Extremely OT: No longer a 'Special Needs' parent.

[Bobs My Uncle]

Yup. After he got over his initial shock at just how bad my son's neck was, he asked about the delivery. It was a traumatic delivery that happened VERY fast, 45 minute labor, and he started down the canal out of position, then turned out to have the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. The Doc just nodded and said it sounds like it was very likely it happened during delivery and had been like this since day 1 for the little guy. He said he checked both his kids immediately after delivery and one was totally fine and the other was almost as out of whack as my little guy.

Here's the the kick in the pants. The Speech Pathologist that spent three days a week at my house had a child of her own with a similar hearing situation and the same results from a Chiropractor, yet she was barred by law (State of Maine, I believe) from recommending Chiropractics as a possible treatment!!! She had first hand knowledge that could have helped us, but couldn't say anything about it. When we told her we were taking our son to one, she smiled and admidted that if we hadn't come up with it on our own, she was going to have to find a way to creatively put the idea in our heads.

It may be surprising to many just how many newborns enter this world in pretty bad shape with various forms of musculoskeletal and soft tissue disorders. These poor little souls can't communicate their discomfort to us (nor do they even know it's problematic) which means the usually end up living in their various states of pain for years and years. Often times a 5 minute visit to a chiropractic centre solves the problem.

As for the politics that you endured in this, it's terribly unfortunate. Fortunately it is getter better as the chiropractic profession is making great strides in the public's acceptance of chiropractic care. This after organized medicine used a campaign of misinformation and slander to almost destroy the chiropractic profession not that long ago. But I digress.

 

[Bill's Girl]

This is the best news I have heard in a long time! Congrats, sweetie! Is this the little guy who is a football nut??

Not to editorialize, but sometimes I think doctors are too quick to slap these developmental labels on small kids!

Thank you for sharing this with us!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Not to editorialize, but sometimes I think doctors are too quick to slap these developmental labels on small kids!

I couldn't agree more!

To this day I question whether I was misdiagnosed as dyslexic as a kid, though to her credit, my mother rose to the challenge and became a founder of "DAM" (Mothers' Against Dyslexia)

 

[PATSNUTme]

Wow!! That is great!:rocker: :eat3: :eat1:

Thanks for posting that. It brightened up what was a pretty ****y evening for me.

My wife is and has been a 4th or 5th grade teacher for many years. She tells me about all of the "expansive list" of disorders they are putting on kids now. That is a subject for another time and forum.

Glad you 'indulged' yourself. Anytime you or any other good poster on this board wants to indulge yourself with this kind of great news, please do.

It's better than most of the stuff I post.

I've used up my limit of smilies for this post.:singing:

 

[DarthPatriot]

Does it disturb anybody else that doctors call what they do practice?

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

This is the best news I have heard in a long time! Congrats, sweetie! Is this the little guy who is a football nut??

Yup, huge football nut. Everytime he gets hurt and doesn't cry he tells everybody he's being like "Wodney Hawison who got hurt REAL bad, but didn't cry either". (All the non-Patriot fans in the family and all the teachers in his school now know ALL about Rodney Harrison and his injury!) His favorite is (was) "55!!! Big Willie" although he claims Tom Brady "is the bestest guy ever!". I have no idea where he came up with that one.

Not to editorialize, but sometimes I think doctors are too quick to slap these developmental labels on small kids!

Agree, wholeheartedly. Although in this case, despite my not agreeing with the initial diagnosis, we pushed very hard just to get one (since it was needed to qualify for this special school). Our Pediatrician explained that we don't usually push the panic button on lack of speech until age 3, but she also understood that I was concerned because he was exibiting the exact same traits that my nephew did at this age, and he has Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism) who she also treated. So she understood our concern, and our huge desire for early intervention, and backed us up the entire way. And I'm not totally sure that the specialist that gave him the PDD-NOS diagnosis was 100% sold on it, but I think he recognized that the kid needed some kind of special intervention, and that diagnosis opened a lot of doors for him.

Thank you for sharing this with us!

Thanks EVERYBODY for the kind and supportive words (and the giggles!! "DAM"). You guys are the best.

