What is considered severe plagiocephaly?

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My son was scanned for a orthotic helmet today to correct his plagiocephaly (flattened head). The right side of the back of his head is 22mm "off" from what it should be and I am wondering for insurance purposes if that is considered moderate or severe plagio?
I believe that insurance does not define "moderate" or "severe" plagio - if he needs the treatment, insurance will pay the appropriate amount.  (+ info)

Baby Sleep with Plagiocephaly helmet - how to keep him comfortable?

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My 6 month old son has been wearing his helmet for about a week and struggles with sleep. Any parents of children with positional plagiocephaly have tips to help their children sleep?

Thanks!
My own children did not need a Plagiocephaly helmet, but I am a licensed child care provider in my home and I have cared for a baby who wore one. This little guy never had any problems with it, including sleeping. It may be helpful to contact your son's doctor or whoever fitted your son for his helmet to see if they have any advice for you. His sleep struggle may have nothing at all to do with his helmet. He may just be entering a new stage of development which commonly causes sleep problems. At 6 months he is probably recently introduced to solids and they may be causing his sleep disruption. Depending on where you live, it may be possible that the change in seasons is affecting his sleep as well. Several babies and toddlers I know are still struggling with the change in Daylight Savings Time. It is also warmer where we live so babies may become too warm. If he's been using flannel sheets due to cold weather, switch to a more cooling cotton. I would start by calling the office where your son received his helmet and ask for advice. Than, I would also take a close look at his bed time routine and try to change one thing at a time for awhile to see if you can figure out what works best for your son. Babies needs change as they grow and develop so it takes a bit of trial and error to find the right combination of things that will soothe your son at this time. What used to work may not work any longer and that is normal.  (+ info)

Who has children being or previously treated for positional plagiocephaly?

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What have been your expericences with the helmet treatment? Did you have any issues with limited visual development (the helmet blocks superior vision)?
Did you have issues with craniosynostosis?
When my baby was around 4 months the doc referred me to a neurosurgeon. The neurosergeon recommended that I give the baby belly time whenever he is awake. He also mentioned that he had a moderate case and in our case the helmet would only be for cosmetic purposes. II also was worried that the skull may be pushing on the brain and it would hurt something, but the neurosurgeon assured me that, that is not the case. I did a lot of research prior to going to the doc and did not see much info on visual development being impaired. How old is your baby? Good luck with everthing, I hope everything goes well with you and your baby.  (+ info)

Plagiocephaly - are there any psychological side effects with this disorder?

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My 3 year old nephew has this disorder, he seems to be difficult to control, is this anything to do with Plagiocephaly?
http://www.Plagiocephaly.org  (+ info)

Has anyone had to deal with occipital plagiocephaly?

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My 4 month old son has it and I need some tips and tricks to keeping him from turning his head to the left. I am also finding it hard to research this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
We went to the Dr. today and know he is able to look to the right, he just prefers not to.
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What should I do about my 9 month old sons severe flat back of his head - positional plagiocephaly?

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Since my son was a couple of months old we noticed a very large area of his head was flat. Doctors and nurses advised us on repositioning him in bed and during play time, which we did. The flat spot has not improved. The entire back of his head is flat. I recently seeked the advise of a pediatrician who was not an advocate for helmets and said it was probably too late. I don't know what to do. Does anyone have a similar story or information that could help?
At nine months old forget repositioning and the Noggin nest. You need to do serious treatment in order to get the correction you need before he is two. Google for Cranial Technologies. They are the leaders in treating this condition. I know as I went through the same thing with my son. If you care to contact me directly via email I can show you before and after photos. Fortunately there is something you can do, unfortunately your child will have to wear a "helmet" for 12 weeks. It sounds pretty bad, but it is way better than having to feel guilty every day for the rest of your life because your child is deformed. It will be OK. It is absolutely not to late!!!!!!!! I know people who have started at 18 months. I started at 7.5 months and I got amazing results. Please god, don't listen to that doctor! Let me guess they have telling you to repostion for a while and when it doesn't work they tell you it is to late. Hmmm, sounds like they wasted your timewith a technique that doesn't work. I know tons of parents who have had the same song and dance from their peds.

There is also a group on yahoo groups called plagiocephlay it proved to be great resource for me and you are in contact with other parents dealing with the same issues that you are dealing with. Don't haste, the faster you start correction the better the results!!
Also Cranial Sacral Therapy is an option. This is performed by a doctor, an osteopath they will have the initials DO after their name, much like MD. This is not a universal fix for every one. It seems to work for some. It is usually used after two years old ( the real age for being to old a helmet) There is also something called KST Korean Specific Therapy. I don't know much about it thought. Some parents who also have children with torticollis shortening of the neck muscles also do a therapy called NUCCA tho adjust the C1 or atlas vertebrae on the spine. This is only necessary if your child suffers from muscle related head tilt. For severe cases over two years old there is surgery which is very risky and sounds horrendous. they actually cut the skull up and replace the plates more symmetrically. yikes!

Take a chance and follow your mommy instincts. I think you know that deep down you can fix this and that you are a better advocate for your child than your pediatrician, who has no vested interested in him and has outdated information from the 80's. If your ped really was on top of it, wouldn't he have referred you to get a helmet before it was "too late"

I've been there,

- Beth
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Craniosacral therapy for 3 year old with Plagiocephaly?

