Unlike all of you moms out there, my 15 mos old little girl doesn't want to walk. She crawls very fast and crawls upstairs all the time. She can cruise and push her push-toy all over the house with glee but she does not want to try taking her own steps or stand on her own. As I know it can take as late as 18 months for them to start walking, and her pediatrician concurs.
She is delayed to begin with -- she is already getting OT and Speech therapy thru EI.
I plan to ask the EI coordinator when she should be evaluated for PT. Are there any moms out there who have this rare concern that I do?
I called EI, who referred me to a wonderful PT. She assured me she won't qualify for PT now since she is pulling up, cruising, and pushing her push-toy with no problems. She gave me some tips to encourage her to walk and said if she is not walking in 3 weeks, then she will come out to evaluate her. Thanks you all!
Mine midddle son didn't want to walk either. I was told there really wasn't anything to worry about unless he wasn't walking by 18 months. He finally started around 16 1/2 months, he just decided one day he was going to do it, and he did. But, go with your gut. If something tells you something is not right, go with that. Everything is probably fine, but it won't hurt to get her evaluated.
My daughter qualified for PT when she was 15-months-old through the state. However, Vivian never crawled, she was scooting around on her bottom to get from place to place. They called it a gross motor delay.
Long story short, she was walking by 17-months with only one PT visit.
She is, however getting speech therapy now as she is 21-months-old and is very limited in her speech. (When she was evaluated at 20-months-old, she was rated at 11-months-old for speech.)
I don't think that you are wrong to be concerned. Actually, our pediatrician was the one to point this out to us. We really figured she'd just start walking when she was ready!
Good luck!
If you are concerned tell your EI coordinator you want to start PT now. I would not wait for their eval. Congrats on getting with EI so soon, Ny kids were 2 before we started I wish we had been involved sooner. Both my boys were late walkers!! They are fine now but it scarey to htink ... Get all the help you can while you can. EI has one fee so get all the help you can get your child. HUGE CONGRATS ON BEING SO INVOLVED!!! You really deserve applause for that so many don't for so many reasons!!
How lucky your little girl is to have a mommy that is on top of getting the most for her as possible I would start by asking the therapists that work with her for their opinion. Regardless, I would go with mom instincts and get her evaluated by PT. She is definitely in the range and seems to be progressing, as you note, towards walking, but an evaluation can't hurt. Should they find anything related to what has caused the OT and ST delays (which may not show as much with gross motor skills) they can address it now. PTs can work with children as young as your daughter and younger. Good luck!
Our son started PT when he was 4 months old and did not walk until 14 1/2 months. Since your daughter's not walking at 15 months is not delayed I don't believe she would even qualify for PT unless she has qualifying condition (e.g. my son had a stroke in utero and suffers from right sided weakness). However, if she is not able to stand or has muscle weakness then that might be something. Lots of parents are anxious when kids aren't walking but if your daughter is very physically active and capable (as you've described) then you have nothing to worry about. Asking her current therapists if they have any concerns is a good start if you haven't already done that. In my experience, pediatricians are not always recommending services especially if your child is not delayed. Totally off the subject but it might make you feel better to know that a friend's daughter did not walk until 18 months but was then potty trained by 2 yrs old. Good luck!
Karen C.
