8 month check ups

[nailpolish]

dd2 has jsut had her 8 mth check up, the hv is very concerned that she cant do the pincer finger and thumb type grip

i remember dd1 did it no bother at hers, i have been watching dd2 today and yes, she still grabs everything in a fist

what can it mean?

thanks

Hopefully that all kids, even young ones develop at their own rate...??

What did hv say ? (apart from her concern)

she just said "hmmm thats a bit concerning" and that was it

i thought too, its just kids developing at their own rate, but i expected her to say that too

how old is she exactly NP?

I'm asking because ds had his '8mth' scan just after he turned 7m. The HV could only see a rudimentary pincer grip, but she said it was ok because he was at the young end of the range for this check.

It could mean her brain isn't developing properly. I don't know if the autism-knowledgable lot are around, but I thought autistic kids often have very sensitive hands so may do things oddly.

Or it could mean nothing at all, just a bit slower than usual.

wow, you certainly tell it like it is don't you Zebra??

NP, if it was me I would ring up the HV and get her to explain exactly what's 'concerning' about it. It's v unfair of her to leave it hanging in the air for you to worry about like that.

Hi np,

If I was your HV I'd simply just re-check this a few weeks later (say six weeks or so) after she is 8 months. All babies develop at their own rate and if your DD is "normal" (whatever that is) in all other respects then I'd say don't worry - it'll develop when she's ready. All my development stuuf says that rarely a baby can do this grip at 5 months and some develop it after 8 months. Vive le difference - she'll do it when ready.

she is 8 mths 1 wk

maybe ill give her a ring

shes never had a sight test, but she has to go for further hearing tests (still awaiting appt) (although im not worried about her hearing, she had a cold)

i never thought of that though. when do they get sight tests?

thanks for the links kama

although i dont think the hearing thing and her motor skills are related

has anyone else got experience of this? please?

I get in trouble for it all the time, Carolina-moon.
Personally I like worst case scenarios, I like defining the boundaries and then looking at the most likely case. Everyone else is saying the most likely thing (this pincer thing isn't important).

NP wants to know why the HV was worried, though.

well i feels important to me. ive scrunched up hundreds of paper balls already this morning and shes picked up all of them with a fist

(poor thing is sleeping now, dont know if its mental tiredness picking up paper balls or boredom!)

it feels

anyone?

don't know if this is any help, but what ds was doing at his 8mth check looked to me like a fist-grip but the HV pointed out that the grip began with his fingers and thumb curling in slightly before his fist closed IYSWIM. That was enough for her to be happy that it was starting to develop. It wasn't a neat finger-and-thumb-only grip.

So I think it's not necessarily that easy to tell exactly what you're looking for. I would definitely ask the HV to explain, it's horrible worrying about stuff like that without knowing what it actually means or how serious it is.

And (in our area at least) it's a 7-9mth check so it's not a problem if they aren't doing everything on the list by 8 months.

IIRC the check-up is usually for 8-9mth-old babies so your dd is still quite young. It may just be that her other skills are developing a bit faster than her fine-motor skills and that it will all even out eventually. If not then there is a lot that can be done to help catch up as she gets older.

I doubt very much that it's a sign of autism tbh. Ds1 (autistic) had very sensitive hands but in his case he just used his fingers rather than his palms IYSWIM. He went from being assessed as having the fine-motor skills of an 18mth-old when he was 3.5yrs to catching up completely with his classmates a few months ago. He's just turned 5.

I don't think ds3 was even checked for pincer grip for his 8 month check just to see if he passed things from hand to hand. And can't say I've ever noticed either way (and it's maybe a bit cruel to wake him and test him now!). I do remember ds1 failing to show this at his 2 year check (when they still did these) but even then no one seemed that concerned - he could do it and would pick up tiny screws and stuff but not the stuff in the test because it was big stuff (and so didn't need a pincer grip). Try getting your dd to pick up peas or bits of sweetcorn to eat - stuff that wont work with a fist - she might suprise you.

oh thanks everyone, i feel reassured now.