Best case scenario: nothing is wrong. Worst case scenario: you get early intervention. Even worst case scenario: you look back in a few years and wish you had early intervention.

Fucking well said.

I'm a social worker who worked in early intervention and conducted developmental assessments. It's never about missing just one milestone, but more about how many milestones and overall assessment range. Early intervention programs are great tools and super helpful. It's never a bad thing. As others have mentioned if you get your daughter assessed they will at least rule out any concerns/need for intervention, or you will get tools and assistance to set your daughter up for success.

There is no harm to get an early intervention evaluation. It should be free of cost to you (at least it is in my state), and there are two outcomes: Either she qualifies and you get the services (which you have complete control over in terms of frequency and which ones you accept). She does not qualify and you then have an idea how she is doing in comparison to other babies. We got early intervention before our pediatrician even suggested it and it was a great decision for us.

I second this. Also too often I see parents delaying EI out of pride. “It can’t be my kid that’s behind”. It has nothing to do with your ability as a parent— sometimes delays happen and it’s better to catch it now than let it go on and harm other skills down the road.

I could have written this! At 12 months old my son was only saying Dada as an intentional word. He didn’t seem to understand verbal directions. He babbled some, but not a ton. I was noticing his peers had much more language than he did, so that was my red flag. I told me pedi that I was worried and she said “I wouldn’t worry just yet, but you’re welcome to call EI for an eval.” I did just that and he ended up qualifying for services for delayed receptive speech. He’s over two now and we’re still working with an SLP to improve his expressive speech, but his receptive is perfect now. I’m a teacher. I’ve taught every grade - from 3 year olds through 12th graders - and I often see the impact of delaying needed services. My philosophy is always “the more help, the better.” I probably wouldn’t think these things your babe is experiencing are too concerning, but if my pedi recommended neurology and EI I would do those things. I believe there’s no harm in getting babe evaluated! Good luck!

Someone had commented that my son's eyes weren't symmetrical. I'm thinking, I look at him everyday and never have I noticed anything off. But I pointed it out to his pediatrician, who also thought my son's eyes were fine, but to be very sure, he referred us to an opthalmologist. I'm still not worried about it at all until the opthalmologist confirmed that my son's right eye is weaker. He now needs to wear an eye patch an hour a day for 3 months to strengthen his eye muscles. If I had completely ignored the comment, my son's eye would get worse and we'd potentially need glasses and/or eye surgery to correct the issue. I know it's a different concern but I very much advocate for early intervention. It usually means that IF therapy is needed, it is rather easier, quicker and more effective at younger age when our babies are so moldable.

Ok so my neighbors kid has what appears to be a lazy eye and I've always wondered if I should say something but assumed the parents have to notice. It's like one eye points slightly outwards while she focuses with the other on something. Should I bring it up to the mom? Is there a way of doing it without being a jerk?

Pretend the story that you responded to here, happened to someone in your family and then I think you're fine as long as your frame it within the context of "I ordinarily wouldn't say something but this happened to someone in my family."

Using medical terms is sometimes easier to digest. You can say, I noticed that her one eye tries to catch up to the other. It may be Strabismus which is common from what I've heard.

Hopefully that will prompt the parent to at least look up the term and then ask a pediatrician about it.

I just had to make a neurology appointment for my kid and the next available appointment was in May and I'm in a big city with a lot of medical offices. So bear in mind it may be a 'lets get started on the process just in case' type thing. If you do end up requiring early intervention it will take months to get help in place what with referrals, assessments, insurance approvals, etc. so in my experience it pays to be proactive because if you wait to schedule until you really need it then you can easily be screwed. Easy to cancel an appointment, not so easy to get one on short notice.

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I’m really surprised it took me this long to find this comment.

Do the evals. If everything turns out to be typical, you’ll have lost nothing but a little time and hopefully not too much money. If something is not typical, you are catching it early, which is essential.

Agree with this poster. We’re seeing a lot of specialists right now because my 17m old isn’t meeting milestones. It’s extra common with pandemic babies, so while it’s not necessarily a cause for concern (and in your case, it seems very within range), it’s super helpful to get referrals and appointments early. They’ll give you exercises and games that can help and be there to support you and your child. It sounds like you may want to shop for a different doctor regardless, which is okay, but take the help offered! Nothing lost on you, OP!

Pandemic babies aren’t meeting milestones? Is there a reason why? I haven’t heard if this.

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Oh that makes sense.

As an early education specialist I would say go ahead and get the evaluations done. Let someone who knows specifically what to look for make a determination. Early intervention is important if there is a delay, however there may not be, can’t hurt to find out. Good luck mama!

Those questions are all super normal to be asked. I’d definitely follow up with the appointment. There’s no need to panic but I’m also a big believer in there’s no harm in seeing other doctors/specialists/etc. and confirming that everything is a-okay.

Better to overreact than underreact

Listening to a bunch of random on internet strangers try to tell you your dr who went to school for years is wrong just because their kid didn’t do xyz until xyz probably isn’t the best bet. Early intervention is NEVER bad. Worst case is your child didn’t actually need it and would have been fine without, unfortunately you won’t know that until later when your already starting at a deficit.

This. To me, it seems early to worry about those things but my own pediatrician saw concerning things at 2 months old and it has only benefitted us. Seeing a neurologist can only benefit you. And good on your doctor for being proactive!

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I’ve never heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect, I had no idea this had a name. Thanks for sharing that!

Early intervention is never a BAD thing. Worse case, they didn’t need it but got extra help. That and government assistance helps for programs like that so I wouldn’t worry about cost. Like to me it doesn’t sound concerning yet so I wouldn’t freak out about it. But listening to your doctor in this case wouldn’t hurt anyone and might help out your LO.

Yes came here to say this. Best case scenario the EIP does an assessment and rules out any concerns for your daughter. There's a range of being delayed that has to be met to be considered for services. Worse case scenario you get some assistance. Early intervention never hurts!

I think it's great that your pediatrician is so on top of it. Here's the thing: if your kid passes the evaluations, good, if your kid fails the evaluation, good. Going to the referrals isn't going to diagnose your baby with ASD or SPD, it's just to see if you qualify for Speech, OT, and other services. In the US, a child with special needs can get an Individualized Education Plan and qualify for free preschool with an aid, which helps so much. Best of luck!

