Been told my 8 month old has developmental problems - very upset, what could your child do at 8 months?

[Gilliana1]

I had to see a specialist today at the hospital about my daughters developmental rate. We knew she was a little behind other babies (I can see this from going to mother + baby groups) but we thought she was just a slow starter.

We've just been told she has developmental issues, perhaps her brain is not wiring properly and they are referring us to some support in the community for and scans of her head (ultrasound and mri)etc. I'm so upset.

I'd be really grateful if anyone can tell me whether they have had this experience before, and what their baby does at 8 months (she is 7 months, 3 weeks) so I know how far adrift she is.

She roll over from back to tummy (only one way). She can't roll back. She can sit up (though sometimes she topples over if she is playng with an object and both hands come off the ground). She holds objects, passes them from hand to hand and if she has two toys in her hands she will bang them together and laugh at the noise. On her tummy she can swivel round in a cicle and crawl a few cms backwards - not forwards.

She doesn't wave if you wave at her, or copy me if I put my hands in the air, or copy my facial expressions (like putting her tongue out). If I try and get her to stand she won't put any weight on her feet.

Any support or advice would be lovely. Thank you.

I think your baby sounds totally normal. When you say she doesn't copy facial expressions if you smile at her does she smile back?

Hi Gilliana.

I am sending you a really big hug.

dd was dx with developmental delay and hypotonia (Low muscle tone) at 20 months.I knew something was wrong but had taken a bit of a head in sand attitude to it all earlier on as had had textbook pg and delivery.

DD didn't sit until 9 months,very little babble but lots of screechy/monotoned sounds.Didn't weightbear.Bumshuffled at 13 months but no crawling/independent stand,a bit wobbly if stood against furniture.Very refluxy,choky on solids.

The important thing is that you arein the system early so can access help if there are issues.I know this will be small consolation for you atm because when I first got confirmation of dd delay I felt as if someone had pulled the rug from under my feet and cried myself to sleep for days.

If it does turn out that your LO had global delay there is LOTS of support out there,we found the local dev.paed and childrens centre fab,and were reffered to SALT,ot,physio and audiology,orthototics and so on.Some of the best support was from the marvellous Portage service.

Go easy on yourself at the moment,it is a lot to take in.Initially we had what seemed like 100000000 appointments,but it settled down.Eventually dd had an Mri which showed her brain hadn't formed properly.

It is VERY hard at first realisation but I would urge you to seek any help opffered and I have found the lovely ladies on the mn sn board to be an invaluable source of support and info and very forgiving if you need a good rant xxx

All children develop at different rates babe. My son was 14 months old before he started walking and my daughter was 9 months! Both of my children were holding their own bottles on their own by 6 months however like i have shown with the walking all children develop at different times. I am glad you are being reffered though. Hopefully the test will show nothing and she will be a slow starter as my auntie has 5 children, her first child did not start crawling until she was 10 months and the others started around 6 7 months. Her last child is 4 in january and is only saying short sentances but my son is 4 in december and you can have a full blown conversation/argument with him. please dont be upset your daughter will pick that up and will in turn be anxious and upset. i hope all goes well for you darlin. good luck

Just seen this is an "old" thread.Any more news Gilliana?

I am still racking my brains re dd at 8 months...was a LONG time ago.Have you had any more input/tests done?

As others have said and did not want my post to be alarmist 8 months is young to dx,but from you description of having it confirmed by paed she was delayed I based post on this.Hope things are going ok.xx

Compared to my dd at 8 months, you dd sounds really advanced!! My dd is now a year old, and only in the last 3 weeks has made any attempt to move, at 8 months, there was no way she could roll over, or wave, or even hold a toy in each hand, and as for holding her own bottle, she wouldnt even do that now. She could sit up, but that was about it. I used to look at my friends and family's babies, and they were doing a lot more than her, and saying more. I mentioned it to the health visitor, and she said dd was normal range. As shes been slow at moving, ive enjoyed more peace than my friends, however within three weeks, shes managed to bum shuffle moving on to cruising within days and now is walking. Very weird after being used to putting them reliably in one spot. Have the checks obviously to put your mind at rest, but from your description of what shes doing, it doesnt sound like shes even behind. At least their on the ball!x

Gilliana1 - I am going through exactly the same thing with my dd. And I mean EXACTLY. She is 7 months old (7 months 1 week) - she is able to roll from back to tummy - has done that for ages but hasn't been able to roll back until now - in the last couple of days I've seen her roll back but not often. She can't sit up, can't really put weight on her feet etc etc Doesn't copy me.. all the things you're saying could be aboult my dd. But more importantly she too has been referred for several tests... scan, mri, hearing, eye sight, etc etc. I have thought about it all and decided that she seems fine but I will do all the non-invasive tests, I won't do an MRI as that involves a general aneasthetic. It's difficult but again development is so varied... I try and keep that in mind and keep coming on mumsnet to see what different babies do at different ages and it varies so much, so keep that in mind... I try to as it helps. I had to reply as your post could have been about my dd.

Mri doesn't involve GA in all circs.DD had some oral sedation nota GA for hers though was upsetting as took a long time to sedate her.Glad got some answers though.

she sounds to be in the normal range/.....also, how relevant to her were those tests...i.e. holding a bottle to a bf baBUY would be alien...it i important that the tests are relevant and reflect gher daily life

wrinky DS had that but it didn't work. He had to have it twice!

