ds' development check

[nappyaddict]

well ds had his check yesterday. he is 22 months and has the average development of a 15 month old. is that anything to worry about?

the HV told me to take him to tumble tots which would help the physical side of things but i can't afford to take him and now feel really bad if it could help him. tbh i don't think she should have suggested something that costs £5.25 for 45 mins and not everyone would be able to afford. of course they are going to feel bad if they know it would help their child yet they can't pay for it. she knows i am a young, single mum who only works as a part time waitress who hasn't got loads of spare cash lying around. i know it probably doesn't seem a lot to some people but i think it's expensive for what it is.

i think it is expensive and unecessary - like circuit training for toddlers.

have you got a local playground?

i don't know what the development checks "mean" - is your DS walking?

erm they usually get a check at 6-8 weeks, 9-12 months, 18 months - 2 1/2 and a pre-school one. it's basically just to check they are doing ok and don't need to be referred for anything. he started walking a month ago.

I think i phrased my post badly - i know what a check is, but if he has hit his milestones, albeit perhaps a wee bit later, then i think your HV has worried you without good reason

if he has only just started walking then of course he is going to be a bit unsteady still

are you worried about him?

i have not been to see my HV since she marked my DS's development as "unsatisfactory" as he wasn't rolling at 8 months

Has he been referred on nappyaddict? To the CDC or a paed?

Is he just behind in physical milestones or others as well?

what is CDC? we have been referred to a clinical medical officer or something like that. she said he was clumsy and had bad co-ordination, but good speech, good attention span (was looking at books intently) and is very sociable and confident. i don't know if he was behind in other things, but she asked if he could feed himself with a spoon (he can't, will occasionally do it with a fork), he couldn't build with the blocks, didn't follow instructions like pick the up the spoon, brush, block etc. he did the first one she asked but i think it was a fluke cos then he didn't do the others. she asked me if he could drink out of a lidded cup and i said no but he will drink out of a sports bottle type bottle and out of a normal cup with help. she told me i had to perservere with the lidded cup but i didn't really understand why.

i don't know if these mean anything to you but he got 7 for locomotor which put him at 18 months, 10 for manipulative skills, 12 for visual skills, 9 for hearing and language, 10 for speech and language, 13 for interaction and social skills, and 6 for self-care social skills. all those put him at 15 months.

My dd2 had delayed gross motor skills which was picked up by the HV at her check. She referred her to the Early Years Unit. They came to our house for three visits to do detailed assessments and then referred us to a physio. It's a good thing that your HV has picked this up...but remember that all children develop at different speeds and your ds will more than likely catch up in his own time. And don't worry about having to go to Tumble Tots..if he needs stuff like that, then a physio will assess him and either give you exercises that you can do at home (using furniture and stairs etc) or you'll get to go to regular sessions with them.

does he share things with you, nappyaddict? eg point to something in a book to get you to name it, point to eg a fire engine, and look to see that you are sharing his interaction?

silverfrog - no he doesn't. the hv told me to ask him to point to objects in the book that i knew he knew and ask him to say the word but he wouldn't.

catesmum - regular sessions at the physio do you mean? i didn't think it was anything to worry about. he only started walking in march so i thought it was normal that he can't run, skip, hop or jump.

If they think that there's a problem with gross motor skills then you do get regular sessions with the physio...but now he's walking you'll probably find that running comes soon...(my ds is five and still can't skip!!!). My dd2, though, has been pretty ill for a large part of her life and is now three and a half and is still not jumping or running...she can't actually walk for longer than 5 minutes.