Low muscle tone in kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Muscle tone is controlled neurologically and is something you are born with. You cannot improve muscle tone itself, although you can strengthen muscles.

My son has low tone. He is not athletic. He has zero interest in team sports. But he rides his bike and enjoys walks. He likes swimming (not competitively). He is into academics more and likes chess. He will find his niche.

+1

+2

Nature, not nurture, OP. Different body types. Some kids are short and stalky, some are tall and lanky, different limbs, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMT usually presents in infancy. Delay in physical milestones for gross motor. A lot of delayed walking.

So you would know if your kid had it, right?

My kid was diagnosed at age 4. Pediatrician had not noticed.

In retrospect it made sense. He was a bit of a “floppy” baby when he arrived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMT usually presents in infancy. Delay in physical milestones for gross motor. A lot of delayed walking.

So you would know if your kid had it, right?

My kid was diagnosed at age 4. Pediatrician had not noticed.

In retrospect it made sense. He was a bit of a “floppy” baby when he arrived.

+1

Most moms have no reason to recognize it.

[Anonymous]

My son has low muscle tone. We did OT for several years. The thing that helped him most was doing junior ninja classes at a ninja gym BUT he was super into ninja warrior and so was highly motivated. He loves all team sports and is on a travel basketball team now. BUT he works ten times as hard as other kids seem to to master a skill like hitting a baseball, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what is the difference in services between OT and PT for kid with low muscle tone & weak on core, strength, fine motor skill & gross motor skill ? They seem similar to me.

According to my OT I was assigned to at Early Intervention, there is no difference for a baby/toddler. For 3+ years old I would look for a PT. OT will focus on fine motor skills more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMT usually presents in infancy. Delay in physical milestones for gross motor. A lot of delayed walking.

So you would know if your kid had it, right?

My kid was diagnosed at age 4. Pediatrician had not noticed.

In retrospect it made sense. He was a bit of a “floppy” baby when he arrived.

+1

Most moms have no reason to recognize it.

Not sure why you say moms and not dads, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We did not notice anything. Our pediatrician mentioned calling Early Intervention when DD wasn't crawling or getting out of a seated position at 10 months. Some babies have hypotonia from birth like PP and the floppy baby, but it took us a while and the pediatrician said something first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMT usually presents in infancy. Delay in physical milestones for gross motor. A lot of delayed walking.

So you would know if your kid had it, right?

My kid was diagnosed at age 4. Pediatrician had not noticed.

In retrospect it made sense. He was a bit of a “floppy” baby when he arrived.

+1

Most moms have no reason to recognize it.

Not sure why you say moms and not dads, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We did not notice anything. Our pediatrician mentioned calling Early Intervention when DD wasn't crawling or getting out of a seated position at 10 months. Some babies have hypotonia from birth like PP and the floppy baby, but it took us a while and the pediatrician said something first.

There are different degrees of it.

Not every kid has a dad, but thanks?

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine never noticed that her DS had "low tone" until he was around 8/9 years old. He's actually a good athlete. She suddenly realized that he couldn't sit up on the floor because his abs/core wasn't strong enough to support him.

He's done PT. His core is better overall and he's still a good athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be cautious with that label - especially from generic pediatricians. My daughter is 13 and was told that from her pediatrician and then form Hopkins specialist …..sure enough she was very motor delayed …. guess what, she’s a great athlete, plays travel sports, very coordinated, and has a 6 pack. I’m annoyed I spent so many years worried about this. My youngest - also labeled that - we’ll see.

Completely agree with this. DS was labeled low tone as toddler. He was VERY late to walk, super uncoordinated, gross and fine motor delayed, and also enormous. Pediatrician recommend special exercises and physical therapy to help with his coordination, which we only did for a few months. He's now in middle school, is 5'9", plays two travel sports, skis double black diamonds, and has never met a sport he doesn't like. I do think exercise helps a lot, and I happen to have a sports-obsessed kid, so he's very active. When he was younger, he was always the biggest and slowest on the field/court. Now, because he exercises all.the.time, and has legs like a giraffe, he's actually one of the fastest. His handwriting is still atrocious! =) All this to say, try not to worry too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMT usually presents in infancy. Delay in physical milestones for gross motor. A lot of delayed walking.

