15 month old not crawling or walking

[renley1982]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on Mumsnet and it is mainly because I have been unable to find any answers to my concerns!

My DS is 15 months and has been referred to a pediatrician at our local hospital due to his lack of mobility (unable or unwilling to crawl or put weight on his legs)

He has had a number of blood tests and x rays, none of which have bought up any problems.

He is now due to have an MRI scan on his brain and spine, but they seem to be mostly concerned that it could be a neurological problem, which I am still to be convinced by because in every other way he seems to be developing normally.

For a bit of background, he originally could stand while holding onto tables etc quite early (around 5 months) and has been able to sit unsupported since that time also.

One of the things that bothers me is that he spent a lot of time in his Jumperoo between 5-7 months because he just loved it so much, however at 7 months he stopped putting weight on his legs (he has never crawled) and I'm unsure whether the Jumperoo has caused this rapid change in his development.

Otherwise, he is a happy social little boy, who is already able to say a number of words, communicates well (sometimes to well!) and has excellent fine motor skills.

I was hoping to find out whether there are any other mums out there that have had similar experiences that might be able to give me an idea of what might come next.

Thank you

Hi renley,

I can't really offer much advice except to say I'm in the same boat. DS turned 2 on Sunday and STILL isn't walking. He sat up and crawled early enough (6mths and 8mths resp) and started pulling himself up at 11mths so we thought everything was on track. The only thing we did notice was that when he was cruising the furniture he put all his weight on the insides of his feet (making his ankles bow in) and he would only walk round furniture, never holding our hands or with a push along car etc. He's under the care of an orthapaedic surgeon but has only seen her once (6.5mths ago), where she was of the opinion that he was just a confirmed crawler and would do it himself, but did admit his ankles were hypermobile. Anyway, no treatment was offered and he's still not walking yet. His second appointment is in a week so hoping she'll actually investigate a bit further or offer some ankle support for him this time. Since about September his ankles have strengthened quite a bit and he's been happily walking around holding our hands and will sometimes take a couple of steps between us with a lot of coaxing but he's not come any further forward since then. Its sooo frustrating because I think with a little bit of help (i.e. physio or ankle-stabilising shoes) he would walk with no problems now.

Anyway, has your paed looked into hypermobility? If your DS has it and its affecting his hips and/or ankles it could be the reason he's not mobile yet. If thats the case then it should improve as the muscles etc strengthen round the joints as he gets older, might just take him a bit longer than others to get going like my DS.

Hope you get some answers soon

My DS learnt to walk at 17 months. Prior to this, he just sat! He learnt to crawl at 19/20 months. He was diagnosed with hypermobility.

I think the reason that there may be concerns with your DS is that he used to be able to stand supported and now he can't. I was asked a lot about this (by paed and physio), but DS had never been keen to weight bear so it wasn't an issue.

I know plenty of babies who loved their jumperoos and who all walked normally :)

Yes, that's it Beans, that is mine and their major concern, as he was developing perfectly normally until around 7 months, I don't think either they or I would have been quite so concerned otherwise.

He has been tested for almost everything (or so it seems?!) including hypermobility which is something I still seem to have so that was the first obvious answer, but he has been given the all clear on that.

Just a waiting game I guess until the MRI results come back. Nice to hear from others in a similar boat, all his other friends are walking around happily and other new mum's I meet look at me like I'm either a terrible mother or I get "oh dear!" when I confess he can't crawl.

Hope you get on better at the at the hospital next week weelors, although by the sounds of things, you'll have a very happy little walker in no time at all :)

Hmm, sounding familar. My 17 month old bum shuffles, has never crawled and now really won't bear weight on her legs. She did bear weight and hold onto tables etc and would pull herself up. She now refuses to do so.....

Does he bum shuffle at all? I really don't imagine the jumperoo has caused any problems but is probably good they are looking into the lack of weight bearing. Hope the MRI results are ok and you get some answers from the paed. My dd has a mild form of CP and didn't crawl until 15 months and walked at 20 months.

WeeLors - have you tried your ds in Kickers boots? Loads of ankle support!

renley, hope you get some answers soon, and your wee man is given the all clear :)

Pleasethanks, have you taken dd to your GP and explained that she DID previously weight-bear, but now refuses to? This is "cause for consern", and she should be checked, for example to see if hip pain/joint problem has developed (with hip problems, the longer it goes untreated, the longer it takes to sort out), so getting it checked now would be sensible. Pointless to go to HV, as they would pass you to GP to refer you on for checks. It's important to emphasises to the dr that she did stand holding furniture but won't do it now.