 

[Bella*chick]

T-shirt, I'm SO happy for you! So happy you went with something a little unusual and it totally paid off. Believe me, I'm only 10 weeks pregnant, but I'm taking notes here. Chiropractor=good!

You must feel like you are on top of the world. There is nothing quite as empowering as an astonished look on a doctor's face when their diagnosis turns out to be wrong, LOL.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

T-shirt, I'm SO happy for you! So happy you went with something a little unusual and it totally paid off. Believe me, I'm only 10 weeks pregnant, but I'm taking notes here. Chiropractor=good!

You must feel like you are on top of the world. There is nothing quite as empowering as an astonished look on a doctor's face when their diagnosis turns out to be wrong, LOL.

You should have seen the Ear Nose and Throat specialist when the Timpanigram read 100% clear. He honestly checked both ears three times at first. We didn't tell him about the Chiropractor. We just let him check his ears every 6 months while he was waiting to get his scalpel into the kid. Poor guy. :singing:

 

[Bella*chick]

You should have seen the Ear Nose and Throat specialist when the Timpanigram read 100% clear. He honestly checked both ears three times at first. We didn't tell him about the Chiropractor. We just let him check his ears every 6 months while he was waiting to get his scalpel into the kid. Poor guy. :singing:

This news has honestly made my day. I'm walking around with this stupid grin on my face. I just love good news!

It could also be the hormones, I suppose.

 

[Willie55]

I'm only 10 weeks pregnant

Congratulations!

I have four kids and count my blessings everyday that they are all healthy. This biggest thing we had was my second daughter had a broken collar bone when she was born. We just had to keep her wrapped tightly and it healed itself within a couple weeks.

 

[jczxohn1]

Congratulations, and even with all the professional help, make no mistake, it was you and your wife's commitment to your son's well-being that made it happen. Again, congratulations.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Congratulations!

No kidding!! Stupid me, all wrapped up in my little world, just phased right over that! Congrats Bella! Is it your first?

I have four kids and count my blessings everyday that they are all healthy. This biggest thing we had was my second daughter had a broken collar bone when she was born. We just had to keep her wrapped tightly and it healed itself within a couple weeks.

Wow, a broken collar bone! I thought newborn's bones were so soft they were virtually unbreakable. It happen in delivery?

It's amazing how fast the really young ones heal. My 14 yr old step son fractured his collar bone recently, and after 4 weeks he didn't show any signs of healing at all, 8 weeks and he finally showed signs of calcification at the fracture site. Another example, my little one only ever needed that first major adjustment to his neck and it held, only needing minor adjustments occasionally from then on when he did stupid stuff like jumping off the couch and landing on his head. But for me... after I was convinced this guy was a NOT a quack, I asked him to look at my lower back pain which had been bothering me for years (I sit at a desk about 12 hours a day). Turns out my lower spine curved the opposite way it should (can't remember the name of the condition)... it curved out instead of in. It took me a couple months of adjustments before it would stay the way it should. The kiddo basically took one adjustment, I took probably 10 or 15, and even then he was impressed at how quickly I responded!

Bella*Chick, I'd never be so presumptuous as to give parenting advice to another parent, but I'll say this... having found a Chiropractor that I trust and that has changed my kids life... if my wife and I were to have another, the very first stop after getting home from the hospital would be to get that kid to my Chiropractor just to double-check that the delivery process didn't compress or skew that tender little spine. No doubt in my mind. I wish ta Gawd somebody would have suggested it with this one! Then again, knowing me, if there was no immediate problem presenting itself, I would have laughed and blown it off as crazy.

 

[Patjew]

Congrats T-Shirt! As a father of 3, I am happy to share in your great news.

Our second child was diagnosed with a neurological disorder (apraxia) when she was 2 and didn't speak until she was 5. We were devastated initally. After years of speech therapy and lots of hard work by her (and her mom), she's now fine and the docs took back their diagnosis. I can understand your relief and I'm so happy for you and your family!

 

[Willie55]

originally posted by T-ShirtDynasty
Wow, a broken collar bone! I thought newborn's bones were so soft they were virtually unbreakable. It happen in delivery?