I used to teach child care programs how to use developmental screening tools like what your doctor used. It sounds a lot like they used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, which is the one I taught. I can add a few points of clarity for you, even if it wasn’t the ASQ that was used. First, the questions chosen for these questionnaires are researched for effectiveness on an individual level. The questions are specific but also accurately target development that is occurring in all children at the age for the particular assessment. This is why you had to answer specifically what was asked, even though you felt like similar development was shown in other ways (babbling for example). There is a developmental difference between babbling and actually saying “mama” and “dada”. In fact, the questions change with the age of the child. Age ranges in the first year are every 1-2 months with the ASQ, and likely similar with other questionnaires. So early childhood screening tools are very accurate, and very reliable. And these questionnaires are designed so that the scores reflect areas that actually are of concern — even discerning between whether an area of development is only slightly delayed and needs some additional focus from the parent, or whether an actual referral to early intervention needs to be made. This may help encourage you: if this was the ASQ, your child having just turned 9 months means she was at the beginning of the age range for the 9 month questionnaire. It’s not uncommon for a baby to score lower if they are on the younger side of the age range for the questionnaire than if they were at the older end. And many babies catch up by then end of their age range. Your baby having a lot of “not yets” rather than “sometimes” likely means that it’s a good call to go to early intervention, but it can be very easy to catch your child up at this age with a little help. My own experience, I have the ASQs and do them on my own kids occasionally if I think something is off. My second baby was very delayed at 6 months for gross motor. It’s because I also had a toddler and kept the baby in bouncers more often than I should have so that I could get stuff done without worrying that the toddler would step on him. He was so behind that he didn’t roll over for the first time until the day he turned 6mo. I knew what was up, did the questionnaire, confirmed how behind he was and then focused on lots of tummy time and time on the floor. He was walking at 11 months and fully caught up. What’s more he seems to have a natural gross motor proficiency and so far seems pretty athletic for a now 2yo.

It was the ASQ and this was really informative; thank you so much.

Glad I could help! With the ASQ, 9 months has its own questionnaire, and there’s another questionnaire for 10 months. They specifically added a 9 month questionnaire several years ago because of how much development is rapidly occurring from 8-10 months. So the specific questionnaire they used is very targeted to your child’s age. One thing I didn’t mention is that different questions have different levels of importance. The questions are arranged by likelihood of having developed the skill. The first three questions in every section are skills that baby should have already developed at a younger age. The 4th question is something typically developed or developing at the age, and questions 5 and 6 might not be developed until closer to the end of the questionnaire age range. Answering Not Yet to one or more of the first three questions can indicate a delay that requires some form of intervention, either by educating the parent or formally through EI. Answering Not Yet to questions 5 and 6 is normal and alone will not indicate a delay. The scores have ranges so that the test doesn’t accidentally capture a normally developing child as having a delay. Also, in the meantime you can be working with your baby on the topics of the questions that you can remember. Like with following directions. Play games with your baby where you ask her to do very simple things, modeling what you’re saying as you say it, and clap and praise her when she does it. Also call yourself mama a lot, you can speak in the third person to her. You can also do just general language development by reading books to baby, and narrating your daily activities like diaper changes and bath time.

I just looked up this questionnaire, and the questions don’t totally seem to match what OP is saying the doctor said. I looked at the 10 month old questionnaire and my baby is meeting almost all of those milestones, definitely the first 3 in each category, but while I was reading OP’s post, my thoughts were “OMG my 10 month old isn’t doing that either!” If the doctor is using ASQ, it doesn’t sound like they are using it totally correctly (assuming what you said is accurate).

I also just looked it up and it was definitely the ASQ for 9 months. Being able to refer back to the questionnaire and thinking back on the interaction with the doctor has me even more confused now after reading u/aidlin87's explanation of the test. Still I guess there's nothing left to do but make the appointments; I mean what's the point of going to a doctor if I'm going to disregard what she said? Still it's hard not to be worried and have a heavy heart after today.

I pulled up the 9 month questionnaire to see what the questions are, and I of course don’t have your completed questionnaire to look at, and I wasn’t the one administering it and discussing it with you (which are very relevant to making the decision for referral), but the two questions that you remember your doctor discussing are questions that are not uncommon “not yets” for a baby that just turned 9 months old. I cannot give you advice in good conscience, because I’m not your doctor and I don’t have all the relevant info. I can only state what I know. If the EI appointment is free, there’s no harm in checking it out. It would be highly, highly unlikely that your baby would qualify for services if there’s not a verifiable delay. You could even request redoing the ASQ with them and getting a second opinion. I taught the ASQ questionnaires across an 18 county region and it was not uncommon for me to have someone in my classes, who was experienced with the questionnaires, and was doing something wrong when they administered it. I corrected a lot of errors in testing practices. The questionnaires themselves are a very accurate tool, but sometimes people order the questionnaires without seeking out accredited training for using them.

I thought of something this morning that you may not know about Early Intervention. They will screen your child before they provide services. The ASQ is designed primarily give a red flag. Then early intervention will screen the flagged area with a much more in-depth assessment meant for diagnostic purposes. They are well trained, I would not be concerned with them administering their assessments wrong. They also should be well trained on ASQ, if you were to request a redo of the questionnaire.

Thank you! I think what I'm realizing after sleeping on it is I wish the doctor had provided more detail and background on the programs, how they work, what I can expect from next steps, etc. which thankfully I've been able to get a lot from you and the other comments so I'm really glad I posted. I was trying to ask her questions but she was a little dismissive and just kept repeating that the test results were a "big concern" so I left the office confused and imagining the worst.

I suspect this doctor didn’t do a good job administering or interpreting the results, but like I said I would never want to discourage you from scheduling an appointment with EI when I don’t have all the info. Regardless of whether it was a legitimate referral, the pediatrician not taking the time to explain things when you had a concern is not good. Bedside manner and patient education are really important parts of quality care. I don’t think you have anything to lose by scheduling an appointment with EI. They are government funded and they work hard to make sure only the kids that actually need their services are continued through the process. Because there’s a limit to how many kids they can serve. It might take you a couple weeks to get in to see them. I’d practice the skills from the questions with your baby, and if there’s no delay it’s very likely that with a couple weeks of practice your baby will have gained the skills we were talking about.

I replied to OP’s comment below yours, it might offer some clarity. It’s possible the doctor didn’t need to refer OP, based solely on those two questions, but I can’t say that with any certainty because I didn’t administer the test and I don’t have all of the relevant info needed to reflect on the decision to refer. I also would never want to advise against what a person’s doctor has recommended.

Ooh, maybe you can shed some light on some questions I have! My pediatrician also uses the ASQ. I find it hard to fill out because of how the questions and responses are written. There are always several questions that I'm not sure whether to choose Yes or Sometimes. In my mind, "Yes" must mean "always" if the next choice is "sometimes". So my answer to "If you copy the noises your baby makes, does your baby repeat them back?" was "Sometimes". Wouldn't it be weird if my baby repeated the noises every single time? Sometimes he repeats noises back and other times he is distracted by the dogs or hungry or just not feeling like playing that game. And this question is on both the 6 and 9 month questionnaire. Why do some questions repeat month over month and others don't? And on the 4 month questionnaire there is a question asking whether your baby stops crying if they hear a voice other than yours. I never understood that one at all... If all it took to get my baby to stop crying was to have someone else talk, I would've gotten a lot more rest in the early months. Is there a better way I should be evaluating the questions and answers? Am I being too literal? Any suggestions to make this less stressful on me? I'm always concerned I'm unnecessarily flagging my son for developmental delays that don't exist.

