Hypermobility

[summerinthecity22]

Hi - anyone have any experience of toddlers with hyper mobility (double jointed also know)? If this isn't the right place to post please advise. Thanks.

My DD is 20 months.
She can pull to stand, stand independently...walk holding onto one finger. She can crawl but preferred to bum scoot/shuffle from
12 months!

Anyway - as she is late to walk independently I took her to a physiotherapist.
She said that DD has Hypermobility in her right foot and it's a bit like trying to walk on a roller skate.
I was advised to get boots for her which weren't special boots made - just typical toddler ankle boots. Anyway this allowed her to actually take those steps recently and also it seems build her confidence in standing alone.

It's been about 3 weeks since she's been wearing the boots. I just wanted some advice from any other parents with late walkers who have Hypermobility. Does it improve? The physio said it was about muscle building.

Without the boots she is wobbly and goes back onto tip toe to balance herself.

Any advice much appreciated.

DD is hypermobile and was also a bum shuffler. Hated putting weight through her legs as a baby (this may also have been sensory as she is autistic, but I think having very mobile joints was probably at least part of it).

We were also advised to give her very supportive shoes (built right up over the foot at least and some ankle support - we didn't actually go as far as a boot). And to build her muscles. The way it was explained to me the ligaments and tendons are looser so don't give as much support, so the muscles have to work harder to compensate. But children with hypermobility often also have low muscle-tone (DD did) so they can struggle with that too. DD didn't even pull to stand until she was older than 20 months, stood unsupported at about 21 months, and walked just before she was 2. So a bit behind where your DD is.

DD is doing very well now (at 6). She's a fast runner, can climb and jump off things (maybe not as adventurous as her peers but that's fine with me!), learned to ride her pedal bike with remarkably little difficulty aged about 4, enjoys ballet and her school dance and yoga classes, trampolining/soft play, and all that stuff.

We did a lot of things like Gymboree and just encouraging her to climb, jump, walk on uneven surfaces etc. when she was little. Just to slowly slowly build up her strength and her confidence. She hated things like soft play when she was little, so we had to find other ways for her to build strength and confidence. Basically, anything she found fun we just went with that and tried to push her to do a little bit more than she initially thought she could. Things like bubbles, balls, games where you pass things or chase each other, doing treasure hunts for objects and putting them under things or a bit high up, etc. can be really good props for making this stuff more fun. My 3yo also loves Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube, and I think that would have been another useful way to encourage muscle building in a fun way when she was small if we'd known about it back then.

She is doing really well. We were advised no shoes at home to help build the muscle. As pp said covered toes & foot for all shoes. We used to make obstacles such as cushions under a blanket to give wobbly surfaces to help with muscle building too.
They do get better and build their stamina. Dd is 3 now and you only see the hyper mobility affecting her hugely when she is tired, she trips & falls a lot.

startright shoes are the stiffest when it comes to school. boots if possible.

Hypermobility can come in a range of severities. (hope yours is just a bit bendy) it can come with a whole heap of co-morbidities. (dd is autistic, allergic, asthmatic and possibly dyspraxic) ds is bendy but less effected, very sporty.

best info is RCGP Ehlers danlos toolkit. (don't be put off by the name, they are on a continuum according to some of the top researchers and it has good info)

who else in your family is bendy? It can be hereditary.

look out for issues with bladder and bowel.

hoping yours is not so effected as us.

Thanks heaps for all the replies!

Since I last posted DD has come on leaps and bounds !

She is now pushing her walker up and down the garden (we have quite a big garden too!). She doesn't need help turning it or navigating left or right...and she's examining trees and hedges along the way!

Still walking holding onto my finger but is cruising furniture really quickly now! Yesterday I thought she was just in the hall and she had cruised and stepped right to the other end of the house!

It seems to be getting more each day. Who knows where we might be on a few weeks!

...just wanted to add that I tried DD today in some shoes ..less supportive than the ankle boots...to see how she went.

Surprisingly- she walked ok them! I thought she would buckle in them but no!

I was surprised 😯

She's still wobbly without shoes and sort over compensates with a slight tip toe...

Onwards!

Anyone relate? @Bert2020 @BlackeyedSusan

She's doing great. I had 2 very late walkers. Still bendy in the fingers - so it may well make handwriting harder in the future.

Play play play! Just playing is doing a lot of the gross and fine motor practice.

We were also told to promote play that involved a bit of tippy toe/foot stretching to build the foot arch. So put really attractive toys slightly high up.

But mine are totally fine now. Interestingly their sister is autistic and also hyper mobile, but not as bad as her siblings. I find that connection between autism and hypermobility really intriguing as a consequence.

@Legoroses yes the autism link is interesting. Although my DD isn't showing any signs. She's been assessed by Pediatrics.

Shall see where we are in a few weeks. She's yet to take this first independent steps. Cruising along walls...holding one finger or pushing walker is her daily thing at the moment

It is really interesting isn't it @Legoroses?

DD is very bendy and I am too (luckily I think neither of us so much that we'd qualify for an EDS/HDS diagnosis, though I guess things could change for better or worse for DD). Of the two parents I am definitely the one with more autistic traits aswell... Seems hard to pin down clear evidence, but also an active area of research, so hopefully they will learn a lot more over the next few years!

Three of my four have severe hypermobility. Ehlers Danlos is the culprit.
All walked by 2.5, all have varying levels of orthotics (from simple arch supports to full leg braces) and orthopaedic boots.

Eldest snowboards, and surfs..dislocated her joints regularly but cracks on with life.
DD2 struggles more with pain and fatigue..not when she was little but once she hit adolescence it became harder.
DS2 also has autism and other difficulties. But he was a complete jelly as a toddler and gets around (albeit awkwardly!) now!