8 months seems on the early side to be so concerned about babbling, would have thought it was closer to 12 months (so say around 10.5-11 months) the babbling would be a concern. DS didn't stand at all till he was over a year, or walk till 15 months.

Has the paed suggested seeing a speech and language practitioner if he is concerned about her communication, it seems a bit unhelpful for him to be worrying you so without any action plan for how to deal with areas that concern him....

All kids do different things at different times. For example, my son could pull up + crawl at 8.5 months BUT he couldnt wave, clap and still fell over from sitting occasionally. He didnt hold his own milk bottle until he was 2 (!) but it wasnt because he couldnt it was because he didnt want to. He coul hold toys etc.

Any more news on your wee one? Try not to worry, x

Oh and my didnt babble until 10 months. He is 2.5 now and never shuts up, talks in full sentences etc.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can. The paediatrician will be able to tell you exactly which area your daughter is behind in; motor skills, speech and language etc and then be able to refer you to professional who can help you, e.g. physio, OT, SALT.
Is there a special needs playgroup in your area? Meeting other Mum's in similar circumstances can be really helpful.
I have worked with lots of children who have been a little behind in one area in mainstream schools, some catch up, some develop skills in areas they are not behind in. It doesn't necessarily mean your daughter will attend a special needs school. But I know, because parents have told me, how scary it all is when a Dr first tells you your child is behind.
I can recommend this book to help you work out what your child is expected to achieve at each stage of their development, but don't get too hung up on it, the paediatrician is using a much clearer scale. M. Sheridan, Birth to Five. It is a very thin book and easy to read.

my ds only just sat up at 7.5 months, and of course fell when playing with something, he didn't wave till about 9 months, has only just started sticking his tongue out at 16 months, definately wasn't copying any facial expressions Never did the hold a bottle test.

he did roll over both ways, and take weight on his feet.

There is nothing to me that is saying developmental delay (and i am special needs teacher and have ma in developmental movement) apart from not weight bearing, but i also know two other very clever normal little babies that didn't ever like to do this, both were walking about six months after the other babies in my baby group, so a bit later, but perfectly fine in other ways. Don't try forcing the weight bearing though, it will make it worse, and definately don't get a baby walker contraption or one of those hop and pop things!

you know HVs don't know that much really which is why you have been referred to a specialist, but I don't think you should worry unduly, although that is of course perfectly normal, I sent myself mad at the 8 month review too.

Good luck, and post to tell us how you get on. I am sure it will be fine

gosh, my ds didn't hold his milk bottle at 18 months (he considered it my job). He could commando crawl at 8 months but couldn't reliably sit. He waved at 8 months but couldn't clap until over a year. He showed little interest in copying anything I did (still at 3 is an independent spirit)
Dd sat beautifully at 8 months but didn't commando crawl until later and didn't properly crawl til 10 months. She clapped at 8 months but has only just started waving (14 months). She also shows little interest in copying.
both are totally "normal". Sounds to me like there may be an overreaction but it won't do your dd any harm to have the scans etc and will hopefully just put your mind at rest.

It doesn't sound bad at all - quite normal actually. Wait and see what the specialist says before you dissolve in a panic spiral.

My dd did not sit til 7 months, crawled at 10, walked at 12. She is 13 months old and has only just started holding her own milk bottle - I always gave it to her! (although she can hold her own beaker). Sounds a bit OTT to me...Hope it goes ok.

My DD was pretty late physically - she didn't sit until 7 months, crawled at 11 months and walked at 15 months. She's about to start school in september and the teacher could not believe that she isn't even 3 yet, as she seems to have caught up and even passed her peers now.
At my DS's 6 week check (he's now 4 months), I was told that he was not meeting the correct milestones. They thought his head may not be growing at the proper rate, and that this was effecting him developmentally. I went through 2 weeks of hell thinking all sorts must be wrong with him until the follow-on check-up with the doctor. She took one look at him and said that he was fine.
I agree that you need to take any help you can get in checking for any early signs of problems, but try as hard as you can (I know its nearly impossible) to stay positive, as all children develop differently. Whilst I realise the importance of the developmental milestones and the height/weight graphs etc etc, I also know so many people who have had periods or great worry as a result of some milestone or centile not being reached.
And again, this may not be helpful, but I really do believe that, as mothers, we have a gut feeling as to whether our child is doing well or not.....

My DS has just turned 9 months and I am worried because he seems a bit behind in some ways. He sits unsupported really well and can roll over in both directions. He can also turn around in a circle on his tummy, but he cannot crawl not even the commando crawling. He doesn't try to pull up and if I hold him up he will only take weight on his legs for a few seconds at a time. He also cannot get from lying down to sitting up.

On the other hand he has babbled mama and baba since he was 5 months and has always been good at holding things and self-feeding. He smiles and laughs when I smile, but he does not wave or copy any other expressions.

It is reassuring to read on here that not all babies are crawling at 6 months!!

?I asked my mom and i was never doing any of this when i was a baby and never got referred to scans, just a bit slower than others and caught up fast as soon as turned 11 months. i dont thing you have anything to worry about hun xx

Hi same sort of situation, my dd couldnt roll over at 9 months but she could sit up ok. In fact dd didnt start rolling until she crawled at 12 months! She only started waving at 13 months and walking at 18 months. They never said her gross motor was delayed but she does have sensory integration problems and social skills problems and speech delay. Its much better they get on top of things now and get things looked at as the brain is elastic and can be worked round any parts that arent functioning as well as they should be. good luck, xxx

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