2.8 year old with mild CP cerebral palsy walking progress

[Kshaheen]

Hi, I’ve been reading many threads but I haven’t found one that has a lot of information about the progress in walking.
My ds is 2 years 8months he was born premature and was delayed in all his milestones
sat up around 1, commando crawled 12-15 months, crawled on all fours 15 months and he learnt to stand up using support 18 months. After that very slowly around 2 years he started taking some wobbly steps, which didn’t progress further for a while, I started doing more to encourage walking which was difficult and he can walk slowly and carefully across the room and garden too only if I encourage him to, otherwise he chooses not to, he learnt to stand himself up off the floor himself around a month ago but does it in his own odd way he has for months been taking slow steps which is very slowly progressing but my ds still mainly crawls and only walks a little when encouraged he had really good standing balance it’s just he doesn’t walk much unless encouraged and I really want to know how other children in similar circumstances had progressed their walking and how long it took to get better, I just want to see my son walking around and playing with his siblings and cousins as he crawls and falls behind and can’t run around with the rest of the kids, although he plays beautifully with everyone I feel sad for him I love him so much he is so happy and funny. It would ease my heart if someone could tell me how long it took for walking to get better and what I could do to help improve. He does have physio they barely see him but I do leg strengthening physio and work on quads and squatting and core through play
sorry I went on and on :(

As difficult as it is, try not to compare.

Has anyone mentioned a walker/frame?

Has an EHCNA been requested?

I don’t know if you are anywhere near these or if they will be suitable for DS’s needs, but Ingfield Manor School in West Sussex and Paces in Sheffield offer free sessions for preschoolers. There are other places who offer sessions as well, some free, some charge, but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.

@BrumToTheRescue thank you for your reply. I try not to as hard as it is, it’s not that I’m comparing I feel like I’m passed that, i was interested in knowing the progression as he has been taking steps for a good 4-5 months now.

DS has low core musclesand weak legs with a little stiffness in his hamstrings and hips.Even though he can stand up great and walk in the garden very slowly and but has a awkward gait. I want to help him here

DS already does attend nursery 3 times a week and enjoys it too the teachers are so sweet to him too.

the physio therapist has been very reassuring and has actually suggested to skip the walking frame as she said DS is learning to walk by himself and if we give him a walker then he’ll learn to walk with a walker and then have to learn without it and since he is already taking steps and walking slowly on his own I wanted to help him get better at it so he can go about better playing outdoors since he always goes into crawling as he is much faster at this and it’s ruining his knees and clothes not that he minds 😂

Hello, can someone help me my son is 3 in November and he walks with a weird gait and still can't pull himself off the floor. He is still wobbly when he walks and has bad coordination that makes him fall alot. His seen 2 pediatricians who said he has four depressed limbs and as global development delay, Autism and suspected ADHD. He also has a dimple at the bottom of his spine but its closed. He has already had a MRI scan that came back normal and a full blood count that came back with slight high vitamins and is waiting to see someone face to face before a referral to physio. I just feel like his not getting the help he needs.

Hi my son is 2years and 10 months he sounds similar to your little one, i have been doing physio with him for a year I try to do around 30-40 mins for 4-5 days a week at home. He has shown progress over this year he learnt to stand himself up of the floor himself in may, he can walk wobbly with an awkward gait aroubd the room slowly, but i have to be there to encourage him. however he wont do it unless me or my partner are there and encouraging him, he still crawls mosly, he can walk beautifully with support. I cant wait for him to start walking around everywhere himself . My son has recently started swimming since last month twice a week my husband takes him around the swimming pool I feel like it’s helping him, his posture seems to be improving. As well as this i get him to do tummy time whilst he watches tv in the evening, I also do his stretches at this time as his hamstrings are a little tight.
Sending love to you and your little one ❤️

@Tiny19944 Hi my son is 2years and 10 months he sounds similar to your little one, i have been doing physio with him for a year I try to do around 30-40 mins for 4-5 days a week at home. He has shown progress over this year he learnt to stand himself up of the floor himself in may, he can walk wobbly with an awkward gait aroubd the room slowly, but i have to be there to encourage him. however he wont do it unless me or my partner are there and encouraging him, he still crawls mosly, he can walk beautifully with support. I cant wait for him to start walking around everywhere himself . My son has recently started swimming since last month twice a week my husband takes him around the swimming pool I feel like it’s helping him, his posture seems to be improving. As well as this i get him to do tummy time whilst he watches tv in the evening, I also do his stretches at this time as his hamstrings are a little tight.