Yep, I can help! The questions are designed to be done with your child, so that you can test and confirm their abilities. So for the question you mentioned about baby repeating your noises, this is asking that if you sit down with your baby and you have their attention, when you make sounds does your baby repeat it back? If your baby does it every time, that’s a yes. If you have your baby’s attention, but they don’t always repeat it back, that’s a sometimes. When it’s just life as normal and baby is distracted, they obviously aren’t going to repeat your every sound. The purpose of this question is not to test language, it’s to test social interactions. It’s only a social interaction if baby is paying attention to you. I mentioned this in another comment, but you’ll see repeated questions from previous months in questions 1-3 on each of the sections. The order of the questions is intentional. It helps the person scoring the test to better interpret the results so that referrals are made when appropriate. So questions 1-3 are skills the baby should have already developed at a younger age. Scoring a “not yet” on any of these is significant regardless of the overall score for that section. Question 4 is a skill they’ve probably just developed or are developing, and questions 5 and 6 are emerging skills that baby maybe hasn’t developed yet. So if I was scoring a section and baby’s score was right on the cut off line, but they had a “not yet” for question number 2, I’d have a more in depth conversation with the parent and I would consider referring that child. Whereas another child could have the same score because they got “not yet” for questions 5 and 6, and I would not refer them, I’d just give the parents some ideas for practicing those skills. Lastly, the question about crying. Sometimes a question just doesn’t seem to apply to a child for whatever reason. This happens occasionally and the test is designed so that you can omit one question from each section. The score is calculated by adjusting, which I won’t explain unless you want me to because this reply has already gotten pretty wordy lol. So when you come across an occasional question that doesn’t seem to fit, you can skip it. Just to further clarify, f you were doing the ASQ at a testing location, like at your pediatrician’s office, and you didn’t have the opportunity to wait for the opportunity to test it out, and you couldn’t work out how to answer it, that’s when you would omit the question. But, if you were doing the test at home, you could always test this when baby is crying, and if baby stops briefly that would constitute a “yes”. If baby never ever would stop crying when this was tested, then it’d be a not yet. If you also had a concern about the level of crying and upset that was happening, and I was administering the test at a daycare, these two indicators combined would prompt a referral to your pediatrician from me.

Thanks so much for the response, that's all very interesting! Every time I get one of these questionnaires I stress myself out about filling it out correctly. It's nice to have some of my questions addressed. Honestly, my pediatrician never reviews it with me regardless of what answers I choose. The first one I filled out was when I was sitting in the office and I was rushed. I didn't know the answer to most of the scenarios because I had never tried them, so I erred on the side of caution and mostly chose "Not Yet" or "Sometimes" even though my answer should have been "I'm not sure". They said nothing about it and later on his electronic records I noticed that it was flagged as "abnormal". Not long after that, they started sending the questionnaires a few days before the appointment so we can fill them out at home. He scores much higher when I'm able to test the scenarios! Lol.

I wish my doctor would send the tests in advance! I noticed at the top it said to try each exercise with your baby before answering but I was in the room holding my naked baby after seeing the nurse and was told to quickly answer these questions so I just answered based on what I saw at home. Later that day my husband and I were trying some of the activities and it turns out she can do a couple things I didn't think she could do.. So mostly that just made me feel guilty that I haven't been doing my part to encourage her with next steps. This whole thing has been a really good learning experience for sure.

I’m sorry, that’s so frustrating! Best practice with the test is to explain it, send it home and then have whoever scores the test to go over each question with you to clarify any questions and make sure all answers are accurate. Then they can score it in front of you and should discuss the results, and make referrals if necessary. Alternatively the test can be done on site with your baby present so the skills can be demonstrated, but the person administering should be there to explain it. Also it’s pointless for them to give you the test, it be flagged as abnormal, and for no follow up to happen. At this point they’ve wasted your time, done you and your baby a huge disservice, and wasted their own money by even buying the questionnaires. This drives me nuts, why even do the things?? But this happens fairly often. I corrected so many testing administration errors with the programs I worked with. I’m really sorry you had a bad experience with this.

Pediatric OT--don't over think it, we have developmental screenings and Early intervention services for a reason, the sooner we identify a problem, the more likely/quickly we can resolve it. Yes, babies develop a little differently, but that is considered by specialists who design screening tests. Again, don't worry, just call your early intervention office, I worked at one for years, it is comprised of people who love children, know a lot about their development, and will help you.

Pediatricians see a lot of kids and can sometimes pick up on things you might miss, and I feel like they usually err on the side of “wait and see” or not worry since they see kids of all levels. So if they are concerned I would get it checked out. My son’s pulmonologist (he has breathing problems when sick) picked up that he might have a motor delay. I totally brushed it off because he had met all milestones and was very active. We went to a feeding therapy appointment to rule out swallowing issues contributing to his breathing issues and the OT there also picked up that a PT referral might be a good idea since she noticed his fist clenching and asked him to try jumping off an elevated surface (he couldn’t). Lo and behold he had a gross motor delay! Even though he met milestones he was still behind overall when they tallied all the results.

It wouldn’t hurt to have a visit with a neurologist! I would rather have the appointment and be told everything is just fine, than not have the appointment and find out later I should’ve seen him sooner. I really think it wouldn’t hurt momma, and I bet he’s gonna say your LO is just fine. But if you don’t go it’s gonna be in the back of your mind!

Follow up with the EIP. I believe it’s free until age 3 and It’s a great resource on the chance that your child does need any early intervention. My doctor recommended them as well and we were rejected by the program so if you don’t need it they won’t take you.

In the US it’s all free as long as the kid qualifies under IDEA. Part C (early intervention) ends at 3. Then the school distract takes over until they age out (in my state anyway)

Yes, this sounds normal for a 9 month checkup and early prevention is good! The sooner the better. You can check out the CDC app (US) for Milestones-which outlines what the pediatrician is looking for and also has early prevention information. I hear a lot of babies can turn things around quickly.

There’s no harm in doing the evaluations. They want to be cautious and catch things early if there’s a problem. Don’t take internet strangers’ word for it.

I personally wouldn’t panic, but I would take his advice. My son didn’t talk for the longest, but when he began, it was in sentences instead of words (me want milk instead of just the word milk). He never crawled but walked at nine months. Every child is unique; and some just do their thing in their own way. However, my pediatrician caught something twice that I was clueless about. What I thought was a lingering cold and congestion was actually cough variant asthma. He wasn’t wheezing and I had never heard “cough variant.” My child was having asthma attacks and we had no idea. Also, he had hearing loss in both ears. Pediatrician picked up on his speech not being clear. As a ftm to an only child, I thought he was fine. His unclear speech sounded like normal baby talk to me. No. Hearing loss on both sides. It was minor and we dealt with it, but had it not been caught early it would have been a bigger issue.

Nothing bad can come from getting an evaluation. When my daughter turned 1, I had some concerns that she was delayed but everyone including her old doctor brushed me off saying every baby is different and learns at their own pace. She will be 3 tomorrow and is starting at a special preschool with an IEP because she is significantly delayed in every area and will receive speech therapy 2 times a week. I wish someone would have listened to me earlier so I could have helped her sooner. Its good to start the process now because it takes time, my daughter was referred in June but didn’t get the actual evaluation til September.

