Does anyone have any experience of a baby 9-10 months old with poor core strength?

[Millie3]

My husband are considering adopting a baby girl 9-10 months old but some concerns have been flagged up to us concerning her development. My social worker has just told me about this site and suggested I post to see if anyone has been in a similar situation. I initially posted in another area, but one lady suggested I try this area too in case it rings any bells with anyone.

The little girl is currently crawling, albeit commando style (so she isn't crawling on all fours equally), but is currently unable to sit unaided so they think there may be issue with her core strength. Apart from a weakness in one of her legs at birth (which has been improved with physio) no other physical issues have been diagnosed. Her mother was a crack cocaine addict - and of course with a lot of adoptions these days developmental delay of some sort is almost a given - but our social worker feels that this little girl's low core strength is at the top end of developmental delay. She is doing well in all other areas now - bonding, sleeping, feeding etc (at 5 months she suddenly showed improvements in all areas - medical professionals have been keeping a close eye on her), although she is a low weight (but her birth parents are of slight build). She has been with one foster family since she was discharged from hospital at 5 days' old. Neither of her parents have developmental or learning disabilities.

We have fallen in love with her, but want to make sure we are armed with as much knowledge as poss before progressing. I wonder if anyone has any experience of a baby with similar issues, and whether these have then improved or as the child has grown more issues have come to light? As our social worker says, in a child so young it is so difficult to know what this may mean in the longer term! She may catch up with her peers eventually, just be a bit behind at this stage, or the low core strength could be an indicator of more serious issues.

Any advice/thoughts appreciated - thank you!

Core strength can be worked on. Have you had a physio or an OT have a look at her?
I know that adopting from addicts is no easy ride, but how are her other skills developing? - is she within the realms of her developmental milestones in other areas such as communication?
My DS1 had poor core strength at that age - didn't crawl, physically very lazy. He made all the right attempts at communication, but did have speech delay.
He is now 9. He does have dyspraxia, SPD, hypermobility, but is happy, academic and a joy. I can see a bright future for him. In part because he has a nagging mother - checking he has the right support.
Make you decision with your eyes open. She may or may not have any issues. None of us on here asked for our children to have any disability, but we all love every last bit of them - and that is more than many children get in life.

Dd also had poor core strength. Like auntevil's ds she has hypermobility, but no developmental delays.

My son has very low muscle tone, hypotonia, especially in his core. This is part of his genetic syndrome.
It sounds like this little girl is doing very well commando crawling at 9 months. My son was over a year when he did that. He sat at 13 months and is now almost walking at 22 months.
What is amazing to see is how their strength improves over time. Apparently the muscles learn to compensate for the weakness.
We have had physio since he was 3 months old. I have also tried cranial osteopathy. Currently we swim and horsehide.
As far as I know low muscle tone does improve.

I work for EST Leeds, a charity providing donkey riding therapy to children with special needs and disabilities. We have a lot of children from a very young age come to us with poor core strength. Donkey or horse riding is brilliant for developing core strength in addition to improving balance, co-ordination, mobility and confidence. So rewarding to see children develop and improve their strength and skills.
She sounds as if she's doing really well if she's commando crawling at 9 months. All the best, she sounds delightful

Hi my dd is 2.5 she had poor core strength and is posturally unstable. Physio gave us a elasticated belt that dd wore round her hips and waist. It covered all of her tummy. The idea was it would firm her up a bit and its worked really well. As said before horseriding is very good, look for local donkey sanctuary near you as they do free riding for kids with SN. Also we found that a bumbo baby seat was fab for getting her to sit better- unsure if your child will still fit one but if small she should do.
Lots of exercises to improve tummy strength as well

My son (aged 8.5) was like this...he could not sit up unaided until he was 10 months old. He was very very floppy from birth. No dx has ever been given, although he did have significant developmental delay as a baby. He is now in MS school and is very fit and strong.

As other posters have said, there are many many exercises and interventions to improve core stability.

Yes, my ds was like this. Crawled commando style and unable to sit at 10 months.

He was much later diagnosed with mild aspergers and mild dyspraxia.

After 2 years of therapy we've cured almost all of his problems. (He's now 11) But it's certainly been hard at some points along the way.

ds3 is similar but more severe. At 12 months he can sit for a little while if he leans forward a little bit and puts his hands on the floor for balance. He gets around mostly by rolling but he can do a kind of commando shuffle when he needs to turn corners. Commando crawling at 9 months is really good, I don't think my ds1 who doesn't have issues could do that.

DS2 has hypotonia and hypermobility although his legs are most affected and his core isn't too bad. He sat up at 16 months and walked at 2y 10m. He is 3y9m now and he is still very delayed and floppy but he has achieved things that I thought he never would so there is always hope.

You mention that Physio is involved already. A Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist should be able to fully assess the little one to ascertain whether there is a neurological element to the delay, and give you advice to help her to progress. The fact that she is commando crawling and developing otherwise is great. Delayed gross motor milestones can be for several reasons, whether they be neurological, environmental, neuromuscular, medical or sensory. If she is not being seen by OT or Physio at present, a referral received for a 'looked after child' not sitting at 10 months would most definitely be accepted.

I hope that it all goes well. Best wishes.

Thank you for all of your posts - it's been really helpful to read your comments and experiences, all of which have been taken on board. Thanks again for taking the trouble to answer in such detail :o) .