Doing Physical Therapy myself! Looking for good Book........

amother

Wed, Feb 04 2015, 1:45 pm

My preemie was not approved for physical therapy because they calculated him according to his corrected age. I am determined to help my 9 month old myself. He is physically delayed but perfectly smart. Where can I find/get books to help him out with his physical therapy?

nyc123

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 6:09 am

He's not delayed. The corrected gestational age (CGA) would be the correct way of determining if his development is on track. If for example he was born a month and a half early, his CGA would be 7.5 months and he could only be expected to be reaching milestones for that age now. He is "younger" than he would be according to his birthdate. The physical therapist likely deemed that he is developing on track for everything he can be expected to do for his CGA (I.e. You can't expect a 7.5 month old to start cruising/walking no matter how much physical therapy they get. They're just not ready and will learn naturally when their body develops the skills it needs to do so).

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 6:15 am

amother wrote:

I will agree with nyc123. My daughter was born 6 weeks early. She was delayed to put it mildly. I remember that she pretty much lay there until very close to her first birth day. I cant remember exactly when we were approved for physical (or was it occupational type) therapy, but we did do it.
But what I agre with nyc123 is that you can not think of your baby as 9 months. No matter how old they are, they are rally minus however many weeks, months they were born at. And on top of that, sometimes preemies really just need time to develop a bit slower than a "regular" baby.
Im not telling you not to do what you want to do, but give your baby time. At 9 months, however old he really is is much younger than he seems.
BH my daughter is now almost 7 and you would never know she was a preemie at all.

chani8

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 7:56 am

Go for it! It can't hurt. It can only help. You can find the exercises online, I'm sure. First google what a child your age should be doing. Then google for some youtubes to help your child with each task. Can you access google and youtube? If not, I'll do it for you when I have more time. Let me know.

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 8:03 am

chani8 wrote:

but there is a flaw in that. If the baby is not actually that age yet, they really should not be up to that place biologically yet and it would sort of be forcing the child to be ready to do something that their body is not ready to be doing. (did that make sense?)

as I said, my daughter pretty much did not move or even role over until she was a year. but thats what her body (and mind) was ready for at that age.

chani8

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 9:04 am

OP's baby is apparently on target for his corrected age. You're right, Shabbat, she doesn't need to do intervention for him. And by three years old, a preemie catches up to his peers, naturally, if all is well. I do get what you are saying, that OP seems to be pushing her baby when it doesn't seem necessary, and you think it might not even be healthy to do so. But doing a little PT with her baby is great for mother-child bonding, and it really wont hurt the child, because a baby isn't going to do anything he's not ready to do. Only if she is dogmatic and controlling, would I worry about this. Like, if she thinks she's got something to prove by getting her preemie up to par with the big boys. There is actually a bizaare physiotherapy program/cult (ie. Doman) for DS and CP children, that requires the children to crawl for so many miles/hours, to help them with their brain development. So, you're not far off to worry and wonder why she's doing this. But I think and hope, she's just trying to help her baby be the best he can be and she's just going to do some fun exercises with him.

shabbatiscoming

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 3:25 pm

lech lecha08 wrote:

I'm an OT. It's standard procedure to correct a preemie's age until they are 2 years

thank you lech lecha for your input. So is that saying that when they are still a few months old, just let them develop however they are developing?

lech lecha08

Thu, Feb 05 2015, 11:54 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

thank you lech lecha for your input. So is that saying that when they are still a few months old, just let them develop however they are developing?

There may still be a legitimate need for PT or OT. But no one will be worried that her 9 month old can't crawl because he's "really" 7 months. OTOH, if he's not rolling over or holding his head up, there's a problem even for the corrcted age

granolamom

Fri, Feb 06 2015, 12:43 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

thank you lech lecha for your input. So is that saying that when they are still a few months old, just let them develop however they are developing?

I dont want to speak for lech lecha, but I'm a PT and I agree, if the baby is developing normally for her corrected age, then the best a mom could do is continue to give the baby lots of time out of 'baby contraptions' ie stroller, high chair, walker, exersaucer, etc and give her plenty of opportunity to move.
therapy, for a child who doesnt need it, is pretty much useless in that it wont help the child develop any more quickly than she is ready to develop. at worst, a parent who finds some books on pediatric PT might implement the exercises incorrectly. we therapists arent just playing with the babies, you know. there's rationale and reason behind the exercises. normal play, normal movement is what typically developing babies need, nothing fancy from a book. just get on the floor with a ball or put some music on or whatever and you're good to go.

all that said, a book outlining typical development is a good resource, and if you do have concerns, then continue to bring it up with your ped or ask for a re-eval from Early Intervention.