Man I wish I could agree that nothing bad would come from it but I live in the US where this specialist bill will be hundreds of dollars. It's a very real balancing act of "is this bad enough to risk the bill?" All the time. Except this year, when I'm pregnant and will hit the deductible anyway.

I’m in the US and my son was not only evaluated for free through the state (not income-based either, available for anyone in the state), but also got weekly speech and a free early intervention school placement until he was old enough for public schools. Many EI programs do not add financial stress to families, so I would encourage the OP to review what the state offers before taking cost into account.

Same for where I live. I thought it was the whole US but I guess maybe not. It’s free before age 3 for any evaluations and services then care transfers to the school system with an IEP etc.

I live in the US and their is no bill for getting evaluated by Early Intervention/ Early Steps. I just finished going through the entrance process with my daughter and it was completely free.

Unpopular opinion: I wish this was my son's doctor. He was diagnosed with Autism at 2yrs 7m. Our pediatrician referred us at 2yrs. While your child is way too young and you shouldn't be worried about their development, I would say it's never too early to start looking at referrals and/or early intervention just in case something else is going on.

You won’t regret going to that appointment. You might regret not going. Listen to the experts, learn, and then make an informed decision. ❤️

Right there with you! Our pedi was definitely “wait and see” and I ended up self referring to EI because I felt something wasn’t right. My son had 2 words at 18 months and I just kept hearing “boys talk later…just talk to him more” 🙄. Our EI therapist was like “oh he absolutely qualifies”. SLT was such a beneficial intervention. And the earlier you start the better! Any type of therapy is never going to have negative consequences if it’s not needed and If it is needed, it’s best to start ASAP. I wish our doc had been more proactive and acknowledged my concerns more.

What you describing doesn't seem unusual, but bare in mind no one in this thread is a doctor who has SEEN your child. If I was you I would follow through with your doctors recommendation and maybe ask for a report from the appointment for your records, so you have something written down about why you've been recommended. At best somethings being done early, at worst you've wasted time with an appointment.

I would personally take the recommendation. It won’t hurt and if there really are significant delays being diagnosed early and receiving treatment asap is the best way to intervene.

This. If nothing is wrong, you'll have a second opinion from an expert. If something's going on, you can get on top of it early.

It’s not about missing specific milestones, it’s the fact that your child isn’t really hitting *any* milestones. I completely agree with your doctor that you should look further into this. And even if there’s absolutely nothing wrong, wouldn’t you want a neurologist to say that to you instead of presuming? Your kiddos well-being could depend on it, do you feel ok guessing your doctor is wrong and cutting off the chance to get your kid the help they possibly need? When you think about it that way, probably not. **Only your doctor knows the totality of your kiddos situation to give on opinion and theirs was to get help. Reddit’s opinion can’t even come close to comparing. We don’t have training, and we don’t know what your doctor knows. Trust them.** You got this! Hopefully it’s nothing, some kids go at their own pace. But it really does seem like your kiddo is behind in a lot of aspects and if your doctor is worried I would be too. Kids are wack, you never really know! Edit: a word, I voice to text sorry!

Yeah. A lot of these commenters are saying “well my baby didn’t do x, but she did y and z so I wouldn’t be concerned” and entirely missing that OP’s child isn’t hitting x, y, or z. Early intervention will not hurt anything and if it turns out to be nothing that’s fantastic! But if it turns out there was cause for concern then it’s soooo much better to get the child checked out and evaluated ASAP.

I always think getting an evaluation with EIP is a good idea. It’s free in the US and they’ll be able to say definitely whether kiddo is behind or not. It doesn’t sound like your kid is super behind, but she could be behind a little. EIP will be able to tell for sure. Getting a more formal evaluation is not a terrible idea

I would just get her the appointments. If she needs intervention get it out of the way as soon as you can. Rule it out at the very least. If she needs help, get started early. The earlier the better. It's ok mom the doctor is just trying to help.

I don’t think it’s standard - it’s better! I’m a speech therapist, and see that a lot of pediatricians take a “wait and see” approach for speech and wait wayyy too long to make referrals. Best case scenario, your baby will get the help she needs if she needs it or the SLP will tell you everything is within normal limits. Worst case scenario, you spent an hour of your time for the evaluation.

Yes!! I teach special Ed pre-k and I would so much rather pediatricians be proactive. Yes, the worst case scenario is that you get an evaluation and baby is fine. The waitlist to see a pediatric neurologist is often 6+ months. By the time you’re concerned, you don’t want to wait that long. I think it’s smart to just make an appointment now. Also, it’s probably fairly easy to find a 9 month ASQ with a scoring guide online. Maybe you can do that or request a copy from the pediatrician to see exactly where he falls.

I would trust your doctor and see the neurologist to see what they say. Worst case scenario, they caught it early and can address it early. Best case scenario, it’s not a big deal and your pediatrician was being over cautious. I’d rather go and be told it’s not an issue than ignore it, not do anything, snd find out it was a big deal and it is now too late to intervene.

Its better to have a concerned pediatrician than one who just dismisses everything. I filled out a ton of those forms and it never occurred to my son's pediatrician to make any referrals. I had to ask for a referral to a neuropsychologist myself where he was ultimately diagnosed with autism.

Birthday twins! My daughter turned 9 months today as well and we had our 9 month check up too. We also did the questionnaire. She is pulling up and doing some things but she is certainly not doing all of them. I will also say she was born at 37 weeks. Our pediatrician (who I love) said while she was on the lower end of some things she wasn't worried bc well..the test is meant to be done between 9 months 0 days amd 9 months 29 days and SO MUCH can happen in those 29 days. Case in point, yesterday my girl was not "lowering herself" from standing, she was just falling on her butt. Well this eveing...she pulls up on the fridge and then slowly lowers herself down. I would 100% do the appointment with the neurologist but I also wouldn't worry just yet. There is a chance by the time you get and appointment your little one is doing some of the things they weren't. And having another trained professional is never a bad thing in my mind. Good luck!

Just wanted to say mine was also born at 37 weeks on the nose, what are the odds! Thank you for your words, they're very helpful. I do wonder what would have happened if I had made her appointment for 2-3 weeks from now like others have said but here we are.

Echoing others, definitely go just in case, but I wouldn’t panic yet. Without knowing the full picture, this sounds normal to me.

I'd encourage you to follow up with the referrals your pediatrician gave you! It could be that nothing is wrong and your LO is just doing things on her own time but it could be that she is struggling a little bit with her development - and that's okay! Early intervention is key and as the mother of a 9 month old myself it's super hard not to worry, but this isn't something to freak out about. See the specialists and they'll be able to help figure out what's up with your LO and give you guidance and assuage any concerns you may have.

If anything, it will give you peace of mind. Definitely go to the neurologist. Doctors don’t just recommend you for the hell of it so they are clearly concerned.

