Physio for hypermobility?

[Confusedaboutstatements]

Hi my DS is 7 and has asd and is also hypermobile. He cannot pedal a bike or trike and it really bothers him, he can ride an adapted go kart type bike that he tried with a wheels for all group. He also struggles with carrying heavy things or opening washing machine doors etc.

He had a not assesment which said he had sensory processing difficulties and scored under the 10th percentile which puts him at movement difficulties. She gave me some exercises to do with him and that was that.

I'm just wondering if physio could help? His paediatrician won't refer as lots of people can't pedal a bike. I don't mind going private if it would help him though.

*at risk of movement difficulties

A physio would look at your DS's joint instability and weakness in more detail and, possibly give you more directed strengthening exercises. You can self refer in some areas. I agree that pedalling a bike might not be essential, but if hypermobility affects his balance or gait (untreated, it puts him at risk of injury and puts him at risk of osteoarthritis in adulthood - mine was only picked up a few years ago, by which time I was losing mobility and experiencing a lot of pain), makes him fatigued easily or affects his ability to write and generally join in with his peers, then it should be taken seriously.

Hi my ds has asd and hypermobility he's now 9 but when he was three we saw a physio who was fantastic, she gave us fun excercise s to do at home , she was nhs as well

It does affect his writing, the to mentioned it in her report and also affects his ability to cut up food.

Do you think I could get a referral from my gp or do you think they would make me go though paediatrics?

I think you should push to see a physio. Hypermobility (unless it is Ehlers danlos) isn't necessarily a problem if muscles are strong enough to support the hypermobile joints. So you should be given exercises to improve balance, core stability, hip and shoulder stability and build muscle strength etc. DD1 is seriously hypermobile and it does cause her some problems but because her muscles are strong it isn't of any interest to Drs. We are now working to build some other muscles to support her particular problem joints and to work on her balance.

He walked on time so I guess that means his muscles are strong? Never crawled properly though. I might make an appointment with a private physio just for an assesment and to get some exercises to do with him.

He sits in the a position, is that to do with hypermobility or muscle tone? His arms are weak for example when you push his arms while he stretches them in front of him the just give way with hardly any resistance. I'll have to google for exercises to help with that maybe.

My ds has hms, and he also suffers with low muscle tone. As soon as he stops exercising, say over the winter when we are less active, it drops.

We found that the physio couldn't offer as much help, since he could walk, jump, etc. However, the Occupational therapist was ace, and gave us tons of ideas and worksheets for strengthening exercises. I would say you need to push for an OT rather than a physio.