most states but some require a low co-pay. Services are from birth to three and are done in the home. After a child reaches the age of three the school district take over services and the child will be enrolled in a special needs pre-school that focuses on development.

Just because a child is delayed doesn't mean that they are handicapped or stupid. Those guidelines from the pediatric society are just guidelines. It is impossible for children to fit in the box. It is just a guide to let parents know when to discuss things with their doctor and to get screened by developmental specialists.

My twins were born ten weeks early and are a year behind developmentally. Since they didn't have much swimming room in the womb, they were so smushed that one twin wasn't able to use the left side of his body. He wasn't handicapped or paralized. He wasn't able to use that side of his body because his brother was sitting on him for so long he didn't know that using it was an option! They were also born without the natural chew and suck reflex and had to be fed through their noses for a couple of months. They had to overcome their premature setbacks before they were able to be normal babies. With the help of the therapists from the early intervention services, my boys are normal, tantrum throwing toddlers.

While not all children have severe setbacks like my boys did, all children develop differently and should not be labeled or discouraged for not fitting the mold. If you are concerned that your children are not developing on target or have a friend that is in that situation, I highly recommend that the children get screened. Most developmental delays are caught up by the age of three because by that age children develop slower than an infant and that few month lag in development won't be as apparant. Most pediatritians are hesitant to even diagnose children with the label 'handicapped' until the age of three for that fact.

 

[Katydid]

If your niece is being taken to well babies regularly, then they look at more than just a delay in one area. For them to get truly concerned, there needs to be a serious delay (like 18 months and not walking) or delays in more than one area. Many times a baby, like another poster said, isn't given the opportunity to develop those areas. So many people are scared to place babies on their stomachs, so they don't do it even when they are with the child. Other babies are just so interested in learning how to manipulate their hands, or feet, or looking around, that they aren't interested in learning how to crawl yet. Also, if they have no reason to learn that skill. In essence, if she whimpers and immediately a toy is handed to her, then she doesn't have to learn how to get to it. There are too many factors that could cause a slight delay (which that baby doesn't qualify for yet anyway) that you can't judge based on only one. Put your mind at ease and just realize that this world is so big and there is so much for her to learn that she probably hasn't gotten around to that yet. Just for the record, my stepson crawled at 6 months, my oldest crawled at 12 months and my daughter crawled at 8 months. It is a wide spectrum as to what is normal. My oldest actually wouldn't walk until the movers came and took everthing out of the house. Then he got bored, got up and started walking back and forth across the room.

 

[mamaneenie]

Well, I know three people right now who have somewhat recently had babies. One of my cousins has a ten month old (who was born premature), another cousin has a nine month old, and my pastor has an eight month old.

My 10month old nephew is close to walking, and is able to say at least 5 words. My pastor's daughter can roll, and can say two words. My neice, the 9month old, can neither crawl nor talk. She is able to roll... but she seems to be developing way slower than the other two, and her head kinda leans to the side a little. I haven't said anything, because it might just be that some babies develop slower, but I'm starting to get a little worried, because my nephew, a premature baby, has developed pretty quickly, and my pastor's daughter, who's younger, is developing quicker too. How can you tell if your child has development issues/

Most 9 mth old babies cannot talk. In fact I would say the other 2 babies you mention are quite advanced.

Development happens at different rates

I agree with what the other posters have said about development. A lot of babies don't ever learn to crawl and go straight to walking.

 

[BornAgainBanana]

I'd be astounded if a 9mth old was speaking, period. I mean burbling mumumum or dadadad does not equate to speech. 5 words? what are they? I think maybe they're reaching a little there

2 of my babies crawled by 6 mths, one not untill 11 mths, and one not at all. That one just up and walked one day and I went *gak* openmouthed with the shock of it all.

 

[Nessie]

I'd be astounded if a 9mth old was speaking, period. I mean burbling mumumum or dadadad does not equate to speech. 5 words? what are they?

Now, when he says mama or dad or gramma or papa it's not a mumbling of mamamama or daddaad... you can actually hear the distinct words. Now, they sound sound as if someone our age were saying it, but they are clearly the words. He says all four of those, and, thanks to my cousin, lol, "duh", and he's 10 months. about 10 1/2 now.

 

[lisarn]

Babies do develop at different rates. Does she seem to have good head control besides her head leaning to the side a little?

 

[suzybeezy]

I would like to follow up on the Early Childhood Intervention that was mentioned in an earlier post. It is a federally funded program and is present in every city in America. It is free in most states but some require a low co-pay. Services are from birth to three and are done in the home. After a child reaches the age of three the school district take over services and the child will be enrolled in a special needs pre-school that focuses on development.

Both of my youngest children went through this program. My five year old started at age 6 mos. and my 3 1/2 year old started at 3 mos. They are both in pre-school now. It was very beneficial to both of them. I recommend suggesting it to anyone who has a concern. Just an evaluation will rule out any potential problem. The earlier a problem is detected, the earlier therapy can be addressed.

 

[reformedfan]

they say for every day over 1 year old that a beebee crawls rather than walks, his IQ goes up a point, something about the synapses working harder to process info from being lower than everything & having to roll eyes & use gross motor to see everything.

Since it's someone else's kid, & most mama's are fierce, mother bear/lioness hybrids when anyone even hinting about saying anything even slightly critical or less than 'your child is perfect' comes their way, the claw wounds can be quite savage & painful. I wouldn't say a word, just pray for the kid. (& the parents)