Seeking Advice on Hypotonia

M. have you gone to webMD to find more out about hypotonia you might get alot of information that you are seeking

M.,
My daughter has low muscle tone. She was diagnosed at about 16months. She did not crawl until she was 17 months old. She too does not have any reasons (other factors) that caused this. She is in our local early education program with our local school district. She receives free weekly physical therapy since she was almost 17 months old. It has made a huge help and now she is pulling up on things. From what I have learned, she can "grow out" of this. But we need to watch her and keep advancing her gross motor skills. Please email me with any other questions or concerns
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Hi M.,

I am a chiropractor specializing in pediatrics and pregnancy. Hypotonia as a diagnosis sounds very general. What I have learned is that you need to find out the root cause of the hypotonia. I will write a little about what one of my books says about "Floppy Baby Syndrome" or "Hypotonia".

Causes of hypotonia can be:
1. Central nervous system disorders
2. Hypoxic ischemia (lack of oxygen to the brain)
3. Sedation of mom during delivery
4. Metabolic disturbances: hypoglycemia, spinal cord dysfunction, primary muscle disorders

I would recommend seeing a neurologist to have a thorough evaluation and see a physical therapist for therapy for your son. If you live near Franklin, WI I know of a Physical Therapy place that specializes in children. Please email me if you would like more info.

Good Luck, L.

M., This appears to be a very broad diagnosis for your little boy. I am a Speech and Lanuage Pathologist who has worked with many many many children who display hypotonic muscle conditions. Where did you get this diagnosis? I am hoping it was from a neurologist, physical therapist or occupational therapist. If not I strongly suggest a referral to one. It's my impression that PT and OT really really make a huge difference. Keep me informed :)

M.,
As a pediatric occupational therpapist, I too would suggest getting a referral for an occupational and physical therapy evaluation. Good luck.

My daughter also was diagnosed with hypotonia when she was a year old. She is now 15 months old. We have an OT, PT and Speech therapist come in once a week. Plus we do about 2 hours of therapy with her today and try to incorporate it in everything we do. We also don't know why she has it. We have had a MRI which came back normal and all the genetic testing, everything is normal. I know how you feel. The best bet would be to get an evaluation. Here in PA, we use the Early Learning Institute. Its a free service. They come into your home and show you how do the exercises you need to do and meet with us once a week to track progress and add new exercises. Since we have started, she is sitting up which she wasn't doing before, feeding herself, holding her own sippy cup, eating using her pinchers and much more. We have seen a lot of progress. I hope this helps and i know how you feel. We have no idea how long we will need therapy at this point.

We are in Madison, WI. My now 14 yr old daughter was diagnosed with Hypotonia when she was a yr old. Her pediatrician referred her to The Waisman Center at the UW Childrens hospital where they did a compete work up of blood, urine and skin biposy to send to a lab in Texas. It was found that she had a Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorder or SCADD. She was started on a liquid amino acid called Carnitine and within a week she was scooting and trying to pull up..She had physical, occupational and speech therapy 2 times a week and finally walked when she was 2...Today she is a healthy, athletic 14 yr old. You would never believe she was hypotonic early on. The sooner you get a diagnosis for the cause of the hypotonia the better. There are so many causes for it but make sure your peds refers you to a pediatric neurologist and metabolic specialist..Good luck and prayers:)