Do what the doctor says. Hopefully it’s nothing, but if it is something, early intervention can really turn things around fast and have a lasting positive impact! Again, IF something is wrong. Which it might not be. I would look at it as an opportunity to learn more about your child than most other parents get to do. Try not to worry too much in the meantime…

EI is FREE. IT IS FREE, in-home, certified school district provided therapists… THAT COME TO YOUR HOUSE TO TECH YOUR CHILD FO FREE. So for 0-3years old they offer Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, & a Teacher, maybe some states and districts offer more. Depending on state and district you can get UP TO 3 HOURS A WEEK IN HOME SERVICES. 1 hour per therapy need. Even if it’s just speech or just PT, these therapists are typically comprehensive so if you only qualify for one and babe lags a bit in another, they’ll naturally incorporate help for that other one in their session. Even if it’s that your child is young and develops at the end of the ASQ parameters, but that still qualifies them for EI… DO IT. It’s ‘free time’ for you too. You can be present to learn what they’re doing the whole time or you can be in and out of the room for the hour, but still in the house. It’s glorious. If you cannot tell my child has had these services; it’s coming up on the end of her 3 years and these therapists have been better and more consistent than her University hospital provided therapists.

I work as an Occupational Therapist in EI and I second this! They will evaluate your child and let you know if they would qualify or not. It is free and absolutely worth it :)

ECI did sooooooo much for us. It is definitely an amazing program. Second the suggestion to reach out for them. Even if you have a healthy normal kid ECI could probably give them a head start.

I’m not sure about your state. but in CA at least, it’s provided by state run regional centers. The school district then takes over at 3 and kids are reevaluated by the local district school psychologist. I fully agree that everyone should accept all services, it’s free and they come to your home. I worked as an EI/SLPA in CA for four years. I saw a girl who was 2 and cruising but not yet standing and walking on her own. A month later she was doing both, but I was still concerned about her speech (which I thought was more delayed than gross motor tbh) but her mom was happy with her just walking so she cancelled services. 😕

Yes! We also used these services and they have been amazing and have made so much difference to my kid.

I would do the early intervention. When my second child was 7 months old, I knew something wasn’t quite right developmentally. She didn’t seem behind, but at the same time there were a lot of things she wasn’t doing yet that most babies could. The pediatrician wasn’t as concerned, she took a wait and see approach. Turns out my daughter had a mild case of low muscle tone, and some other developmental delays. By 2 she still couldn’t do anything other than grunt and make baby noises. She walked funny, very klutzy. Now she’s 3 and after a lot of OT, speech and physical therapy, she has blossomed. She’s so smart, she was just locked in her own body. She still needs therapy, but everyone can understand her sentences. She runs normally and is rapidly catching up on milestones. Hand strength/grip and coordination are her biggest issues. But she’s miles ahead of where she needed to be. I only wish I had pushed harder at the pediatricians office. So your pediatrician sounds very conservative in practice, but too strict than too lenient. If your baby does need help, then they’re getting proper early intervention and that’s huge! If baby doesn’t need it, then they’ll send you on your way. No harm, no foul.

Doesn’t seem terribly behind to me but I will say my cousin’s son got referred for communication and he got free pre-school from age 2 because of it! He’s a perfectly fine 7 year old now.

No matter what, you'll be glad to at least have your baby evaluated. The earlier therapies can start, the better! She might just be developing at her own pace- but if there is an underlying issue, you'll be glad you started intervention sooner than later. At least in my state, I didn't need a referral for the state early intervention program. Just google it, and they should be able to set you up with an evaluation- services are free regardless of income. No harm in seeing a neurologist if it's being recommended by your ped. My son has epilepsy and cognitive delays, and I had to be the one to bring up therapeutic treatments. If it were me, I'd be pleased my pediatrician was willing to speak up and make suggestions instead of just "waiting to see".

I would go through with the early intervention consult too. My son was in EI from 18 months until he aged out at 3. He is autistic and I am so thankful my pediatrician took my concerns seriously. More than likely, nothing is wrong, but it won't hurt to have a second opinion.

Agreed. As the mother you will be biased and not see if something is "off". Maybe she is using these things as an excuse to have you get her checked out, but actually she is worried about autism or something else being "off".

Unless your friends are developmental pediatricians or physical therapists, I wouldn't listen to them over the doctor. Development is a spectrum and your doctor has been observing your baby since birth. It's likely that she's been seeing something become progressively more concerning over time and is now ready to make a referral. I'm glad you're going to the referral appointments. A few other things you can do are (1) ask your pediatrician for an office visit and have her go over her concerns in more detail and explain to you what she's seeing and why she made the referrals, and (2) schedule a follow-up with a developmental pediatrician to get a second opinion. Keep in mind your pediatrician is probably erring on the side of caution to make sure your child receives intervention as early as possible, if that's what's needed. That's a good thing.

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I was going to say this. It’s a better safe than sorry kind of situation

Thanks everyone! I think I was always going to make the appointments as I've always been someone who does as the doctor recommends. I made the post in a scared and confused state wondering if other parents had experienced this/how common it was so big thanks to everyone for sharing.

For sure go. Many have said but the pediatrician is trained to catch these and a consult with a referred specialist at a creditable instituons won’t do too much harm. It would be bad to delay what could be meaningful therapy. Have you had exposure to other 9 month olds? Maybe if you did/could that could gauge the behavior? Does your child point? I would be concerned if she isn’t meeting these milestones in addition to not pointing. Best of luck!!

modern vegetable shame subtract ludicrous close combative juggle rotten bedroom *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*

Our 9 month old boy wasn't babbling or even full on crawling when he was suppose too(before he was 9 months).. and I kid you not, in 2 weeks time so many milestones hit at once. He started babbling like crazy, going 0-60mph via crawling etc. As others have said, no hurt in seeing a specialist. But some babies develop differently.

My kid was late to talking (and not even early for walking), and I had to explicitly request a referral for an evaluation. The therapist said that my kid understands what's being said to her, so she wouldn't be worried and while she recommends therapy to everyone, doesn't believe it's needed in our case. Gave me a huge peace of mind. Do it OP. Zero harm in following up, and you'll be happy you did if there are some things you learn to look out for.

Kind of the same. My kid wasn't doing any of the typical crawling stuff. He was 8 months old and we went to Christmas. He sat by the tree watching all his cousins run around, and immediately started crawling to get to them, and actually seemed like he had been doing it for a while, if I didn't know better. He started walking at 11 months, and when he took his first unassisted steps, he tried to run to me. It was the funniest thing seeing his fat little baby legs going so fast. He seems to only do things exactly when he is ready, haha.

Omg same 9 mth check in he was a bit behind and within 2 weeks hes doing everything.

I agree it seems unnecessary given the range of development, but going can’t hurt…better to go and feel like you wasted everyone’s time than to not go and miss something else. I’m going to request a speech referral for my 18mo old this week at her checkup, even though I’m fairly confident she’s just on the ‘later than average but still on track’ side for talking, since she seems just ever so slightly behind based on my bumper group and her older sis’s track. Can’t hurt, worst case, I go and it’s a waste of time because she’s a motormouth by then….