So you would know if your kid had it, right?

My kid was diagnosed at age 4. Pediatrician had not noticed.

In retrospect it made sense. He was a bit of a “floppy” baby when he arrived.

+1

Most moms have no reason to recognize it.

Not sure why you say moms and not dads, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We did not notice anything. Our pediatrician mentioned calling Early Intervention when DD wasn't crawling or getting out of a seated position at 10 months. Some babies have hypotonia from birth like PP and the floppy baby, but it took us a while and the pediatrician said something first.

There are different degrees of it.

Not every kid has a dad, but thanks?

Then say "most parents". You are putting the burden on the mom. Not every kid has a mom, but thanks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be cautious with that label - especially from generic pediatricians. My daughter is 13 and was told that from her pediatrician and then form Hopkins specialist …..sure enough she was very motor delayed …. guess what, she’s a great athlete, plays travel sports, very coordinated, and has a 6 pack. I’m annoyed I spent so many years worried about this. My youngest - also labeled that - we’ll see.

+1 my oldest was told this at the Georgetown and put through tons of tests with nothing. Now at 12 he’s a great athlete and has found sports he loves. He’s still skinny and lanky but that’s just his build.
My middle child never got the diagnosis and now my youngest (3 yrs) was just told low muscle tone in upper body. I’m just ignoring it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Muscle tone is controlled neurologically and is something you are born with. You cannot improve muscle tone itself, although you can strengthen muscles.

My son has low tone. He is not athletic. He has zero interest in team sports. But he rides his bike and enjoys walks. He likes swimming (not competitively). He is into academics more and likes chess. He will find his niche.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain how “low muscle tone” presents in their kid? I’m wondering if this is what I’m seeing in my son, though the doctor has never mentioned it.

My stepson was diagnosed with low tone. As a kid (3-7 years old) he always seemed wobblier than other kids. Walked VERY late. Took him until age 9 or 10 to learn to ride a bike and swim. Also drooled for a long time (maybe until age 5? - and I mean he would soak the front of his shirt with drool) but I'm not sure if that was related. Very slow eater, very small appetite (those things still apply)

Like another PP's kid, he plays tennis now and bikes. He does not have great endurance and does not enjoy "working out" at all, but he is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain how “low muscle tone” presents in their kid? I’m wondering if this is what I’m seeing in my son, though the doctor has never mentioned it.

My stepson was diagnosed with low tone. As a kid (3-7 years old) he always seemed wobblier than other kids. Walked VERY late. Took him until age 9 or 10 to learn to ride a bike and swim. Also drooled for a long time (maybe until age 5? - and I mean he would soak the front of his shirt with drool) but I'm not sure if that was related. Very slow eater, very small appetite (those things still apply)

Like another PP's kid, he plays tennis now and bikes. He does not have great endurance and does not enjoy "working out" at all, but he is fine.

NP what do you consider "very late"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain how “low muscle tone” presents in their kid? I’m wondering if this is what I’m seeing in my son, though the doctor has never mentioned it.

My stepson was diagnosed with low tone. As a kid (3-7 years old) he always seemed wobblier than other kids. Walked VERY late. Took him until age 9 or 10 to learn to ride a bike and swim. Also drooled for a long time (maybe until age 5? - and I mean he would soak the front of his shirt with drool) but I'm not sure if that was related. Very slow eater, very small appetite (those things still apply)

Like another PP's kid, he plays tennis now and bikes. He does not have great endurance and does not enjoy "working out" at all, but he is fine.

NP what do you consider "very late"?

I’m a PP who explained that tone is neurologically controlled. My son didn’t walk until almost 17 months. He also sat up and crawled late. He was already in PT at that time too. He was very wobbly and clumsy. He ran funny with a weird gait. He had difficulty learning to pedal a tricycle and keeping up his stamina. He took forever to learn swimming strokes. He still can’t do butterfly. I do feel sad he isn’t part of the sports group. It looks like fun.