Is it time to call EI for a motor delay?

[pranava]

I posted a similar thread a few months ago, so forgive my repitition, but I'm still worried because I've seen no progress.  Is it time to get some early intervention for motor delay?  Or am I jumping the gun?

At 24 months, DS has Very flat feet that pronate inward so he is walking on the side. 

He still toddles with feet sort of wide spread. 

His run is more of a hurried walk with flat feet slapping the ground with no sort of heal to toe action. 

He could not possibly stand on one foot.

He cannot jump - at all.  not even a little hop step forward one foot at a time.

I have seen him climb onto the couch by himself maybe 3 times, but he is not getting better at it and cannot get into a kitchen chair.

I try to have him step up on a stool and turn around to sit on the toilet, but if I wasn't right there he'd fall off every time.

He won't hold a banister and walk up stairs.  He crawls up stairs, even at the toddler playground. 

He falls over about 75% of the times he tries to get into his little car.

He can't stack 3 or 4 blocks.

He can't unscrew a lid by twisting.  Instead he takes his thumb and spins the lid off.

When he eats with a spoon he gets it almost to his mouth but instead of rotating his wrist he turns the spoon upside down and puts it in his mouth.

He can take a hat off, but no other clothing.  Not even shoes or socks.

He can put my flip flops on because they're huge compared to his feet, but not his own crocs or any other article of clothing.

Does this sound behind for 24 months?  He's just so stiff and clutzy compared to other kids I've seen at the playground.

[Drummer's Wife]

Since you are concerned, it wouldn't hurt to request a screening from EI. 

It's hard to say from a non-expert point of view, though. Gross and fine motor development during the first 3 years can vary so much, yk?  But since you aren't sure, you may as well have him evaluated. 

[pbjmama]

Yes, call EI.

[physmom]

Originally Posted by pranava 

I posted a similar thread a few months ago, so forgive my repitition, but I'm still worried because I've seen no progress.  Is it time to get some early intervention for motor delay?  Or am I jumping the gun?

At 24 months, DS has Very flat feet that pronate inward so he is walking on the side. 
He still toddles with feet sort of wide spread. 

DD's feet are the same but she walks normally (DH and I are both flat footed)

His run is more of a hurried walk with flat feet slapping the ground with no sort of heal to toe action. 

He could not possibly stand on one foot.

He cannot jump - at all.  not even a little hop step forward one foot at a time.

I have seen him climb onto the couch by himself maybe 3 times, but he is not getting better at it and cannot get into a kitchen chair.

I try to have him step up on a stool and turn around to sit on the toilet, but if I wasn't right there he'd fall off every time.

He won't hold a banister and walk up stairs.  He crawls up stairs, even at the toddler playground. 

He falls over about 75% of the times he tries to get into his little car.

He can't stack 3 or 4 blocks.

He can't unscrew a lid by twisting.  Instead he takes his thumb and spins the lid off.

When he eats with a spoon he gets it almost to his mouth but instead of rotating his wrist he turns the spoon upside down and puts it in his mouth.

Sometimes DD does this still too. 

He can take a hat off, but no other clothing.  Not even shoes or socks.

He can put my flip flops on because they're huge compared to his feet, but not his own crocs or any other article of clothing.

Does this sound behind for 24 months?  He's just so stiff and clutzy compared to other kids I've seen at the playground.

The things in bold DD can't do (and she's older than your son.  The rest I would get checked out, though.  Especially the falling over thing, and crawling up the stairs... Good luck!

[crunchy_mommy]

I would call EI but I wouldn't panic. It could be normal but to me it does sound a little 'off'...

DS & his friends are mostly in the 18-26mo range and from your list, most of them can do the below & have been able to for awhile:
-Climb onto a couch/chair
-Walk up/down the stairs (holding onto a hand/banister or nothing)
-Stack blocks (I don't know how many, but definitely more than 3-4)
-Get in & out of toy cars/ride-on toys (sometimes a little clumsily & with occasional falls getting out)
-Stand on one foot (holding onto a hand/furniture, maybe 1-2 seconds without holding on to anything)
-Jump a little (some can jump with feet off the ground, the rest can kind of skip/hop/mimic jumping without the 'lift')
-Run (my DS usually does the 'hurried walk' thing too though, but he does it more heel/toe)
-Walk semi-fluently... not really toddling but not always the smooth heel/toe that adults walk with

I think a lot of these things would prove challenging for them:
-Turn around on a step-stool (DS can, some of his friends can't)
-Unscrew a lid (most of them can do the turning motion but DS, for ex., would have trouble if it was on tight, he doesn't have that strength)
-Removing clothing (DS can take off most of it but it's a struggle sometimes & is certainly not an expert at it)
-Putting on clothing
-Not sure about eating with a spoon, DS is good with it but I haven't seen most of his friends use one since they eat lots of finger foods.

So yeah, I think there are enough things there to at least warrant a call to EI to evaluate further... Did he reach earlier milestones (sitting/standing/walking/pincher grasp/etc.) on the late side?

[Wild Lupine]

Your son sounds a lot like mine, except mine is several months older and has a few other issues.

It does sound like your son is delayed enough in some areas to warrant looking into. Crawling up the stairs and not being able to take off any clothes but his hat stick out as particular concerns.

But the biggest reason I see for you to contact EI is that your EI window is closing. EI is for ages 0-3 and after age three the kind of services you can get vary depending upon the state you live in and type of health insurance you have. There's a wide range of normal, and your son may be on one side of it, but if there is an issue that needs OT or PT, much better to start it now while services are relatively easy to get than wait until later.