As a parent, your child’s health is always a top priority in your life. How do you know if your baby is developing at a normal rate? How do you encourage optimal development in your premature baby? All of these questions about infant development can be answered by a skilled occupational therapist.
Jennifer Perigord, OT is an occupational therapist who specializes in infant development. She has over 17 years of pediatric experience and specializes in training premature and medically fragile infants in Neonatal Intensive Care. In this article, she will discuss her personal experience with developmental delays and how early intervention helped to give her child a chance at a normal life.
You may schedule a private infant evaluation with her by emailing jwperigord26@gmail.com.
Meet Parker!
After 5 weeks on bed rest, my water broke while at home. Thankfully, I lived down the street from the hospital because I gave birth to him in less than 3 hours! Sadly, he required vacuum extraction because his heart rate kept decelerating and I just couldn’t wrap my head around how to effectively push.
He was born at 35 weeks and 6days via natural birth weighing 5lb 4oz. Although he had a traumatic birth, he was born healthy, without any complications, and did not require a NICU stay.
I noticed that Parker was lethargic his first month, and he eventually was diagnosed with with “failure to thrive”. However, this determined momma was adamant to give exclusive breast milk to her first born. So I nursed, pumped, and then bottle fed averaging 16 feedings a day with virtually no sleep. But it worked! He gained weight and finally started to be on growth curve by 6 months.
My other concerns
However, Parker’s weight gain was not my biggest concern. As a pediatric occupational therapist, I had concerns very early on (around 2 months) that were not recognized by his pediatrician. Parker would startle easily, his hands and feet almost always were sweaty, he clenched his fists with the thumbs inside palms, looked only to right side, he never brought his left hand to his mouth, and head was misshapen.
I was very fortunate that I had taken a primary reflex class (Postural and Dynamic Reflex Integration with MNRI program) before I had Parker. It helped me recognize several primary reflexes that were severely under-developed.
Parker initiated cranial-sacral therapy at 4 months old and immediately started making changes. He started bringing his left hand to his mouth, his head shape started to improve, and he smiled more. However, his motor milestones and social skills were still lagging. At 9 months old he was not crawling, he only was rolling to one side, he was not able to stand by pulling, and he had very weak head control. I also noticed that he was fearful of pretty much everything and barely laughed.
Early intervention
Wanting the very best for Parker, I took him to Dr. Masgutova (the creator of MNRI program). There he received a private primary reflex integration assessment and we found out that he had a lot of reflexes that were dysfunctional. We started an intense home program which involved developing 26 primary reflexes. She also indicated delays in speech and expressed concern with social development.
I was fortunate because I had been to a couple introduction MNRI classes, so I was able to do most of the priority exercises myself. Parker learned to crawl within 1 week and the rest of those missed milestones came soon after, with him learning to walk by 13 months old.
Parker continued physical therapy with a focus on primary reflex integration due to continued difficulties with balance, weak core strength, and overall delayed gross motor skills until he was about 4 years old. During this time, Parker also had difficulties going to new places, he avoided getting messy, and was also very shy.
Where are we now
Let’s fast forward to today. Parker is 7 years old and in a typical 2nd grade class. He makes friends wherever he goes, loves to play outside (especially in the dirt), and is racing BMX competitively.
I 100% contribute Parker’s success to the early intervention he received starting in infancy with consistent primary reflex integration therapy. I often think what Parker would have been like if I did not recognize these early signs and he didn’t receive therapy. It is my belief he would have had lifelong developmental delays and possibly be on the autism spectrum.
Parker is a success story and I share this story because I want other families to have success stories too! My recommendation is to trust your gut, look for these early red flags I discussed, and seek early intervention before delays are identified.
Continue to follow Jennifer
I hope this article helped to open your eyes about the importance of infant development. Follow Jennifer on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM for tips about newborns and to stay connected to her story.
You may also schedule a private infant evaluation with her by emailing jwperigord26@gmail.com.
Conclusion
Congratulations on your new baby! It is such a blessing, and I am so happy that you are educating yourself on what to expect. Preparation brings a level of confidence that is so important to new parents. Remember that you can always check out our BABY ACADEMY for all of our prenatal resources for new parents. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help!
Free Prenatal Class
Enjoy a free prenatal class from the comfort of your own home! This is a course that I wrote based on a decade of professional and personal experiences regarding everything from childbirth to newborn care. This is a self-paced course that you can watch anytime and anywhere you want! You can sign up HERE. I look forward to connecting with you! – Rachel
Exciting News!!
Did you know that many insurance plans include FREE prenatal and postnatal consultations? See if you qualify by filling out this form: INSURANCE AUTHORIZATION FORM. Consultations can be virtual, in home, or in office with no out of pocket costs.