anyone have experience with flat-footedness and hypotonia in DC?

[Melarina]

DD still does not walk on her own (at 21 months). She will walk when holding someone's hand, but does not by herself. For a while we thought she was cautious or just late, as most of her physical milestones were on the late side (i.e. crawled at 12 months). However, I noticed that the few times she did try to walk alone she seemed to hurt herself, and also that her ankles seemed to slope inwards when she walks.

We got a diagnosis last week of flat feet and hypotonia (weak ankles) from a pediatric orthopedist. She will be casted for braces on Monday and start physical therapy on Wednesday. It looks like she'll be going to PT twice a week for six months or so.

Does anyone have experience with this? Anything to recommend? TIA!

[lizajane]

a close friend's DD has hypotonia. she is almost 6. just wanted to share the positive story that she is doing great. they make a few allowances for her at school- she has a stool to rest her feet on under her desk. but for the most part, you would never know that she has hypotonia. she does OT and is enrolled in gymnastics, as recommended by her OT.

[happy2bamom]

Ds has low muscle tone and has worn braces for 3 years now (he is currently 5). The first thing that I would say is that it is not a degenerative disease (ie, it doesn't get worse over time, your DD's abilitities will only improve). We are fortunate b/c DS has never minded wearing his braces. It wasn't really until this year at preschool that any of his friends even noticed that he wore braces.

Going back to our original braces, I would suggest finding a PMR doctor (physical medicine and rehabilition) to oversee the various services that your DD may need (ie, braces, PT, OT and for us we also see a speech therapist b/c the low tone effects DS' mouth too). Having a coordinating doctor will help your DD to get the best care possible. As far as the braces go, I strongly suggest going with the minimal amount that is needed. For example, when DS was fitted originally it was for braces that went up almost to his knees. We gave it a week but he was doing worse with the braces than he was without them. It was too much brace for his specific needs. Once we had the braces cut down, (now they come just above the ankle) he was able to start trying some new things. If they cast for a high brace, just know that they can always be cut down if need be. On the other hand, I don't think that they can add-on if you start with a short brace and find out that your DD could use more support.

When you go back to pick-up the braces make sure that you take shoes with you. They can't practice walking in the brace without a shoe b/c the bottom of the brace is too slippery. You'll need to buy shoes specifically to be worn with the braces (usually 1-2 sizes bigger than normal and I"ve always had to take the insole out of the shoe to make room for the brace). You'll also want to invest in some long socks. I like the roll tops socks from Gap or Old Navy b/c they can be worn to the knee or folded down to the ankle.

If you don't already have them, get some push toys so that your DD can practice walking (with the braces) on her own. A push toy, on carpeting, let's your DD have some independence while still in control of her forward motion.

Like I said, we've been doing this for over 3 years now. If you have any specific questions you can PM me. One last thing, I have known SEVERAL kiddos with hypotonia when they were babies and by the age of 5 no longer need braces or any other type of services/assistance. Each case is very unique. Good luck! The most important thing is that you keep a positive attitude (always in front of DD) and she will adopt a positive attitude too. For DS first pair of braces he choose musical instruments for his straps (the kids get some choices on what they look like) so we just called them his music shoes. Honestly, I wasn't ready to say out loud that my DS wore braces, so it helped me to have a better attitude about the whole process.

OK. I could go on and on. Please PM if you have any other questions or just need an ear.

[bubbaray]

My DD#1 has flat feet and her ankles used to turn slightly inwards, she d/n have hypotonia, though.

We have had great success with New Balance running shoes.

[Melarina]

Thanks so much for this helpful information!