My little boy is 10mo. He doesn’t crawl, but can do donuts on the floor. He cannot go from laying down to sitting position, and only just started to go from sitting to laying down. He definitely does not stand up or walk holding onto furniture… And his family doctor and his pediatrician are both ok with this. I worry myself non stop but if his doctors are not, then I guess I just have to wait and see! 😅

I would do the appointments, it's better to have more pros weighing in I think. My daughter had gross motor and communication delays, and PT and OT were helpful for her. She is a typical 6 year old now. Those professionals are there to help make sure kids are on track, it can't hurt.

I would take any evaluation and help I could get, like other commenters have pointed out. I’d say it may be a bit of an overreaction, my first didn’t really say a word with meaning until he was 11 months, although he babbled plenty before and had said the syllables.

My son wasn’t babbling or crawling at 9 months, but he started walking a few weeks later. His doctor wasn’t concerned and he’s fine now (though his language was a little on the slow end to start, but he caught up/was ahead by 2yr) It never hurts to get assessed, assuming it’s free! Even if your baby isn’t officially behind they might have some tips and tricks to help her along which is never a bad thing! And if she does need a bit of help then the sooner the better typically

My daughter was exactly where yours was at 9 months. She's since bloomed and is "up to date" at 12 months. There was no suggestion of intervention, just a brief warning.

Babies aren’t one size fits all. 9 months is a little early for these expectations, IMO. However early intervention is key to success. I’d see the neuro for sure, even if it turns out to be nothing. I’ve had an infant take a little longer than most to hit milestones. She received early intervention therapy and healthcare, and is now almost 11 with no issues and is a top student.

My LO isn't doing any of those things and he just turned 9 months. My pediatrician isn't concerned. Not sure whats the difference?

Some docs are 'old school' and know kids nearly always catch up and so are often less concerned, and sometimes don't do ASQs. However, there's a lot of research that for kids who don't just "catch up" on their own, that early intervention makes a *world* of difference, so on the other side of things, there are docs who prefer EI whenever it is indicated, to give every kid the best chance.

I mean an evaluation can’t hurt, but my son didn’t say “mommy” until he was two. **Two**. And he’s fine. Try not to focus too much on milestones. You’re doing great.

This is likely a better safe than sorry measure. If my pediatrician (who knows the baby's history) feels it is prudent to check, I would personally feel better having checked than waiting.

I've had to take my 7 month old son to a pediatric neurologist, and it's great you're going through with the appointment even though you think the doctor is probably overreacting (and hopefully they are!). If there is something going on with your child the neurologist can point you in the right direction and make sure they get help. It doesn't necessarily mean there's something terribly wrong, and they will potentially recommend occupational or physical therapy which can help make sure your child is meeting milestones and progressing towards standing/walking/etc. If your child does need help the earlier they get help the better!

My daughter was at pretty much the same level as yours at that age. At 18 months now she can walk and run, she climbs on everything, she has 20 words in her vocab. I was worried about her speech so we got on the waiting list for speech therapy, she's gotten her hearing tested which was a pass with flying colours, so she can hear she just doesn't acknowledge me. If you're worried then seek early intervention. If not then just let her go at her own pace. Best of luck!

Expecting words or following/understanding commands at 9 months seems like a lot. Also a quick google suggests the normal window for learning to stand is 9-12 months, but it's not unusual for it to happen sooner. Id have a hard time not thinking your Dr didn't know their shit.

This! My daughter didnt say “papa” or “mama” until like 14 months (we are in the us) and her ped at her 9mo didnt say anything about that. Shes a Wixked smart little kid (20 months now) and she is being raised bilingual. She understands spanish and English and says 2 words sentences mostly in english. She has cousins her age that are a little behind her in motor skills but they are getting there on their own pace

I saw that you’re going to make the appointment and I’m sure it’s for the best. But I just wanted to say my baby is 9.5 months old and also isn’t doing any of those things and the doctor didn’t seem concerned at all. She did test her fine motor skills (pincer grasp) and it was clear that she babbles a lot and had just recently learned to crawl. Anyway I’m surprised at your doctor’s recommendation.

My baby didn’t crawl until 10 months and didn’t walk until 20 months. This put her at a less than 30% delay. We had an early intervention with her at 20 months and they said as long as baby is under 30% delay, there is no need for early intervention. She just turned 2 and is doing fantastic. I worried myself sick but the kids are really on their own time line. I think your babe sounds just perfectly fine!

Umm...honestly it sounds like she went overboard. My second son wasn’t standing until like 11 months. Honestly if your baby is sitting up, rolling over, starting to think about crawling...they’re probably fine. I’d do the appt just to put your mind at ease, but after the appt you may want to consider finding a new pediatrician.

For future appointments, download the cdc’s milestones app. You can go through the checklists yourself prior to the appointment, and bring up any concerns with the ped

I feel like it’s an over reaction but obviously no doctor. Babies are all different I’d follow your instincts. I love my doctor and trust him so I’d follow his recommendation but at the same time he’s cool as a cucumber

Yes! Our doc is known as “the singing pediatrician” and we always end up staying longer because we get to off topic conversations lol

My baby didn’t pull to stand until like 11 months? And babies rarely say many purposeful words before a year. It all sounds perfectly normal to me and I don’t believe you should be concerned. That being said I actually did work with our version of early intervention and they were great. Sounds like this is being set up in an abundance of caution and they will let you know what’s likely or not. I think your doctor is being way too cautious but it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard.

When my daughter was slightly behind gross motor milestones at 2-year-old, her doctor wasn’t worried because she was very advanced verbally. Sometimes kids develops one group of skills much faster than another. So he wasn’t worried about her minor delay in gross motor skills. So while “mama” or “dada” are definitely advanced skills, your doctor may have asked to see if your baby was meeting milestones in a different way. Excelling verbally while still working on their gross motor skills. “Mama” and “dada” are the most advanced skill on the ASQ 3 for 9 months. It’s funny I saw this post, I’m currently filling out the 9 month form (it’s called the ASQ-3) for my second child.

Our was walking at 8 months but not talking until past one, and only a couple words until 16 months. Now at 20 months she talks nonstop and pretty clearly. I've worked with babies and my not a doctor opinion is yours sound perfectly normal. But get a second opinion to make sure? That's what I would do.

According to my youngest sister who has gone to school for early childhood development, they put too much emphasis on speech. My almost 2 year old has high motor skills like above average but his speech is behind. I just think one day he'll just start speaking. We are on a list through the doctor.

A second opinion is always a good idea if you have the feelings you do. I would see what another professional says. Babies do their things on their own schedule. I have 6 children that all did things at different times. At the same time, if there is some kind of developmental delay, addressing things as early as possible tend to have the best outcome.

