Head Shaking/Rocking

[Anonymous]

<p>I was wondering if any of you expirienced your child (mine is 11 mo) head shaking or head rocking (back and forth, left to right). He just started this a few months ago and I thought it was a phase, but he is really unstable now. He used to have good head control but has lost it. He does it on the floor on his back, in his carseat, in his high chair (hard to feed him!)and less when he’s on his tummy looking up or trying to sit. A few thoughts:<br />
-New seizure medication? I feel like it started around giving him the depekene (nurologist says no)<br />
-Vision Stim (he is partially blind in one eye)<br />
-Sensory Stim (beucase he’s not mobile yet, just started rolling tummy to back)<br />
-Fluid in ears – we are going to have this checked<br />
Any other thoughts? Thank you!!
</p>

[RossKey Master]

It is always distressing when an undesirable behaviour like this becomes apparent, more so when it coincides with another skill seemingly being lost. We have seen several such episodes with Mia (incessant hand wringing, food spitting, back flexing, eye rolling etc) all of which have passed with time and the ‘lost’ skills have invariably returned.

Speaking with Mia’s developmental team we have been told that many kids, not only those with developmental issues, often show signs of apparent regression in one area right before a new skill is acquired.

That said, if it is getting progressively worse it might be worth seeking a second opinion from another neurologist.

I don’t have any experience of Depakote/Valproic Acid, but Mia has been on Keppra & Nitrazepam since she was about the same age as your baby without any discernible side effects. Epilepsy meds are often said to be a fine balancing act, so it might be that another drug helps – even if it is not the cause of the head shaking.

[MyriamMember]

Since Ève is born (she is 4 1/2 now), she has had different tics and they always went away after a while. She started knocking her head on the floor, her high chair, her stroller, the table, the wall, … anywhere that her head was able to reach just before last Christmas. It was hard to change her diapers because she was doing kind of back and forth and hitting her head while she was laying. She was also hitting her head with her arm and it was pretty strong. It was really hard to let her stay sitting alone because she would lay down on the floor and start knocking her head. SO I kept her in my arm more than before, put her in her bed to play or on her small armchair. I developed strategies. It finally stopped few weeks ago. Some therapist thought it could be behaviours problems but it appears to me that it didn’t seems controlled. Sometimes, she was crying while she was doing it, like she was asking me to stop her. It wasn’t manipulation. I chose not to buy an helmet because I was pretty sure that it wouldn’t help and that she will do it harder just to “feel” it. I also increase the time in her swing and increase “moving” activities. She don’t walk and she is almost 5 years old, I’m pretty sure she need more sensations than she can get by herself with her slow crawling. Hope I helped you!

[Author]

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