What's Up With Jaidyn

Jaidyn is now 15 months old and has been diagnosed since about 8 month with low muscle tone He can finally crawl on his hands and knees, sit up on his own and can pull up on furniture or our legs to stand. He cannot remain standing if he lets go, and cannot walk. He does have a baby walker (Like adults use, only cuter, with toys etc.) He loves it because he can walk behind it without falling. If you watch him from behind when he walks you can see that he walks on the sides of his feet. The physical therapy people say its because his ankles are weak. (My oldest son was born with clubfeet so my daughter thinks it is probably an inherited family issue.) His pediatrician and his Early Intervention people have never said anything about the shape of his feet, they only say his ankle muscles are weak. It seems to me that if his feet were even slightly clubbed they would have said so. They have given him orthotics for his shoes. Having dealt with my son's clubfeet I don't see any resemblance, however I suppose it's possible. Jaidyn still can't vocalize very well and only occasionally uses consonant sounds. The PT people are having them use sign language with him. Why?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
I am so sorry to hear about Jaidyn. He can still develop motor skill, but you need to talk to his doctor to find out whether they are considering the possibility that he may never speak. Maybe that is the reason they started on sign language. If there is a possibility that he can speak, stress should also be made on communication, vocal sounds and speech. Also whether Jaidyn can hear properly or not should be checked. Hearling loss either partial or total can hamper speech development. Well, regarding clubbed feet, having dealt with it, I am sure you know that he does not have one (your doctors confirm too). Take care!