Cookies and Crayons

On Tuesday, Dougie’s speech therapist mentioned to us that she felt Dougie should have an orthodic evaluation. There were a few things about the way he walked that caused her some concern and she had asked one of the physical therapists to have a quick look at him and she had suggested the evaluation. We managed to get an appointment for today.

After watching Dougie walk around, stand and checking his joint flexibility, she determined that he has low muscle tone. We were aware that Dougie had low tone in his mouth but we were a bit surprised to hear that he had it in his legs as well. The therapist pointed out his toe walking, frequently falling, locked knees and extreme joint flexibility as indicators of the condition.

Fortunately, Dougie is still quite young so the condition can be easily corrected with orthodics. We ordered a pair today and hope to get them in a few weeks. They can be worn with regular shoes and will straighten his ankle which will force him to better develop his leg muscles so he can correctly balance. The therapist thought he’d likely need to wear them for 9-12 months and then he should be fine. She also believed that he wouldn’t likely need physical therapy.

These are the orthodics Dougie will be getting (his will have jungle animals on them):

There is a lot of great information on the company’s website (SureStep) if you’re interested in seeing a bit more about them.