Also if you don’t mind me asking how did your son start walking
Sending love to you and your little one ❤️

@Kshaheen Hello, thank you for replying I'm finding it really hard for him at the moment.
I have 3 older children so seeing him struggle to walk and run around the house is upsetting. He always walked very wobbly like when you first start to walk and hasn't progressed much yet.

Still can't pull himself off the floor and coordination and balance is pretty bad. He showed signs of walking about 2 years which he held my hand to walk then he progressed to walking backwards at first which I thought was funny 😀 but he walks with a weird gait still and his still holds my hand alot cause he falls over constantly by just turning. first physio isn't till mid September. He has a sacral dimple on his lower back but it is closed. He showed progress of being able to pick things off the floor and can sometime climb the sofa but ends up lying there if you dont turn him into sitting position. I do like the sound of the swimming lessons I will try that thank you 😊

Seemed to say most the same sorry haven't replied to this thread for a bit and forgot what I said my son hasn't been diagnosed with cerebral palsy just global development delay. I just want to say I think your a amazing mom and I really do appreciate you replying it can make you feel like your all alone sometimes and no one else understand there needs.

If swimming helps, have a look at rebound therapy too.

Has an EHCNA been applied for?

@Tiny19944 aww I understand honestly I feel the same way some times I have bad days where I sit and cry a little when I have a moment of weakness but then I wake up motivated again. I have a daughter who is almost 5 and I really want my son to run around with her too as well as all his cousins who are of similar age. He can play with them in sitting and join in activities around the sand table and he’s always crawling after them. It can be hard stay strong mama.

I wanted to add I went to see a physio therapist at foot steps today to see if there was anything extra I could do to improve my sons gait and walking pattern as physio therapist from the nhs is now not seeing my son until sept but at the start it was much more regular.

I described my sons weaknesses and areas for improvement with the therapist that did the assessment, he observed my son and he told me that the weaknesses aren’t so much in his legs and he told me my son needs to work on strengthening his core muscles so that his legs can relax and then his walking pattern should improve.

so upon seeing my son he said that my son has more weakness in his core muscles and therefore hyper extends his knees And stiffens himself to compensate for the weakness in his core and to stabilize himself to walk, so that makes his walking awkward. So he has advised me to work on core excercises that involve trunk rotation to work the core muscles and strengthen them and in turn make his walking better.

This may also be the case for your son, so I’ll be focusing on this over the next 4 weeks and see how he improves.
One of the excercises I’m doing now is making him sit in a side sitting position or cross legged which are both a little harder for him and then asking DS to get a puzzle pieces and insert them in the puzzle which will be on the other side of him to encourage trunk rotation and core muscle work out.

sorry my message has gone on so so long I just got wanted to give you lots of information which might help your son too. I also follow a page in America called kinactive_kids on instagram it’s so motivating and the therapist on there gives so many good tips to help. If you have any other questions I’m here to support you

@Tiny19944 I also want to add your son sounds so amazing and he is showing all the signs and interest which is what my son does too and we’re so fortunate. Sometimes some children just need a bit more support which can be challenging on us moms just stay strong your doing so well and soon these hard days will be over ❤️

@BrumToTheRescue thank you I will look into this and I haven’t applied for EHCNA, what is this sorry

An EHCNA is an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment. It is the assessment you first request as part of getting an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). An EHCP is the route to ensure DS has his needs met, particularly at nursery and as he gets older school, including therapies in excess of what DS will receive on the NHS and without the need to sit on the normal waiting lists.