United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Okay, I'm not normally one to stretch the excuse of BPI to assume it encompasses all my daughter's issues (in no way am I implying that others do!!)...But, I think one of the great things about this board is that we can throw out off-the-wall ideas to see if others have had similiar experiences. One thing that has fascinated me in my nearly 3 years of visiting this board is how much a BPI injury affects the so many parts of the body and it is usually revealed through casual comments of delayed milestones or other issues and concerns...and while no two kids seem to be affected in the same way, its interesting that there are people on this board that experience the injury in similar ways

...So, I wanted to throw this out there as one off-the-wall thing, to see if anyone else has come across this.

First, my daughter was "speech delayed". She had great cognitive speech, but no verbal for a very long time. Therapists couldn't explain to me why exactly she had this huge gap between verbal and cognitive. They even thought it was weird, but of course officially they would add that kids just develop on their own path (which I totally agree with).

She'll be 3 in July and she now has age-appropriate verbal, but is behind in articulation. The other day I took her to her 2nd dentist visit, the 1st since she gave up her binky. Her overbite is really messed up, dentist thought it could be from the binky...but she thinks it may be irreversable without intervention ($$$). What is weird is she has her lower jaw go out over her upper teeth, and then her jaw shifts to the side, so much so that she's grinding and loosening one of her lower teeth. As the dentist was explaining the problems of jaw muscle memory and compensation my mind wandered to BPI (we all know muscle memory and compensation quite well through BPI issues!!). It got me thinking, this bite that she has has to influence her articulation and speech....just try talking that way...but also, this bite shortens the jaw muscles on her BPI side.... so it got me thinking, if the C4 nerve can be impacted, couldn't a nerve that goes to the jaw be impacted? Just a wild hair idea.

Of course it could just be because she's A kid (not a BPI kid), and it could just be because she sucked on her binky constantly (which I believe she did as a comfort thing...from her injury and all that went with it...but)

Comments? Feel free to tell me that I'm crazy too. Really, it was just a wild thought that I had and wanted to share to see if it sparked ideas with others.

Lisa

My son (ROBPI) has a very large overbite...he has not been to the dentist yet (age 2) but his Dr. has commented on how much of one he has. He said part of it may from the pacifier and the overbite might correct itself a little once he quits using it but will probably need intervention when he is older. I have wondered about a BPI connection because this does not run in either side of the family's history. My husband, my older daughters and I have great teeth without braces. He also has some speech problems but seems to be catching up somewhat but only time will tell. I just wonder if the birth trauma has anything to do with it.

I think BPI's are so trivialised that we are only beginning to see the actual implications of these injuries. For my daughter Elizabeth, the damage was severe enough to cause Horner's syndrome as well as the usual. So I know other systems can be involved. My almost 3yo has ataxia which is a problem of the cerebellum causing weak muscles throughout her trunk. She has a vocab of about 10 words and her lack of muscle tone throughout her trunk and neck is what the docs say is causing it. Something also to do with the hiatal bone at the front of our throats and it needing good muscle tone beacause it floats.

Dear Lisa:
I have heard this idea thrown out to us before...and I firmly believe that the bpi IS involved in the speech issues and the jaw issues.
Juliana also had a large gap between cognitive and expressive language (we did speech therapy) which she has overcome (she is 3 1/2).
We went to the dentist recently and she noted an off-bite too. When Juliana bites down, the top teeth on the affected side are not aligned with the bottom teeth. The dentist said she had seen it in non-bpi kids, so "it could just be how she is..." but I really don't believe in coincidences...
Considering the amount of orthodontic work my other kids will need, this just fits right in!!!

hope it helps,
claudia

Max is a huge teeth grinder,
I believe that regular chiropractic adjustments help with it, I dont know why but I know that when he is adjusted he doent grind as much, we are family bed sleepers and I can assure you, after a few weeks after his adjustments, he starts grinding again...
not sure if that fits in but it kinda looked like it.