He keeps falling | Imamother

amother

Seagreen

Thu, Jun 09 2016, 10:16 pm

yogabird wrote:

It could also be a motor planning issue.

I was told that the reason why he got so far is that he has great motor planning, and he is so persistent. Maybe it just looks like he has good motor planning because he is so persistent and practices until he gets it right...

MagentaYenta

Thu, Jun 09 2016, 10:19 pm

amother wrote:

Magentayenta, can you help me with search terms?

I just googled 'physical exercises for 2 year old with low muscle tone. There are over 2million results. Some are videos. I hope this can help you and your child.

https://www.google.com/webhp?s.....r+old

Last edited by MagentaYenta on Thu, Jun 09 2016, 10:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

LittleDucky

Thu, Jun 09 2016, 10:19 pm

Besides all of the above (great ideas- vision, ears, PT, neuro...) I would recommend gymnastics classes. They are great for balance and coordination plus muscle building and it's all in a safe place! There are mats everywhere or soft pits of foam so he can't get hurt if he falls. They are trained to assume kids will fall!
But go to a real gymnastics gym- while they have classes at the Y and other places they don't have the same level of safety gear IME.

seeker

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 1:26 am

MagentaYenta wrote:

I wouldn't attempt a therapeutic exercise program for a little kid without the advice of a qualified therapist who has personally seen the child. But that's just me...

Happydance

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 3:51 am

Have him evaluated by an OT who can determine if its a motor planning/visual/balance/body awareness issue. And I'd do a another eye exam too

gp2.0

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 9:46 am

There are parks with toddler sized equipment.

dancingqueen

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 10:22 am

LittleDucky wrote:

Definitely first rule out any neurological or other complicating issues before attempting something like this. Good luck!

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 4:09 pm

Thank you for all of the input. It was helpful. His latest falls were into the wall (you know, the corner, where it hurts)-he has black and blue marks all over.
Any more ideas or suggestions are welcome.
Tyia!

mha3484

Fri, Jun 10 2016, 4:11 pm

My older child is like this. He is extremely clumsy. I had his eyes checked he is border line for glasses. He received PT as a baby for low muscle tone and now he gets OT as a preschool aged child. I see it slowly helping. There is no miracle cure but over time I notice it gets better.

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Jun 12 2016, 4:51 pm

We have a lot of clumsiness going around in our family. For example, my clumsy daughter has low muscle tone - but know that is not a enough to cause clumsiness on its own. Here are all the things we were told to get checked (I'm sure there are others):

1) Vision in general (yeah, my baby wasn't walking yet at 18 months and was standing very little. Turns out was actually already nearsighted at a year and a half)
2) Depth perception - this isn't always standard in a vision check, so ask specifically about it.
3) Hip x-ray to check for hip dysplasia (incorrect angle of the hip joints) - an orthopedist can do this. My kid had a slight difference in the angle of the hip joints, and it was slightly worse in one hip than the other, making leg movements uneven, which can lead to falls. Since it was very mild, it didn't need correction, and leg movements became even with time and practice walking around and climbing stairs. A general evaluation of the feet/legs by an orthopedist should be done, to see if there are other underlying structural problems.
4) Developmental coordination disorder (DCD, formerly known as dyspraxia) - A major cause of clumsiness. Not as scary as it sounds! I have this. It is basically a fancy medical name for clumsiness, though it is, in essence, a motor planning problem. Can be improved greatly with PT and OT. At 2, they may not yet be able to determine it though. A neurologist can diagnose this.
5) Assess child for joint hyperflexibilty - Another cause of clumsiness. Can happen on its own. If she's very hyperflexible in many joints, can be Benign Joint Hypermobility - usually harmless otherwise, and can be greatly improved by PT and OT. Hyperflexibilty together with low muscle tone can cause a lot of clumsiness (aka, my daughter). There are other rare causes of hyperflexibility, some of which come with some other problems (e.g. EDS-hypermobility type - this is a rare genetic disorder, which is usually mild (don't google it, there are more severe subtypes which look really scary, this one isn't like that). It is diagnosed by assessing hypermobility and not by genetics or anything else, since hypermobility is the main symptom - turns out I have EDS and DCD, which makes me supremely clumsy). Regardless of the underlying cause of hyperflexibility, can be helped greatly by PT and OT.

The PT really said that the park is best though - when I go, I don't leave my daughter's side (and people act like I'm crazy, but she would just fall off things, so I don't care). It's kind of exhausting, but I try to go when I can take my husband with me (shabbos afternoon) so we can divide and conquer. They do have playgrounds aimed at little kids, which don't have anything to fall off of higher than a foot or so. These are amazing.
Walking up and down stairs was recommended too.
Our PT also recommended going to a gymboree. Everything is padded, and the best way to improve muscle tone and strengthen joints is to run and jump and climb, etc. Nothing with a program specifically, just space with the basic gymboree equipment -padded stairs, padded slides, padded geometric shapes, padded tubes, padded balance beam, padded swings, a trampoline or bouncy house, An especially good option if you're afraid to go to the park. My daughter in particular loved it!

Shuly

Mon, Jun 13 2016, 12:44 pm

Have him walk up the slide in the park. It is great for strengthening leg muscles.

Also, not wearing shoes is great! I had gone to a fancy shoe store and I bought my child really supportive Italian shoes. Then I went to a pediatric orthopedist who told me to only put shoes on my kid outdoors because walking barefoot is what strengthens the foot and ankle muscles.
The orthopedist said that supportive shoes are for old people whose legs can't get stronger. Putting supportive shoes on children makes their muscles dependent on the shoes. Walking barefoot and standing on tip-toes for 2-3 minutes at a time is what strengthens their feet. He told me to put things just out of his reach so that he will have to stand on tip toes to reach them. When we went outside, I gave him plain sandals. It really worked!

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jun 13 2016, 12:59 pm

Shuly wrote:

I agree with not wearing shoes. People have only been wearing shoes very recently, in the frame of human history.

I let DD go barefoot as much as possible, and when she went outside she wore soft bottomed shoes like Robeez. She wore them until they didn't make her size anymore, and then we switched to traditional Native American moccasins. To this day she still prefers shoes with a thin and flexible sole, and finds that heavy bottomed shoes make her clumsy.

cnc

Mon, Jun 13 2016, 11:36 pm

My two year old had the same issue.
He ended up having so much fluid in his ears that it impacted his balance.