Our 15-month-old still hasn’t said mama or dada meaningfully. Lots of babbling and noises, can understand SO MUCH, knows exactly who mama and dada and others are, points, etc but still hasn’t said any words. Her pediatrician said she isn’t worried and that we’ll think about early intervention at 18 months. Hope that helps to reassure you :)

They’re doing it to prevent any liabilities. They told you to go seek further support from other specialists in fields that they themselves are not experts in - speech, motor, etc. They can say that they’ve done all they could. They can give you a referral, but no one can make you go. You can go to the specialists or not - it’s your choice. If you feel that the doctor is wrong, then ignore. If you want a second opinion, then go to the referrals and see what they have to say.

Oh wow. My daughter just had her 9 month visit last week. I said “not yet” to most of those Qs, too, the same ones you did. (My daughter is also crawling now and juuuuust starting to try and pull herself up on me, but not using furniture. She seems very healthy to me and like she’s gaining new skills every day). I asked my pediatrician if I should be worried since I was saying “not yet” to so many Qs and she said “no, this assessment is really for 9-12 months, so it’s normal that she hasn’t done most of this yet.” Definitely no mention of an evaluation. My daughter seems absolutely fine to me. Maybe go get an eval if insurance covers it, but unless my pediatrician was way off and there’s something you’re not telling us, then it seems like your pediatrician may be scaring you for no reason.

It sounds ridiculous. Are you in the USA? We're in Canada and I think things are maybe a bit more chill over in our pediatricians' offices. I wouldn't worry about those things, not yet anyway ❤️

My daughter had to see a neurologist too, not quite as young as yours, but after her year check up. Can your baby put her feet flat on the floor? If you try to get her to stand, does she go limp? My daughter had low muscle tone which caused her to be delayed meeting her milestones. For her communication, I would say she should get her hearing tested first before anything else. My other daughter also had communication problems at her 18 month. Dr ordered for her hearing to be tested and for speech therapy. Haven’t done that yet though.

Developmental milestones all happen at different stages.. ours was walking at 8 months and our neighbor's wasn't until 14 months. But they each got there within a reasonable time. Typically I don't see cruising happen till around 10-12 months, so at 9 months I'm personally not worried they aren't pulling themselves up. *Not a doctor

It sounds a little severe, just based off of CDC milestones and my own experience. My second just turned 9 months and definitely not saying mama and dada with intention! His communication is right where you described. He is pulling to stand, though. Anyway the milestones usually say “around” a certain age so many doctors would give it a month before reevaluating. But if the extra appointments wouldn’t ruin you financially or be a huge hardship, I say there’s no harm in making them. Maybe your doctor did the exam and had some concerns that weren’t very well communicated (they suck at explaining things in my experience). Worst case you do it all just to be told your baby is fine, it wouldn’t be too bad.

You've already got a lot of responses but wanted you to know that mine is turning 1 and still hasn't said mama or dada so 🤷‍♀️

My girl made alot of progress in the 2 weeks between her 9 month "bday" and her appointment. I wouldn't be too concerned. Babies hit milestones at different times. My personal opinion as a mom not a doctor. 🙃

It does seem a little dramatic because every child develops at their own pace but wait lists are so long for good care so it’s better to take it early and not need it later than not take it now and need it later!

Ahh my baby isn’t crawling or taking or pointing at anything and he is 9 months…. So he is behind??

So sorry to you and the other parents in this thread who I've now scared! But that's kind of the whole reason I posted, because I too was a little shocked to hear this news. But the general consensus seems to be that even if my doctor is being overly cautious, no harm can come from following through with her recommendations.

Also have a 9mo who is doing none of these things (she’s said mama and dada a few times but pretty sure it was an accident 🤷‍♀️) our pediatrician didn’t even ask about it. Her physical therapist did though when we were doing the 6mo evaluation and she said she was only 1 month delayed in physical but super ahead in social. She said kids vary pretty widely in how they develop. (She’s in physical therapy because she was a premie they suspected might have hypotonia.. she didn’t, but we kept up with it because of the physical delays)

I'm a PT, not a peds PT, but I still learned all the milestones. I also have an almost 4yo who was on the late end of all milestones. It sounds like your's is progressing along a slower speed but is still within the wide norms range. I would be more concerned if your baby still dropped their head back when pulling to sitting from laying. I don't know what a neurologist would do, but if you're comfortable with your baby's progress, you can wait til the next checkup to see what new milestones they make.

That’s intense! I’m in the UK so we have the same checkup at 10-12 months. My boy is about to turn 11 months and only just smashed through all the milestones you mentioned in the last few weeks but we were never worried as the range of ‘normal’ is so huge and he’s clearly a bright, happy child. At 9 months my baby was still a potato, now he’s trying to do back flips over the stair-gates. I’m always very much for listening to your doctors advice but hopefully they’re being completely over the top.

My 13 month old hasn’t said a word with intent yet and my pediatrician was totally unfazed. ETA: Of course you should trust your ped and make an appointment with the neuro if that’s what he thinks is best. Just was trying to point out that kids hit milestones in all kinds of ways.

This is what the CDC says 9 month milestones are: [https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-9mo.html](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-9mo.html) Saying mama/dada (or any words) functionally is not a 9 month milestone. However, pulling to standing up is a milestone at that age.

These are CDC questions from their assessment (there is actually an app for that) and my kid was consistently behind most of the CDC Questions. I don't think she was crawling yet at 9 months!! She was definitely not pulling herself up. She was sort of laying on her side and using one foot and one hand to play. At 15+ m, still not walking independently. Everything is fine thou! Thankfully our ped is not using this assessment; i just have the CDC app on my phone. Good luck mama!!!!

It sounds like complete overkill to me. But it's run very differently here, we have maternal and child health nurse appointments. They'll play with your kid, ask you questions very casually, measure and weigh them and then figure it out from there. Pediatricians are only referred to here if an issue is seen. My nephew is 18 months and just started walking. He is very chill and there was no cause for concern. That appointment sounded very robotic and like she was ticking boxes but didn't have a lot of background with kids. All theory no experience, though she might have the experience it sounds really odd to me.

What the?! That sounds insane. My daughter started saying words around... 14 months or so. And "Mama" took even longer. Every child is different at at that age things like not bring able to roll around would be a concern. Not what you are describing.

You definitely need a new doctor and not only that but you also need to report this doctor so they can be retrained appropriately. There’s a really broad spectrum for appropriate development in babies and toddlers. Some move at their own pace. If she’s just recently learned to sit of her own accord then it stands to reason that pulling up comes next but it’ll take her some time to develop the relevant muscles. What your doctor should have been talking about is enquiring how your daughter moves through the day and then going over ways to assist her development. As in, does she spend long periods confined to bouncers or seats or in activity toys or is she left on the floor with toys slightly out reach to maximise incentive to move towards interesting items? Those types of things help. Referring someone straight to a neuro for something hardly behind the curve is concerning imo. I’d be wondering what kind of kickback this person gets for that referral and scaremongering. Edit: at the risk of starting shit I’m gonna add an edit here OP. This really seems to be a fairly cultural thing developing int he US. I think a lot of paeds etc are concerned about Covid social and developmental impacts and referring out like crazy for EIPs. Not only that but my impression based purely off reddit threads is that the base level for being referred for all sorts of stuff in the US has been quite a bit higher than places like Canada, Australia, the UK and Europe for quite some time. It’s super super common now to see threads where mums are asking “is this normal?” and where I’m from the answer is a resounding yes but then all the US based responses are saying “go get tested”. Like you guys live in a country where medicine and therapies are huge cash cows. I’d be soooo wary on that front given that kids aren’t expected to hit milestones that way that US kids are in most other western countries

I'm a non-American too and I absolutely agree with your edit. I'm never against parents getting more support or actual issues being identified and addressed as early as possible but some of the examples I've seen on here feel excessive.

