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Never too early

Never too early

To everybody’s surprise, Emily arrived three months early! She was born prematurely at 28 weeks of gestation weighing 2lbs, 2 oz as her mum’s water broke early. She stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Baby Unit for ten weeks till she could breathe on her own, nurse, and gain weight.

When Emily was eight months old chronologically (five months old adjusted due to her prematurity), her mum, Jennifer, noticed that Emily’s arms were tight when dressed, and she struggled to lift her head and push up on her arms during tummy time or roll over. She also couldn’t hold onto or shake a rattle, used her right side more than the left and had difficulty settling. Although Jennifer knew Emily could have delays because of her prematurity and early medical issues, she was concerned that ‘something wasn’t right.’

Jennifer decided to look into cyberspace for answers. She joined parent forums about babies’ development and special needs where she got advice from other mums.
She was advised to:
1) follow her own gut instinct, as she knew her child best, and
2) to start as early as possible to prevent problems from becoming worse.

Jennifer learned that a child’s early years are a very important time for learning and setting foundational skills that would later affect their movement, speech and language, and ability to self-soothe. After all, babies and children generally love to move, and this is how they learn about their own bodies and environment. She did not want Emily to miss out on such a critical time in her life.
Because Emily was having difficulty meeting her milestones, Jennifer decided to look for Early Intervention services (Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Speech Therapy for children from birth to school years who are at-risk of or have developmental delays). I soon got a call from Jennifer and became Emily’s Occupational Therapist. Our goal was to build Emily’s motor skills, strength, and coordination so she would eventually be independent and no longer need extra support.

I identified Emily’s strengths and weaknesses, future goals, and a plan to reach her goals. During Emily’s treatment sessions, her mum and I worked together with her. I taught Jennifer how to integrate therapy exercises into everyday life. This included how to do massages, and how to position and carry Emily while strengthening her muscles, and to help her roll, sit, crawl, and use her hands to play and eat.

During therapy, I find that fun and playful activities really motivate and challenge children, and Emily was no different. As she got a little bit older, we worked on problem-solving and being able to do multi-step tasks, upper body strengthening, building her stamina so that she wouldn’t get tired so easily, and manipulating toys and utensils in her hands. These skills would help Emily to learn, play with toys, feed herself, be active and independent with friends and family, and keep her in the right direction to reach all the goals her mum and I set out for her.

Emily is a typical child that I would treat, and I encourage parents to think about the following if they sense their child might benefit from therapy and Early Intervention.

Why Start Early?
1) An early start allows children to “catch up” with peers sooner and lessens the effect on future development.
2) Increase child’s potential for learning, social skills, movement, and emotional
regulation.
3) When a child has an irreversible medical condition, Early Intervention can improve their outcomes and help families develop strategies to support their child.

Who Benefits from Early Intervention?
Children with:
• Prematurity, low birth weight
• Colic or difficulty settling
• Developmental Delay
• Down’s Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Traumatic birth histories
• Multiple births (twins, triplets)
• Low muscle tone (“floppy”) or stiffness
• Plagiocephaly (“flat-head syndrome”), Torticollis (tilted neck), or Erb’s Palsy
• Vision and hearing impairments
• Feeding difficulties

Early Intervention Helps:
• Improve posture and movement
• Develop strength and coordination
• Reach gross, fine, and visual motor milestones
• Develop speech, language and social skills
• Promote emotional Regulation
• Increase coping skills, self-esteem, attention
• Promote problem-solving skills and learning

Conclusion:
• It’s never too early for therapy, even for babies.
• Early Intervention is crucial. Many developmental challenges are much easier to
resolve when a child is younger and not habit-forming, so have your child evaluated
as soon as possible.
• If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s motor skills, speech and
language, or delayed milestones, trust your gut instinct and get advice right away.
This will put your mind at ease, and if necessary, start therapy early.

**Please note that all names have been changed for privacy and confidentiality.

Munira Adenwalla, BSc and MSc (OT)
Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist
www.ot4kids.co.uk
07540 113 126