14 month old cannot get into sitting position

I am a mom to a 14month old baby girl.  She is very social, bright and happy baby but I am nervous because she cannot get her self into a sitting position without my help.  On just two occassions did I find her sitting up in her crib in the morning and I havent seen her do it in about 2 months.  She is getting physical therapy because of this. Additionally she only pulls up to stand if I am there to help her.  And instead of crawling she scoots but scoots fast to get to what she needs.
I am taking her to an orthopedist next week to get there opinion.  
Can anyone tell me if she is just a late bloomer?  I just want to know if she is going to ever walk or get into a sitting position on her own.  Will she be a normal little girl?

[margypops]

I had one who was a late bloomer' she was 15 months before she stood up, so it always a concern  but all turned out well, getting an opinion is good it will make you feel better and get some answers.scooting around is very common a lot of children do it, it instead of crawling.let us know what they say ..good luck

[Dragon1973]

Hello Scootersmombec,

Welcome!  I am also sorry for replying so late to you.  Many many babies develop outside of typical time-frames or milestones, which in itself is not abnormal.  At the moment, you are actually doing the right thing by getting her PT and seeing an orthopaedist in the interim while she is working to develop this skill.  I have two comparisons in this area.  The fist being my son (who was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome via Amnio) who has what many kids with Ds or other chromosomal issues has called hypotonia - or low muscle tone.  Hypotonia is not specific to chromosomal abnormalities, but the rates of its appearance is higher in these areas.  Despite my son having a little bit of Hypotonia, he met his milestones mostly within typical time-frames.  My second comparison is my younger cousin who developed physically "slower" in comparison to typical charts.  He sat up around 10 months and didn't actually do transition sitting (moving in and out of a seated position by himself) until he was past a year.  He didn't start walking until he was 21 months.  In his case, he didn't have any physical issues or chromosomal issues.  Today he is a 33 year old doctor.  
The reason I mention these two very separate cases to you is to say that "normal" is a very subjective term.  Will my son be "normal"?  Not really sure, but he seems to be cognitively on track with typical development at 15 months old.  My cousin, who had delays with his physical development as an infant to toddler, is "normal" in the cognitive area, in fact I would hazard to say borderline genius!  

What may help at this stage is to get as much Early Intervention for your daughter concerning her development.  If she seems to be meeting her cognitive skills according to milestone charting, I would say she should be on track - mentally.  Mental and physical development do not have to excel at the same rate and having delayed physical development by itself is not an indicators of any other delays (specifically cognitive).  

You could ask your daughters pediatrician to order or request developmental assessments in order to get her the proper developmental specialists working with her if needed.  The great thing about getting an assessment done is that either way, whatever the results you will have answers and also the appropriate help in whatever area she may need it.  Being in the US or Canada, (and most countries) Early Intervention and assessments for EI are provided for any child who has or is experiencing delays.  Your child does not need to have a diagnosis of Down syndrome or CP in order to qualify.  If your doctor notes that there is a delay in any area of development, EI is covered for her without a charge or fee to you.  It is provided by the State (Province or Country).  No matter what the assessment reveals, at least your daughter can get the proper help for her to attain goals and milestones, or at least get you pointed in the right direction.

Further then just getting assessments, if you are really worried or wanting to know the cause of the delays (while many are just delays and not a result of a deeper issue) you can also ask for further testing such as blood work which can reveal if there are any chromosomal issues that may be responsible for the delays.  If you have any questions about that area, or even the testing for that - I can certainly elaborate.  Feel free to send me a personal message if that is easier too!  

I hope these ideas help!  Keep up what you are doing though, all the therapies out there are designed to maximize your daughters developmental abilities to her full potential.

In addition to anything I have mentioned, please keep in mind, that while I or others may have extensive knowledge in many areas, you should always seek professional medical advice from your own physician, as it pertains to medical conditions or concerns.

Good luck, and if you have any other questions that I can help you with, please feel free to message me directly.

Sincerely,
Sandi (Dragon1973)
MedHelp Genetics Community Leader;
Children - Special Needs Community Leader;
Down syndrome Community Leader & Ds Group Forum Founder/Moderator;
MTHFR Group Forum Founder/Moderator;
Pregnancy: June 2011 Community Leader