My dc are more likely to have AHD/ADHD and learning difficulties because they didn't/aren't crawling: is this correct?

[GlitteringJasper]

Someone who works in education has told me this (SEN teacher)
AIBU to be worried?

My dc1 didn't crawl and bum shuffled before eventually walking at 18.5 months.

Dc2 will be a year soon and looks like she will be going the same way and has no interest in crawling or "standing" holding on to furniture.

Dc1 can crawl now when I ask him to, but is it the fact that he didn't do it as a development stage the problem.

I'm really worried about this. Is this correct?

I try to put dc2 in crawling position and encourage her but she has no interest whatsoever.

Is this a thing that I just wasn't aware of and should I be worried?

[Snossidge]

I think bum shuffling counts as crawling anyway, and it's just the children who have some conditions were slightly more likely to have skipped crawling entirely than children who don't. It's not a cause and effect thing though, and it's not the case that all non-crawlers have later issues.

[x2boys]

absolute bollocks ds2 was crawling from 12 months and walking at 15 months but he has autism and learning difficulties my sister bum shuffled and didnt walk untill 19 months but is a teacher no learning difficulties what so ever.

[ChiefInspectorBarnaby]

Nonsense. Also an SEN teacher isn't qualified to comment on babies.

[Branleuse]

I think theyve noticed a slight correlation, but my children with ASD all crawled and walked reasonably early, and I know bum shufflers or non crawlers with no issues. Dont get worked up about it.

[insan1tyscartching]

I have two children with ASD and they both crawled then I have one bum shuffler who never crawled and walked at 18 months and she is entirely NT, in fact she has always been the most easy child ever. I don't think there's a link between crawling and ADHD but I think I read about there possibly being a link to co ordination difficulties although dd has had none of those.

[Shockers]

Utter bollocks. Both my very bright, yet calm nieces bum shuffled until they were over 2, then they walked.

[Madeyemoodysmum]

Rubbish. I've never heard this and certainly doesn't follow in the pattern of the babies I've watched grow up.

[glintwithpersperation]

That's absolute nonsense. Motor milestones on their own are the worst predictor of future performance. You would look at whether other domains such as speech, social skills, play before diagnosing global developmental delay, which often can be described as learning difficulties later on in life.
If the physical skills are very delayed, you would be looking for any unusual stiffeness or movements. 18.5 months is a late ish walker but it's not so late that you would be very concerned (unless there were other worries). Although crawling on all fours is the most common way of getting around, bottom shuffling is categoriesed as crawling - ie moving - it's a normal variant and nothing to worry about.
Some children with extra movement in their joints are a bit late with their motor milestones and again it's often a normal variant. Your friend has been very tactless.
How is your DC1 doing?

[MummyPig24]

I've never heard of this. Ds1 is waiting to be assessed for ADHD and ASD and he crawled at 10 months and walked at 13 months.

[StillStayingClassySanDiego]

I think you'd be better to ignore what the SEN teacher has said.

Ds2 didn't crawl, he stood and walked at 9 months, it was a bloody nightmare .

All well with him development wise, he's 18 now.

[Seriouslyffs]

Nonsense. Who is this stupid and tactless woman anyway? Why would you say that to someone?
if she's your mil and you can't tell her to ftfottfsof.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

I bum shuffled and didn't walk till I was nearly two, I am NT. DS on the other hand, crawled very efficiently and has AS.

[vintagesewingmachine]

That is absolute garbage. As PP said, the SEN teacher should never have commented about babies. If it is any reassurance, both my children (DD9 and DS8) were very late walkers (18 months) and DD never crawled at all but rolled everywhere. Obviously this is my personal experience but I also work with children and have never heard or read about any link with ASD. Try not to worry

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

I guess that there are many different reasons for a child not crawling, some of which could also be associated with a neurological disorder. In that way those who don't crawl are more likely to have later issues, only because it is a marker for it. Most of them have other reasons for not crawling like laziness yes looking at you three dc and you stop worrying about them when they start winning races on sports day.

[Fairylea]

Utter nonsense. I have a ds with severe autism and he crawled very early, he also has good speech but his speech is mostly repeating things. He still has severe autism.

To be honest in my experience most SEN teachers etc don't know enough about disabilities like asd and adhd anyway. Most parents of children with these issues I know have a constant battle on their hands to get any sort of help or understanding as it is.

[GlitteringJasper]

Thanks for the replies. I'm a teacher myself but teach Y4 and I know nothing about babies.

My dc1 is now 2.10 and although his speech was quite slow initially, I notice a real improvement since we took his dummy away and also since he's starting going to pre school (pre pre school actually!). I also think he's got a good imagination when it comes to play and he seems fairly switched on in terms of intelligence and aptitude so I've no major concerns but as I said I know nothing really!

Dc2 is just a very normal baby who loves singingm clapping, dancing and eating (a lot) but has no interest in moving around.

[x2boys]

do you have any other concerns? my friends son was a very late walker over two but he also like my son has various other issues he has hypermobility ,global development delay both our boys have a chromosome deletion .

[x2boys]

cross post it doesnt sound like you have anything to worry about.

[ShortcutButton]

Hmm...my did has SEN. And I remember the paediatrician asking me whether she crawled. She didnt AT ALL. She stood up and walked at 7 months. So it rings true for me

[CecilyP]

I think they've noticed a slight correlation

'They' tends to be parents of children with certain conditions (I had previously heard of it in relation to dyslexia) but whether any real research has been done in this area, I have no idea. You could ask this SEN teacher to see the research or just tell her that, 'correlation is not the same as cause'.

Personally, I doubt if crawling is all that important in the grand scheme of things; just one way for a baby to become mobile before walking; so early walkers don't crawl much, if at all.

Please don't worry; this teacher WBU to put this idea in your head.

[Sallyhasleftthebuilding]

Dd didnt walk til she was 18 months - she didnt want to. Her DTB walked at 13 months - lots of comments made about her being Behind Read at 3. Top of the class and always has been. Rubbish.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Lack of crawling is one of the many possible early indicators of dyslexia, this shows how it fits in with the other early indicators. My DD was an early walker who never crawled and has dyslexia, but she also had a host of other indicators too.

[ChatEnOeuf]

There is a weak correlation as far as I have seen - in that in some individuals with ASD/ADHD/SEN also have some motor delays or dyspraxia etc. This is not the same as causation.

Individual stories don't prove anything, but I never crawled and I'm a doctor. My sister did and she's a lawyer.

[HearTheThunderRoar]

Absolute crap. DD bum shuffled until and didnt start walking until she was almost 2, at 16 is she is NT, no signs of ADHD whatsoever.

People thought she had something wrong with her too like development delays and were nagging at me to checked get her checked out and see a doctor, someone even started talking about a paediatrician. It started to freak the shit out of me.

This was also in the 90s before all these studies etc came to light, OP just ignore.