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Has anyone had any positive experience with Craniosacral therapy for an older child with mild Plagiocephaly? Either by a Chiropractor or an Osteopathic Doctor? Did the child tolerate it well? How often are treatments done & what are they like?
Contrary to some opinions, CranioSacral therapy has proven itself as a scientifically valid and effective treatment. The studies are available for those who look for them.
As a therapist myself, I would strongly recommend CranioSacral in a case of plagiocephaly. I would suggest finding a certified CS Therapist at http://www.upledger.com (search within your area and call those who have the most training.) Children generally respond very well to this gentle treatment, even in cases of violent autism, the therapist is often a positive and calming figure in the individual's life.
The treatment frequency is determined on a case by case basis. An average might be once or more a week for several weeks. In a well defined case like that of your child, I would expect a lengthy process - but consider this: the skull was deformed over a period of months within in the womb, how can we expect the body to change itself NATURALLY and healthily (CS promotes the body's own curative ability) in much shorter time?
The therapy itself is very gentle and relaxing. The therapist will hold the child's head and body and apply light pressure (the classic guideline is 'the weight of a nickel) to specific areas.
For some further reading, check this site:
http://www.cranio.com.au/cases/craniofacial.html
and of course,
http://www.upledger.com  (+ info)

does any one have any experience with their child having a form of plagiocephaly?

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i just had twins four months ago. one of their heads is a little mis-shapen. the doctor said it's a form of plagiocephaly and has refered me to a specialist. it is very common, especially in multiples, caused from not having enough room. at the specialist, they will evaluate her to make sure she needs a D.O.C. band, which is pretty much a helmet that she will have to wear 23 hours a day. i'm a little nervous about doing this, but i think it will be the best in the long run. if any one has any advice, please comment. i've never heard of this before.
the helment will help mold the cranium/skull. they will check it from time to time, probably weekly to support the growing head. as long as there are no increased intracranial pressure, do not be alarmed

if you're really worried, i suggest you consult the doctor about this so that they can elaborate more  (+ info)

Has anyone had plagiocephaly treated on the NHS?

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My daughter is suffering from plagiocephaly and I desperatly want her to have a helmet fitted, she is 4 months and it ideally needs to be fitted in the next month or two.

Anyone who has reserched this subject or gone through it, I would be grateful for your comments.

Anyone who wants to post non-sense please go else where!!!
My son had torticollis which caused him to favor facing his head to one side and ultimately he ended up with a flat spot on the back right side of his head. I noticed it when he was a few months old and started to do things like changing his position as he slept, giving him plenty of tummy time, etc. It rounded out a little but at 21 months he still has a very slight flat spot on the right.

I considered having him fitted for a helmet but opted not to. His wasn't very severe.

I did have a friend have a helmet fitted for her son at 5 months and the improvement was about as much as I had with my son simply by using repositioning and making sure he didn't always lay on the same side of his head. Her son also has a slightly imperfect head... but it's not noticeable.

I say do what you feel you need to do for your little one. But in the meanwhile try using the repositioning and maybe buy some of the special memory foam cushions that are now made to prevent this problem in order to prevent it from worsening. I didn't buy the memory foam things with my son, but I've seen them recently and thought they were a good product (mostly for preventing it from worsening, not correcting it). But if your baby got a flat head by laying on a firm surface then you really need to have that same surface with the positioning during sleep to help correct the assymetry. I'm not a specialist though. That's just what we did. We also didn't stress so much about it that we were constantly making our son lay on one side... we made sure he was comfy and just tried to encourage that side of his head while he slept.

Your daughters head will improve a little on it's own (although not completely without positioning measures) as she grows throughout the next year.

My best advice would be to set up a consultation and go from there. You'll feel better talking to a specialist. Get on it soon because I hear that it can take a good month or more to get in with someone. But as hard as it is... try not to stress too much. I remember worrying soooo much about my son's head that it prevented me from genuinely enjoying him at that stage. i was worried he'd be deformed, have a crooked face, lopsided ears, would be made fun of... all the things moms worry about. It was awful.

But now he is a gorgeous litte 21 month old and no one could ever tell his head isn't "perfect". It looks perfect and his hair is short. His ears are lined up right (they were a little off before) his face is symmetrical. etc.

All the best!  (+ info)

My Baby has Plagiocephaly, what company do you recommend?

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My baby boy has 7 months old. He has a slight flat head and we plan on getting him a band or helmet. If you had had any experinece with these companies-Cranial Tech., Starband, or Hanger- which one would you reccomend for better results. Thank you. (:
as i dont know much about the helmets, i am a part of a website that has kids with helmets. my daughter has craniosynostosis and may need a helmet after surgery that will fix her skull. but i have heard a couple of the mommys on the site mention starband, and all there babies have very nice round heads. if you would like you can check out the site and ask some of the mommys questions about them. the site is craniokids.org, the mommys on the site just arent cranio mommys some have dealt with plagio and tortocollis. so again i encourage you to check out the site and ask many questions. you can find me there under the same name as here. good luck with whatever you choose.  (+ info)

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