Hi. My son, who just turned 5 has been evaluated at his school. The results of testing came back to show that he actually has hypotonia or low muscle tone. In someways this was surprising to us because of how active he is. However, after trying to do some research and reading, many of the symptoms fit him very well. With some of the reading we have found that part of the therapy or treatment that might help is diet. I was wondering if any of you have tried or heard of this for children with hypotonia. We do not have an underlying cause or connection to other disorders such as down Syndrome, Tay Sacs, or some of the others that we saw could be related. Thank you for any information.
Linda - mom of a 5 year old that is the love of my life
Thank you for all of the responses. I was a bit brief in my description and left out the fact that I was able to talk to those that were doing the evaluations prior to the actual meeting since I work with many of them on a daily basis. We had the meeting tonight and he is qualifying for services, which we are all very appropriate - at least we feel. I was afraid he would not necessarily qualify for services since he is academically at grade level, so may have been difficult to say that his disability or diagnosis was impeding his learning enough to need or qualify for Special Services, soooowe were just trying to find out about some additional methods we could use or incorporate in addition to some therapy. Thanks again for the input and personal stories.
I agree with the previous commenter about diet. This really makes no sense.
However, hypotonia can be a symptom of sensory processing disorder. An occupational therapist may be able to evaluate this.
Both my children with autism are hypotonic. Never, ever have I had any one of the dozens of therapists for them suggest diet. Ever. Sorry. Does your son have Down sydrome or Tay Sacs? If not, then I would not be researching them. In the long run, if hypotonia is the symptom you see, you seek therapy for hypotonia, and it matters not (in terms of the therapy) what the cause is.
Schools are there to educate your child. If your son is having school issues, they may evaluate to help him get educational services to be functional at school. They do nothing else, their obligation stops far short of your own. Educational services are wonderful, but put them in persepective, they are there for education, not diagnostics or treatment.
You need to know more about your son than the school does, and you want to maximize his development. Make an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician, you can find them at children's hospitals. Also, make an appointment with an Occupational therapist to start some therapy for his hypotonia while you wait for the appointment with the Developmental Pediatrician.
Here is what my gut is telling me, based on dealing with schools as an educational advocate for kids with disablities. I could be off base, but with kids this age, if they are giving you this kind of result, they have constructively told you that they see something, but that it is beyond what IDEA will let them do anything about (I am guessing) and they told you that although he needs some help, they just can't give it to him, would that be right?
In my experience, low muscle tone is a symptom of a bigger picture. Finding out what that is is less important than finding out what else he needs because of that big picture. What I am saying is, try not to focus on what it is, and focus instead on what he needs now no matter what you call it, because it may take a long time to get a word for what it is, if you ever do. It would be kind of rare, especially if this is something that the school is evaluating for any reason, for low muscle tone to be the cause, and the only thing that needs attention.
M.
In our area there is a program called Kids on the Move. A lady that I know has her granddaughter in that program. It is a physical therapy group and once a week one of them comes to the house. She has seen a giant improvement in her granddaughter in a few short months. The child also suffers from hypotonia.
guess i would bring him to the drs.my kids schools did this a few times and there was nothing wrong with my kids.they are not drs.
My son has mild CP with hypotonia, and we were never advised that diet was involved in any way. What your son needs is physical therapy. Since the school did the eval, they should be well aware of this. You can get him therapy through the school and/or through a private therapist. I would schedule a meeting with your pediatrician and discuss your options.
My daughter was evaluated and found to have hypotonia when she was four years old (she'd been receiving Speech through the school district since she was three). When she was eight I began having some health issues that eventually led me to alternative medicine, where I discovered my husband and I have an allergy to casein (in cow's milk) and all of us (hubby, my daughter, and me) have various degrees of intolerance to gluten.
Since cutting out cow's milk, gluten, and switching over to an organic diet and drinking reverse-osmosis water, as well as giving up processed foods, I have noticed a tremendous difference in my daughter (who will be 11 in April). So yes, food issues can and do have a tremendous impact on our health and how things affect us.
Just my 2 cents.
I agree that diet is probably not the ONLY solution and therapy would be needed, however, diet plays a HUGE role in the health of our bodies. I know many many parents that use nutrition in helping with a variety of disorders such as down syndrome, autism, etc.. If you feed your body with good optimal nutrition your body naturally works better and the body balances and can function the way God intended it to. I see it and know it is true.
Sincerely,
L.
I have been a pediatric physical therapist for 13 years and have NEVER heard of diet related to hypotonia. Hypotonia is the resting state of your muscle. Muscle tone can not be changed. However, you can compensate for low muscle tone by improving strength. You could follow up with a neurologist or physiatrist to get more medical information.
My DS (7) was diagnosed with hypotonia when he was 3 and was being evaluated for sensory processing disorder (he has moderate to mild SPD). It also surprised me until I learned more about it, because he also is a very physically active boy who always seemed to be on par with his peers. But we were seeing it manifest itself whenever he slowed down or had to do quiet activities like writing. His body would become kind of loose and floppy, and it was a huge effort for him to maintain his posture when standing or sitting. Occupational therapy helped.