Yes. She had trouble coming out and her shoulder got caught and the bone was pulled apart. And like you said they are real soft, almost rubbery. The doctor said she probably didn't feel it.

 

[Chevy]

Without a doubt the best post in a long time ... Props to you and the missus for not giving up ...

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Congratulations, and even with all the professional help, make no mistake, it was you and your wife's commitment to your son's well-being that made it happen. Again, congratulations.

Thank you. I was STUNNED when the specialist that diagnosed him with PDD-NOS told us upon learning that our son already had an impressive sign-language vocabulary that MANY parents in our position refuse to try to learn and then teach their kid sign-language, and/or refuse to even allow their child to be taught to sign.

It was clear to us that our son needed to communicate with us, but had no way of doing so. I talked to my former mentor and boss one day, told him my concerns, and he mentioned that he taught all four of his kids sign-language before they could speak, because he believed that it exercised a part of the brain at an early age that would benefit them later (nobody in his family was deaf, and at the time we had no idea that our son was either). He was a student of the human mind like me, and his explanation made sense.. so that day we taught my son the signs for "want" and "more". I was shocked that he picked it up within minutes and stated using the phrase "want more" that same day. It was like the clouds parted and let the light in. We ran out and bought the American Sign Language Dictionary that day. And the kid would grab that huge book, sit it on our lap and point at random to signs he wanted to learn. I was blown away, and to this day can't understand why any parent would be adverse to learning and teaching their kid to sign, especially if there's a clear communication problem.

Our Speech Pathologist was thrilled that he had a good sign vocab before she even showed up on the scene. As she put it, a kid that can't communicate is frustrated and a frustrated child is hard to teach. Signing allowed him to at least communicate basic needs to us, and kept his frustration down (until he started learning signs at school that the wife and I didn't personally know!) It's a S#*t load of work, because you have to learn it first before you can teach it, but it's sooooo worth it. Matter of fact, if we have another kiddo, we're starting sign-language right off the bat. To this day, my kid won't say "thank-you" without touching his fingers to his chin and signing it at the same time that he says it.

Congrats T-Shirt! As a father of 3, I am happy to share in your great news.

Our second child was diagnosed with a neurological disorder (apraxia) when she was 2 and didn't speak until she was 5. We were devastated initally. After years of speech therapy and lots of hard work by her (and her mom), she's now fine and the docs took back their diagnosis. I can understand your relief and I'm so happy for you and your family!

Thank you buddy! Funny thing, we were all going with the assumption that our son was also suffering from Apraxia until the specialist came up with the PDD-NOS diagnosis (apparently the speed with which he grasped the structure and use of sign-language helped rule out Apraxia). Apraxia is a tough one to deal with since you KNOW there's light at the end of the tunnel, but damnit it's going to take a lot of hard work and about 4-6 years until it's corrected and the brain basically 're-wires' itself.

 

[Bella*chick]

Oh, thanks, T-shirt! Yes, it's my first. So far, I feel a little worse than I thought I would, but it's starting to subside. Now I'm just wondering about whether or not to do those super-early genetic screening tests. Not exactly a relaxing time!

I'm just honestly so thrilled for you and your family! I too believe a lot of developmental disorder labels are unnecssarily placed on children which can only add heartache and stress to the parents. A story like this just really makes me feel optimistic about things, especially in the slew of all these recent headlines about autism, etc. It can really scare the hell out of you!

eta: oh, yeah, I'll DEFINITELY be adding Chiropractor to my list of doctors to visit! I am a complete believer in different types of medicine....actually thanks to the holistic vet we use for our dogs (another long story!) and stories like yours!

 

[smg93]

Wow, that's fantastic. That is such an uplifting story.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

:woohoo: T! Way to stick with it Ma & Pa Kettle!

Chiropractors! :rocker: Uncle Bob I've been soooo down on the AMA and others who fouled the waters for you, the tide is turning too slowly.

T, your a student of the human mind? Thank goodness mine is safe from you.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[zippo59]

Awesome story shirt. My sister was three years old and had still not started to speak. Then on the morning she was going to be taken to the doctor to see if she had any developmental problems she said her first word. Go figure. She was completely fine, and her timing was impecable.