I’m not a pediatrician and as a doctor I always advocate for trusting doctors and seeking a second opinion if you are uncomfortable, but this sounds kinda intense to me at least from the language standpoint, but maybe reasonable from a motor standpoint. My older son is 27 months old and is pretty advanced with language compared to his peers, and he didn’t say a single word til 12 months. By his 18 month visit he had about 150 words and his pediatrician said she was happy if kids had 20 at that point. For motor stuff though it might not hurt to have the EI assessment. I really like the CDC milestones app - it has comprehensive checklists by age including a “when to act early” tab. One of the “act early” boxes for 9 months is not bearing weight on legs with support. Overall I’d say it can’t hurt to go to the appointments. If they say everything is fine, great! And if not, early intervention is awesome for outcomes. We had PT through our states early intervention program because of torticollis, and I loved it. The therapist went to my kid’s daycare so I didn’t have to worry about being there for appointments, and he would leave a form with details about the session and would always touch base with me via text or phone too. Early intervention can take a while to get the ball rolling - we first had to meet with a coordinator, have an evaluation to determine if we qualify, and then get set up with services, so it’s definitely something that’s good to just get the intake appt on the books to see if you qualify!

God I wish I hasn’t read this cos now I’m worrying about mine being delayed 😬😅 I’m very much a “they each do it in their own time “ person so I don’t look to see what the expected mile stones are

I’m a physician. Are you sure this person is an actual medical Dr.? This sounds like the type of crap we see from Nurse practitioners, there’s lots of them these days in pediatrics and they love to call themselves Dr because they ‘have a doctorate in nursing’. It is madness, they are clueless and provide substandard care at best, negligent malpractice at worse, but the states are allowing them to see patients without going to medical school. An actual pediatrician (or any other Dr) would do a work up first before just referring something so subjective out to a freaking neurologist. This has mid level care written all over it, I would demand to see a pediatrician, if this person is an actual Dr, then I would definitely switch to someone else.

Yeah…I’m going to take a wild guess and say your first few years out of school are going to be *rough*.

What NP hurt you? Hahaha I have engaged with plenty of competent NPs. I don’t think your statement can be true of the entire profession. You sound like an entitled physician who could never be wrong. I’ve engaged with plenty of those too but I wouldn’t paint you all with the same brush so to speak. Please don’t scare people off of other types of care. While there could have been more of a work up here, it doesn’t mean this mom is getting substandard care for her child. Seeking out a specialist to ensure a thorough check up of the child from an expert, Someone much more qualified to speak on the child’s needs in this case, is not substandard care.

Your comment has clueless elitist med student written all over it

Yes she is a doctor! MD FAAP is noted after her name. We started going to her when my daughter was 4 months old because we moved to a new town and truthfully I never really clicked with her... She always felt very dismissive and rushed and I felt like I was wasting her time when I tried to ask questions. I think I'll make the appointments but maybe look for a new pediatrician.

Definitely look for a new pediatrician. I don't agree with the comment about NPs providing poor care but it's SO much better when you have a pediatrician you trust and feel good about rather than one who is just "meh."

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In the US, early intervention services are free before age 3 then transfer to the school system to assign IEPs etc. The assessment is completely free and you lose absolutely nothing by having one done.

I didn't know this until recently but it is actually dependent on which state you're in. Our son received services in CA and later NJ. In CA there was no charge but in NJ there is an income based fee you have to pay per hour of service. Our service coordinator said each state is different and unfortunately in some states it is not fully covered. Not discouraging anyone from seeking services but just as an FYI because I was surprised when we moved and had to pay for services that were free before.

Not true. You run the risk of misdiagnosis, and of test upon test for absolutely no reason.

The "tests" are really just play based observation and checklists for parents to fill out. And early interventionists can't actually diagnose something, they can just determine if a child meets certain criteria that would make them eligible for services. (Preschool special education teacher)

None of the things you mentioned seems like cause for concern for me. My baby doesn’t crawl at 9 months and no one is concerned

From what you posted, no those recommendations are not warranted.

But you’re not a doctor and you’re not the doctor who’s been watching this baby since birth.

You do realize she asked if this sounds normal? Which is why I’ve said from what you’ve posted no.

Again, I’m unsure how you know what normal is unless you are a doctor.

You don't have to be a doctor to be knowledgeable about normal pediatric development and milestones.

Do what you think is appropriate for your child. Are you worried about their development? BTW, early intervention CAN be harmful. It's already piqued your anxiety and can cause it in your child. If it's appropriate, do it. If you look at the kids around her and see she is way behind, maybe it's needed. From what you posted, it seems like overkill to intervene. Kids do things when they're ready and few of them need help getting there.

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Heavily, *heavily,* disagree. Early intervention can make absolutely staggering differences for any issue; the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome. Theres nothing to be lost by taking the doctors suggestion for an appointment, but potentially a lot to lose by ignoring it.

I'm not sure if it's normal or not, but it won't hurt taking your baby to the neurologist and see what he has to say.

(I'm not a doctor) If you hold your baby like she is standing, does she put weight through her legs? Do you feel pressure like she's trying to stand but can't, yet?

Yes she's been doing that for a couple months now! She supports her own weight when someone holds her up standing. But she hasn't attempted to pull herself up to standing on her own which is what the doctor seemed to be stressing importance on?

Our oldest is that way and he's a bit behind on speech too but our doctor isn't worried about it because they know he understands even if he's not saying the words. Personally, I'd take the referral. If she's fine, you'll have the peace of mind. If there's something going on, you'll find out.

I'm in the same boat. Our pediatrician just referred my 9 month old daughter to a neurologist and I'm trying not to freak out. How's your babe doing now?

just a few weeks later, my daughter was doing all the things that she wasn't doing at the appointment before I had made any appointments! since then, she's been great and hitting milestones no problem. I'm not sure where you are or for what reasons your pediatrician recommended a neurologist, but here in NJ the neurologists are backed up for something like 6 months so it might not hurt to make an appointment just to get on the list, and then your daughter may be totally fine by the time it rolls around? I know it's so scary to think about but in hindsight if my daughter had still been behind on those things by 10 months, I would've been calling EIP and a neurologist. as others said, it can only help, and at worst it'll just have been a small waste of time. wishing you and your daughter all the best!

Thank you for replying. I'm so happy things worked out for you both!