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1yr old with mild cp?

alannah87

Hi,

I'm after some advice really. My daughter is one year old, we noticed when she was about four/five months old the she didn't really use her left hand and that it was often fisted. This became more apparent as she started baby led weaning. We also noticed her left foot was often clenched, she also suffers a lot from constipation.

She was under a peadiatrician for a strawberry birthmark and our gp assessed her and agreed that she needed to be referred so suggested I showed the peadiatrician at our next appointment. The peadiatrician checked her over and said she's fine but because we're concerned referred us to physio.

She is now one and is still very right hand dominant, she can use her left hand but will always use her right even if something's easier to get with her left. When she eats she fists her left hand and will never pick food up with it. She has a sippy cup that she is able to lift and drink from but again this is only with her right hand.

I mentioned it again to the peadiatrician at her apt last week, he was very flippant, got her to crawl about a foot and because she played with her hair clip with both hands was satisfied and said we could be discharged. I asked not to be and he has agreed to see us again in six months.

My concerns are that she is very right hand dominant - Dr Google is a great one for saying babies should not show any hand dominance until they're at least two! This coupled with her bowel moments make me wonder if she has mild cp? All the research Ive done it's the only thing I can think would be causing it. She's very social, loves people, she's very happy little girl and will point at things she wants, responds to her name etc. She has only been slightly late with her crawling, she mastered it a couple of weeks before turning one.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar and if there was any advice about whether it could be cp/something else. I'm convinced there's more that can be done to help her but have no idea how to get past the peadiatrician, I know there are children who have much worse to deal with and he sees much worse but I just feel he doesn't give me the time of day with my concerns.

Thank you in advance for any help/advice offered.

Alannah

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Comments

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @alannah87, and a warm welcome to the community! Great to have you here.

Unfortunately we are not medical professionals, and will be unable to say if your daughter does or does not have mild CP. However, if you are concerned then do keep requesting to see someone. There are lots of other parents on here who have been in a similar situation and I hope they too are about to provide support and guidance.

I also am tagging @Richard_Scope who is our cerebral palsy specialist.

Please do let us know if we can do anything else.

Richard_Scope

Hi @alannah87

Some of the things that you describe could potentially be indicators of a child having a condition such as cerebral palsy (cp) but not necessarily so. I think the important point here is that you have concerns and you sound as if you need those concerns addressing by an appropriate person. It would not be appropriate for me to speculate if your daughter has cp as I'm not a medical professional, I live with quadriplegic CP.

By definition, cerebral palsy is a disorder of posture and/or movement that results from the immature brain either being damaged or failing to form correctly. It is a diverse condition that affects each individual in a way that is specific to them. It can display itself in a way that is similar to other developmental conditions. Diagnosis is normally made by a paediatric doctor after a period of observation and tests to rule out the possibility of other conditions. A brain scan can often assist with identifying areas of brain damage but not in every case. There is no stand-alone test for cerebral palsy, diagnosis is more of a process that looks at evidence from different sources (such as medical history, general tests, scans and observation). The average age of diagnosis is 18 months but sometimes much later, especially if the person is only very mildly affected or has other health issues that are complicating matters. I would request a referral to another paediatrician for a second opinion, which, you are entitled to.

Please try not to worry too much (easier said than done). Happy to chat further.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @alannah87 and a warm welcome to the community.

It can be really worrying when you have concerns about your child and don't feel as though they're being acknowledged. When my eldest was born we knew fairly early on she had an issue with her hips but even once her health visitor was on-board, we still couldn't get past the GP. As young first-time parents we struggled to be taken seriously and were told a couple of times by various patronising doctors that we were seeing things that weren't there. It took until she was 10-months-old to get someone to listen.
I'm a firm believer that we know our children best. It may turn out to be nothing but if you're concerned it's always best to follow that up. As @Richard_Scope said, you are entitled to ask for a second opinion.

In the mean time try to stay away from Dr. Google!

I also have a 1-year-old (he's 15 months) and he shows strong right-hand dominance too.

Best of luck! Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

alannah87

Thank you all so much for getting back to me. I saw my gp and discussed it with them. They have said they'll fully support my request for a second opinion.

We have a physio apt next week so I will discuss her progress with them and see if they think she would benefit from any further support. I will then decide whether to wait and see or go ahead with a second opinion.

Thank you again!

Alannah

Richard_Scope

It's good that your G.P. is supportive @alannah87

Please let us know how you and your daughter get on. We can support you both.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @alannah87, I'm glad you have your GP's support with this. Please do let us know how the physio goes.

April2018mom

How was the appointment @alannah87?

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