Is this Erb's Palsy?

[fnm]

Sorry for the long post.
I posted a thread on here back in Jan and we have now been referred to a consultant pedeatric nurologist at a childrens hospital for futher investigation.
Basically DS who is now 14 months is having problems with his right arm, he can move his arm, lift it up, can clap but his fine motor skills are practically none existant. If he is doing building blocks he will use his left hand for all of it, only using his right to kind of support the blocks but thats about it. Whilst doing all other activites he doesnt use it, whilst eating its as if he doesnt 'know' its there. After some advice from another mumsnetter (Hecatequeenofghosts thank you) i have been doing a little research. On our last appointment with the consultant orthopeadic (at the same hospital where DS was born)he said it wasnt muscle or bone its more likley to be pressure on his brain during birth or nerve problems or damage and pointed to the neck/shoulder area. I immediatly asked if it could be erbs palsy and he said unlikley as erbs points there arms inwards, didnt say yes or no and then kind of dismissed it. But we will see what these futher tests bring back once we get the appointment through.
My question is though, is nerve damage in the neck/shoulder area the same thing as erbs palsy or could it be something else?

my dd was diagnosed through observation and also the doctor checking her muscle tone and weakness. We wanted to know more and felt the diagnosis of hemiplegia was wrong as she was showing weakness in both legs so we requested an MRI. The MRI showed some damage on both sides of her brain so the diagnosis was changed to diplegia. MRI's can be useful but an MRI is not always indicitive of the severity of the CP, some children can have extensive damage but not be very affected. It all sounds really good that your little boy is even up on his feet and trying to kick a ball at his age

Nlot ignorant, I wouldn't have had a clue about conductive education until my mum found something on-line. It's a specialist therapy for children with CP (although they take on children without a diagnosis who display CP symptoms). When they are little you most often attend a parent and child group, maybe 5 or 6 children with a parent. It's like a kind of mini playgroup but all of the activities are suited to the needs of your child. There are also parts of the session when the children all lie down and do stretches and stuff. It's all fun with lots of singing and stuff so it doesn't feel like hard work. You can also repeat the exercises at home and it's not as 'dry' as phyiso can be. The aim of conductive education is to make children as independent as possible and never to say 'can't' . It has truly changed dd's life, we do have NHS physio but it's an hour every 3-4 weeks. We do a 3 hours session of conductive education every week at the Rainbow centre in Fareham but there are centres all around the country. If there is somewhere near you it might be good to go and visit, they are very skilled specialists and would also be able to give you their opinion on your son's condition whilst you are waiting for your appointment.

there's a list of centres here

and here is the centre we go to.

Hope this hasn't over-loaded you - feel free to use/ignore as you see fit

Thank you for all that info, yes i am so pleased he is doing well re trying to walk and stuff but there is something there that isnt right, he still rarely uses his right arm e.g today whilst playing with a small ball he attempted to grab with both hands but could only manage using his left. and since looking into things futher its pointing more down the hemiplegia route, going from what i have been looking into and from a few things the last dr told us.(?pressure on brain at birth, and when i asked him how long the referal would take he said, dont worry too much its not something that will get worse), maybe i am reading too much into it but it all seems to fit together.

Albeit it might only be mild compared to many other children but i am feeling really anxious now and just want something done, or at least started!! I guess as he is still only young (15 months) they may say wait and see how he develops, just dont think i could settle for that (although if i had to i would) would just love them to say this is the dx xxxxx and this is where you go from here. Guess its not that simple, sorry for waffling on .

Have had a look for our nearest centre, its about 45 mins drive away, we are based in manchester. But if its worth it i dont mind traveling. i also have a 25 month old DD, she is fine, id just have to sort out some childcare.

Thank you again, its really helpful all this info, and if it turns out to be something else at least i have good knowledge on the subject

yes, you have every right to want a diagnosis. I have heard of cases where docs go for the wait and see approach and it is just isn't fair on anyone at all. Depending on what the conductive education centre is like you might be able to bring your dd anyway, our one is really chilled but no idea what the others are like. I know at this stage how you feel, it's like the penny drops and you feel sick to the pit of your stomach. I think you'll feel better when you get a diagnosis either way so you'll have to become a pushy mummy and keep fighting your corner. You will always get people telling you how lucky you are as he is only mildly affected but it doesn't take away your right to be worried and scared and some days quite cross. You hang in there and keep in touch. I'm happy to help where I can.

Just want to say thanks again. Have just had another look at the conductive education website and it looks really good to me, i will look into that and see exactly where our nearest centre is, if its an hr away and its worth it i dont mind.

I will keep this thread uptodate to let you know how we get on (when we get our appaintment) its only been 3 wks since the referal got sent of, i am impatient!!!