DD, 3 diagnosed with "very mild hemiplegia" not sure of best approach

[minipie]

So, DD is 3, she was premature and not breathing at birth, but met her milelstones on time and in general you wouldn't notice anything different from any other 3 year old. However she has always been a lot more wobbly than other kids, falls a lot, gets tired quickly and uses her left hand and foot more (has done since a baby). We saw a neurologist who noticed she has a stiff right leg, low tone in core and holds her hand up when running. Her report this week said it is probably a very slight degree of right sided hemiplegia - an MRI is being done to confirm.

It's a bit of a shock but not too much as I'd kind of reached the same conclusion myself already. What I can't work out is how much this diagnosis ought to affect the way we treat her day to day.

For example if she says she is tired should we let her go in the buggy or try to persuade her to walk? She is not great at self feeding or dressing, how hard do we push her to learn these skills vs how much do we help her? I don't want to be mean or counterproductive by pushing when something is harder for her, but on the other hand I get the impression that pushing her could be good for her to strengthen her muscles etc...

What about schools - one school we are considering is academically selective (yes at age 4! ridiculous I know!) and has a reputation for being rather competitive both in terms of academics and sports. In some ways this would suit her quite well (she is bright and confident, some might say pushy ) but should we now rule this school out because of her slight physical issues and the increased chance of LDs?

Physio - of course the doctor has recommended physio but the time and money spent doing that does mean we can't do other things, and there's a limit on how much I can do at home with a baby as well. So, how much physio... is once weekly enough for example? I don't know whether she could get worse if we don't do regular physio or stretches?

I feel like we're not in the world of more pronounced CP where life must obviously be adapted and physio done daily etc but we're also not totally in NT land either. Anyone else in a similar position?

Any advice from anyone gratefully received (even if it's "stop overthinking this and just take each step as it comes" - I do have a tendency to overthink things...my way of dealing with things is to form A Plan) Thank you

[minipie]

Thank you everyday that's really really helpful and gives me more impetus to go and ask for those services for DD. you're right she IS affected and should have help even if others need more help. Hopefully having got the diagnosis the private way it might be easier to get into the nhs system for therapies.

[Everydayaschoolday]

No probs, glad to help. Good luck OP. Come on over and see us on the CP thread any time.