Waverley is a few days shy of being 11 months old and hasn’t crawled yet. Sure, she sniper rolls across the living room and can stretch her little limbs further than I thought humanly possible to reach for toys, but she hasn’t crawled. Her lack of gross motor achievement has left me a little worried, yet at the same time completely calm. I’m in an odd position of being both a therapist and a mother. Of knowing too much yet not enough.

I thought of what I’d say if I (as the mother) brought her to me (the therapist) for a developmental evaluation. The therapist would observe her playing and notice her participating and exploring in her environment. I’d observe her putting toys in a container, stacking two blocks, banging objects together, rolling, sitting, babbling, smiling, laughing, pointing, clapping, dancing, making music, rolling, attempting quadruped…but no, not crawling. And you know what? I (as the therapist) would say she is doing great. Thriving. She has a large head and a pronounced belly which makes it difficult to manage crawling with all that weight. Poor little giant baby. She’s achieving her fine motor, cognitive, language, and social milestones within the expected timeframe. I’d say don’t sweat it! She’ll crawl soon. Sure, nine months is average but it’s okay if she doesn’t meet every milestone exactly on or before the average mark. These are merely a guide. I’d recommend coming back in a month if she’s not crawling by one year. I’d tell the anxious mother to make sure she’s getting lots of floor time, both by herself and with her parents (she is! says the mother). I’d send them on their way, write up a novel of an evaluation, and wish all children could be so fortunate.

See, logically I know this. But, emotionally I’m still a mother worried about her baby. As the mother, I’d leave that evaluation wondering if the therapist really knew what she was doing. It just looked like they played together! I’d think. How can it be okay that Waverley’s cousin (who is nearly the same age) crawled at 6.5 months and she’s almost 11 months and hasn’t crawled? Something must be wrong. She has dyspraxia for sure or developmental delay (which, as the mother I probably would have Googled the predicament even through my therapist self told me not to).

In the end, I’m going to listen to the therapist. Most of the time, the objective evaluator is correct.

So this brings me to a new monthly series which I am really excited about: Ask an OT. Because sometimes we need an objective evaluator to calm the anxious mother in us or simply provide a few ideas and tips for managing daily life. Don’t know what an OT is? Don’t feel bad. So many people don’t. An OT is an occupational therapist who is a member of the rehabilitative team (think physician, physical therapist, speech therapist, etc.) whose main role is to help people return to/improve upon doing the things they love/need to do, whether that is getting dressed (have you ever tried to get dress with one functional arm? It is tough.), doing their job, or just participating in life as much as possible with a serious disability. OT is an incredibly broad field in healthcare and OTs can work in a variety of places, such as mental health facilities, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and nursing homes. You’ll likely get a different answer about what OT is depending on who you ask and what their specialty is. (For example, an OT who works with kiddos who have autism may have a very different outlook than an OT who is a certified hand therapist.)

At this point you’re likely wondering what is my specialty/experience and how is an OT qualified to provide advice? Great questions. I spent my last several years working at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Kennedy Krieger Institute working with children who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, genetic disorders, upper extremity dysfunction, and traumatic injuries (such as burns, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries). OTs are experts in child development and go to school for a long time (seven years!) to do what they do. We work on achieving developmental milestones (sitting, eating, dressing, etc.) through therapeutic activities. OTs are not physicians: I cannot give advice on medications, I cannot diagnose a disorder, and I cannot tell you whether or not you need surgery. I can answer questions about development, activities to promote development, functional baby gear, proper positioning, and safe handling. For even more information about OT, read this.

If you have any questions I’d love to offer my advice. If I don’t know the answer or feel it’s outside my realm of expertise, I have a gaggle of therapy pals in various specialties who I can call on. Please send in your questions to pearls.string@gmail.com or comment on this post and each month I will answer one of the questions in a post. I hope you all like it and find it helpful!