14 month old boy with feeding and physical difficulties

Issue. Feeding difficulties, maladaptive “crawling”, lack of exploration of environment, unwillingness to physically engage with any other children or adults besides his parents and daycare teacher.

14 month old boy, only child, supportive, loving parents.

A history of feeding difficulties, from breast to bottle to solids. Had developed a bum shuffle strategy to move around that was causing misalignment of his spine. He was not weight bearing through his feet well. He was happy to engage with someone from a distance and showed an interest in his environment but he did not explore it or physically engage with unknown objects.

Parent education and training. The Wilbarger Therapressure Protocol was implemented along with a sensory diet. Neumann-Neurode baby postural exercises were taught to the parents. He was referred to a Chiropractor and Neuro Developmental Therapy physiotherapist. He was monitored by the occupational therapist over the course of the next 6 months.

1 week after starting intervention a significant improvement in tactile defensive signs was seen. He was letting others “handle” him more, he was exploring his environment cautiously and had even gone outside on the grass for the first time under his own steam. 1 month after the intervention had been implemented he was starting to cruise and was exploring his environment with enthusiasm and much less fear; interacting more appropriately with children, adults and objects in his environment; able to tolerate a greater range of foods and was less distressed during meals. 6 months after intervention, he was walking, eating well and interacting appropriately.