The Beginning

I want to put our story out there so that I can create awareness for other parents who might be going through the same thing. There are not many resources out there.

Emmie was born in 2008 after a normal pregnancy and labor. She was very alert and social (and beautiful) right from birth. We were of course (as new parents) comparing her development to the online charts and books we had. At a few months old we started noticing that she was a little behind with rolling over..then sitting...

I had asked the pediatrician a few times about it and was told "don't worry mom all kids develop differently..she might just be a little lazy". I was made to feel like I was overreacting being a first time mom....part of me wondered if I was.. but I kept asking.

Emmie started crawling at 1 year and we were so proud. She was finally able to get around and look at things. A little frustrating as the other kids her age were walking but she didn't mind and still got right in there with them. We still kept trying to encourage her to walk and waiting.....just thinking she was a little behind.

We changed pediatricians when Emmie was 1.5 years old. Right off the bat he noticed that her gait was wide and that we should go get her evaluated with the Early Steps Program that was run by Easter Seals.

Of course at the evaluation she took her first step (yay!!!!).....but the evaluators said she could benefit from Physical Therapy as they thought she had Hypotonia (low muscle tone) and Special Instruction Therapy at home to help her (and us) figure out some sensory trouble Emmie had. Certain noises really bothered her as well as new textures, grass, sand...you name it.

Julie who was Emmie's Physical Therapist was great. She suggested Emmie have braces fit for her ankles to have more support and she continued to work on strengthening her muscles. She began to walk at her second birthday (YAY!!!!!). We were SOOOO relieved, happy and proud. She tried so hard to figure out this walking thing and she FINALLY DID IT!! She was now able to explore things she never could. We cried!!

Sylvia was Emmies Special Instruction therapist....shes an amazing help and a great ear. Probably not part of her job description but she was a great person for me to talk to. Sylvia worked with Emmie on her sensory issues. We tackled the grass and the sand!! You cant keep Emmie away from the sandbox now...she loves to dump it on her head. As much as I want to tell her no I'm just happy she's not afraid anymore.