A child that has Hypotonia has a low muscle tone. It can be difficult for these children to keep up with their peers when it comes to physical activity. However, adjusting a few physical things for hypotonia children will make their life and yours a lot easier.
The cause
There are many causes for Hypotonia in children. These causes can range from genetic, environmental factors, or trauma. Most of the time the cause of Hypotonia is not apparent. Deciding to find out the cause of the Hypotonia could mean genetic testing, and doctor’s appointments. The advantage of finding out the cause would be the fact that it will lead you in the right direction to understand the exact needs for the future of your child. However, waiting for an answer to the cause may just fail to result in any type of answer. Therefore, you may just decide to treat the symptoms of Hypotonia.
Treatment
Treatment for Hypotonia includes Physical and Occupational Therapy. When children are in physical therapy it may look as if they are just playing but they are trying learning to build muscles. It may take a long time for some improvement to be seen after enrolling your child in physical therapy. Learn to get the most out of physical therapy for your child with these tips. Occupational therapy will work on the fine motor skills that involve the hands. It may not be uncommon to go to speech therapy for a child with severe Hypotonia that need help with the muscles in the mouth that find it difficult to chew, suck and swallow.
Sometimes the hardest part of parenting a child with Hypotonia is the impact it has socially on the child. My son suffers from moderate Hypotonia. The worse part is seeing him not being able to keep up with children of his age. At seven years old, he cannot ride a bike or run as he should. Parents of children with Hypotonia must watch as their children are left behind when the other children are running circles around them. The best thing to do for your child is to find a group that they do fit into. There may be some sort of support group near you, or maybe you child is better physically adapted to children that are a bit younger then they are. If this is the case, as long as your child finds a place where they can belong, they will find they can live a relatively normal social experience.
The cautions
Any child with Hypotonia must be careful. Because of the low muscle tone, it is much easier to cause a break or dislocation of the bone in a joint. Therefore, adults and children must use extra care when physically interacting with children that have Hypotonia. Although most of these children may not be aware of being vulnerable to these dislocations, it is something that needs to be in the back of the mind when dealing with these children. A simple pivot with the arm can dislocate a shoulder without much effort.
Hypotonia is a condition that means low muscle tone. Children with this condition can live normal lives if extra precautions are taken and the facts are known.
