My son has torticollis (a muscle issue that causes his neck to tilt to the left) and speech delays. He is in Early Intervention through Easter Seals and currently has physical therapy once a week at our home. He will begin speech therapy next week. Whenever he sees the therapist, he just freaks out and cries. He cries throughout the entire session. Our therapist is fabulous and she makes him power through it. He whimpers for the most part throughout the rest of it once my husband leaves the room. But for you other moms who have their babies/toddlers/kids in therapies. Do you just let it ride out until they get used to it? Any advice would help or really just some woman I can share stories with.
Thanks for the input ladies. He was in PT as an infant and we phased him out and into EI because she wasn't really equipped to deal with his crying. Today my husband left the room and after a few minutes, he calmed down considerably and made it through the session. We really like his PT and she has a good feel of what his personality is. She is going to start going to his school soon as well. I appreciate the responses and I will update soon!
I have a son who had tort., so I can totally understand what you are going through. The crying is awful to hear, but remember that the physical therapy will help him. You do have to ride it out...go in another room...it will get better. good luck
Coming from an Early Intervention PT it isn't uncommon for kids to hate therapy especially at his age and especially for what he is being treated for. Most kids after an adjustment period do start to actually have some fun. Usually they figure out that even if they cry they aren't going to get out of it:)We know it's hard for the parents. As long as you like your therapist and feel like she is trying to make it somewhat fun I would stick with her!
I can't speak directly to kids and physical therapy, but I do know that most adult (myself included) hate physical therapy. It makes you exercise the sore part of your body and put a strain on it. And then you are sore afterwards! But we do it because we know it will help get better. Unfortunately a baby cannot understand the logic so you may just have to suffer through it.
My niece had the same issue and also went to a PT. She screamed throughout the therapy. A good therapist will deal with it--- better than the parents.
When my son was younger we also received speech therapy & developmental therapy thru Child & Family Connections. He started when he was about 18 months old. and yeah he cried, but that's normal. He had yet to learn about the therapist and get used to her. But after a while he adapted and did just fine. Let him ride it out on his own, it'll give him "instinct" for good people.
take care
C. (SAHM of 3)
My 16 month old has been through the gammet of medical tests and procedures to try and diagnose a digestive and/or allergy condition. We are now seeing a chiropractor and found that his neck is out of alignment causing the spine to put pressure on the nerve that controls allergy reactions, etc. in his brain. We have already seen results in his overall health and in his walk in just 2 weeks.
We only tried this because no one could give us an answer and research showed positive results.
The chiropractor we see is great with children and mentioned that she treated a 4 month old with your son's condition with very quick results.
My feeling is that if you continue to try the same things you will get the same results.
We were tired of seeing our son go through the constant medical tests that yielded no real answers to his problems. It was heart breaking.
My 5-yr old son has had PT at Easter Seals for the past 7mo. - and they truly are the best. They do a wonderful job of mixing play with the therapy. The head of Orthopeadics at Children's Memorial in Chicago told us "they really know what they're doing there". Stick with them.
As for the whimpering - it is the PT's job to push the kids and kids react differently to it. My son also whimpers and sometimes cries when he is pushed out of his comfort zone but I know its for the best. As someone else suggested, leave the room. Another suggestion, be a cheerleader - he may be crying but I'm right next to him cheering him, telling him he can do it, (think of a marathon runner trying to finish the race with his family cheering him on from the sidelines), and of course a big hug with more reassurance when he's done.
I agree with all the responses. My daughter and son both have had or are currently receiving physical therapy. I noticed a huge change with my daughter when I left the room. My son will cry whether I am in the room or not. I have noticed kids do eventually grow out of it. You just need a patient therapist that will work through the rough times. They do eventually love the therapists and the therapy. My daughter gets excited now when it is time to see her OT. Good luck, I know how hard it is to see them screaming through the whole session.
The model of EI is that the therapist can either work directly with you and your child if the child tolerates it, but she/he can also instruct you in what you need to do to help your son. So, if the child doesn't do well with others (totally normal for some 16 month olds!) then you can complete the work without the therapist actually handling the child. This might only last a session or two, until trust is built or re-built, in this case.
Hopefully, in time with this "hands off" approach, your child may warm to this therapist again. She/he can use a doll to demonstrate what you can do with your son, while you are all on the floor together playing. Sometimes, a simple warm up of a few favorite songs, ring-around-the-rosy, or dancing to music on the CD player can get the session off to a good start. I am guessing that she already uses cool toys and activities that capture his attention? Bubbles, balls, silks for parachutes, blocks, trucks, etc?
All activities should be meaningful and engaging to your child, at whatever age he is at the time. A child really should not have to "power through" anything. They may need to work harder than they are used to, but the work should be in the context of their play and the therapist should be skilled in ways to engage your son in activities that encourage him to use the correct muscles without him really knowing that he is working!
A pool, if you have access to one, is a great way to get a ton of work done in a fun environment. The therapist can meet you at a YMCA for one session to show you what to do. Or, there are some clinics with pools with specialized aquatic P.T's that also accept EI funding. Your service coordinator would just need to add an authorization for "Aquatic Physical Therapy." This is a common addition to the home-based therapy sessions.
Email me if you have anymore questions. I am happy to help!
(As a last resort, you can always change therapy providers to find someone who may be a better fit. But, it sounds like you like the P.T., so talk with her about how she might be able to make your child more comfortable. Sometimes, just changing the location works. Like, meet up at a park, library or other interesting setting, even McDonald playlands work great! But, if it is not working after a few more weeks, call your service coordinator and explain the situation. Good luck!)
My daughter is four years old and on the autistic spectrum. When she began a program at IL Masonic in Feb. of 2008, it was awful. She tantrum-ed, tried to run away and totally did NOT want to do ANYTHING that the therapist suggested. The PT had to literally work with my kid hand-over-hand through the first two sessions to keep her from bolting. By the end of the one-to-one part of the program, however, she was attending like a rock star and taking on new challenges, with no tears whatsoever! The funny thing is, now when I ask my daughter to do something she wants to weasel out of, if she cries it doesn't faze me. "Too bad, you're still putting on your boots!" It's gotten easier for me to suck it up with the tantrums, which means that they don't last as long. Then I get a kid who puts on her own shoes!
I know it's hard to watch the wee ones struggle, but do hang in there. Good luck!
