Low muscle Tone and Autism

One of the many co-morbid possibilities for Autistic people.

My son has always had low muscle tone

My son is now 5 years old and has just been diagnosed with low muscle tone and hyper-mobility. Now that I understand low muscle tone the evidence has always been there, he didn't crawl till 11 months, he didn't walk until 20 months and he has always struggled to sit or stand for long.

Seek out a Pediatric Physiotherapist

If you have any concerns about your child's gross motor skills, make an appointment with a pediatric physiotherapist ASAP.

The physiotherapist explained to us that the reason by son constantly laid down or was on the move, was because both require less muscle strength than sitting or standing. This has has a major impact on his learning and development. He is in Kindergarten this year and he struggles to sit long enough for the teachers to teach him.

Autism and co-morbid difficulties

Autism is one of those disorders that connects with a lot of other disorders. It could in part be the complexity of autism that causes these co-morbidities or just that autism often features with other disorders, but it is common for those diagnosed with ASD to also be diagnosed with sensory processing disorder or ADHD or ADD or ODD or OCD or hypotonia (low muscle tone) or combinations of the above. One thing I have learnt is that whether you have these things formally diagnosed or just informally confirmed by the appropriate professional, it can make a huge difference to how you support your child.

Regular Physiotherapy

The right therapy can make a huge difference.

I'm a huge believer that therapy needs change over time. My son has spent the 3 years since his diagnosis in what I would term generalised therapy. It was overseen by the appropriate professionals and was very effective in helping him open up to the world around him. Now, however, I feel he needs areas targeted by specific professionals in specific therapies. One of our most important therapies at the moment is 1 hour of physiotherapy a week by a pediatric physiotherapist. Our physiotherapist does activities with him to strengthen his body and improve his gross motor skills. She prepares an outline of activities that we need to continue to do at home to improve the therapy outcomes.

You tube videos

In the weeks ahead I will be creating some you tube videos of my son doing some of his at home therapy activities for low muscle tone. It is important that you consult your own physiotherapist to get a plan suitable for your child, but the videos might give you an idea of what we do to improve his development