Crawling!

Since one of the symptoms of Fragile X kids is delayed development, one of the common observations I've noticed among other parents is the joy in celebrating the achievement of those milestones when they finally do come, even if those achievements are months to years behind their peers.

When Henry sailed past the "typical" milestone of crawling by a certain age without any sign of interest or ability, we became concerned, and the reassurances of "kids develop at their own pace" became more and more hollow.  This was exacerbated by watching the other kids in Henry's daycare class, kids who are nearly the same age as him and seeing how they're moving around on their own power.

One is two months older and by the time the school year ended, he was nearly walking.  Another is one month older, and she's hauling herself up onto her feet, though her walking was still shaky and unsteady.  Before the 4th of July week break, Henry was still content to lay on the floor.

But over this past week, he started showing some physical ability and cognition in the mechanics of crawling.  His usual routine was, when on his stomach, he would flail all of his limbs, as if in a swimming motion.  I suspect that this was his attempt at crawling, but he lacked the strength and mechanics to put his limbs underneath him for locomotion.  Within the last few days, however, he began shifting his hips and using whatever he could of his legs and feet to push himself forward.

He still seems to lack the strength and coordination in his arms, but I can see that it's coming along slowly.  He's holding himself up off the floor with his arms extended occasionally now instead of leaning on his elbows.  I know his core is strong based on how he's able to "fly" when I hold him up horizontally.

Strength is more than just the physical mass of muscle tissue.  Strength also comes from a neurological source, in how the brain sends signals to the muscles to contract.  This is among the reasons why a smaller, skinnier person may seem to be as strong or stronger than a large bodybuilder or athlete (and are typically called "wiry").  The more efficiently the brain can communicate with the muscle fibers, the more they can do, in a very simplistic illustration.

This concerned me when discovering the neurological effects of Fragile X and how it relates to low muscle tone.  If it's not just a matter of physical underdevelopment but a neurological issue, then developing strength becomes more difficult.  It's not just as simple as increased weight-lifting or other strength-training exercises.  It becomes a mental exercise...and how does one train a person in mental exercises when that person is not yet consciously communicating?

But to see Henry lifting his butt and scooting over as best as he could to his toys on the floor was a joy to witness.