Hi winter, thanks for that it is really reassuring. He doesn't really make much effort to go for anything, he'll turn around on his bum and will quite happily go for anything that is within his reach in his circle! He has always hated tummy time, even now, and if he is lying down he will occasionally roll over but always one way! He also has very floppy ankles making getting any shoes on him almost impossible!

I know cp can take various forms, and can affect children in different ways. I have a cousin with a very extreme case due to being starved of oxygen at birth, but I know he will never be that way. However I also have a friend with a mild case of it and now you would honestly never know.

Did you notice many other developmental issues or was it simply mobility that she was late in?

Pleasethanks, I agree with oldmum, I got referred to my hospital when ds was 12 months and being able to bear weight previously seemed to be the point they kept asking about.

His appointment to get the results is at the end of this month so I will try and update you all whatever the outcome as it would be nice to help give a bit of an idea to someone else with similar issues x

renley - that is exactly what dd did when she first became mobile - the bum turning thing! I am surprised that he isn't hypermobile if you notice the floppy ankles but I guess it would have picked up as is one of the more obvious reasons for delay in mobility. What is he like if you put him in a crawling position?

DD has a mild case of CP due to lack of oxygen before birth and fortunately, the only developmental issue has been her motor skills. However, her fine motor skills are also affected unlike your ds who sounds like he's doing great with his fine motor and communication

Hmm, dd did have a pavlic harness for a while when she was weeks old. We have had an xray within the last 3 months and all seemed fine, but we are going back again next month for another check up so we can speak to the physio then.

Winter he won't really go into a crawling position, just gets all stressed out and tries to straighten out. I suppose who really knows what the problem is really until we get a diagnosis. Yes, he is really confusing the paed as he can happily pick up crumbs and has his big flappy wobbly feet!

Pleasethanks, I hope all goes well for you, I'd love for you to keep me updated. You never know this time next year we might be wondering why we were so worried... My next step will be getting the fussy eater to eat something other than omelette, fish fingers and toast!

I will do renley. I hope things get sorted for you and your DS.

I am taking comfort from the fact that when I first walked I stopped after a day and refused to do it again for 6 months....

That is definitely reassuring. Both me and DH were both pretty early with everything... My lazy and chilled out brother and dad were a different matter altogether apparently, according to my aunt my dad didn't speak until he was 5!

Thats exactly like DS, floppy ankles but brilliant fine motor skills. I'd be really surprise if it wasn't hypermobility too, it doesn't have to affect all joints. Thought they would've picked up on it though, hope you get some answers soon.

surviving - yep, we've been putting him in boots with ankle support for about the last 6mths. We tend to go for the European brands cos they have such a good reputation amongst physios etc, so far we've had BabyBotte and Froddo, both really good. They certainly do work to straighten his ankles a bit (i.e. he stands flat on his feet whereas with normal shoes they would make his ankle pronate worse so that he was right on the side of his feet - looks horrible). Unfortunately, he's still a bit 'shoogly' in that his ankles can give way quite easily. Just wondered if official Piedro boots or something would be better so hoping the surgeon does something this time.

My DS went for his MRI yesterday and they have told us they have not found anything significant at first glance (which I'm assuming would be something like a brain tumour etc). Just got to wait until next Weds now.

My dd1 also has fairly mild cp and her floppy ankles (falling inward) are the only prominent symptom these days, at least to an untrained eye. She does walk unaided but is in ankle splints part-time so that she benefits from the extra stability and proper alignment whilst wearing them but continues to exercise the relevant muscles when walking without them. It's great that at first glance everything looked ok on the scan results! But I hope they will come up with an explanation soon, so thatif your ds does need some extra suppport, he can receive it a.s.a.p.

Well looks like you might have been right Weelors. We've had our results back today and the brain scan has come back clear. I then mentioned about his floppy ankles and general bendiness and they have now referred him onto a physio to assess and give us some exercises.

He has another appointment with the paediatrician at 18 months which they will look for improvement and if he hasn't with those exercises he will get referred to a neurologist for a second opinion on his brain scan. They seem truly baffled by him, so lets hope these exercises do the trick x

I hope this thread helps other mums in a similar position as I really struggled to find anything with an eventual outcome, so I will keep updating until we get a diagnosis x

I know this thread was started back in Feb but I'd love to hear how your ds has progressed since then renley1982 . My dd who is 16 months sounds exactly the same as your son.