Children with low muscle tone often have delayed motor skills, muscle weakness, and / or coordination and balance problems. (Essentially the muscles lack stamina. The muscles don't have the energy to keep working at a normal level.) Children diagnosed with hypotonia can have varying degrees of severity of muscle weakness. For instance a child may seem to initially do everything just fine, but keep the same muscles working for any length of time and they will tire faster than a normal child's muscles. Muscle tone also comprises a second feature, which is the speed of the muscles' responses. The speed is slower in those with hypotonia. Due to the slower speed of the muscle response a child with hypotonia may have trouble keeping up with similarly aged children.
Hypotonia can occur in every muscle, so any movement that requires muscle activity and strength is likely to be impaired. Muscles are tied to every physical endeavor, from eating, to talking, our facial gestures, getting dressed, sitting, and walking. Our Physical Therapists provide an individualized evaluation and treatment program to improve a child's strength and overall function. If needed, our Physical Therapist can work in conjunction with our Occupational Therapist on Fine Motor/Upper Body Coordination and with our Speech and Language Therapist on delayed speech, Articulation, Oral Motor or any other Feeding/Swallowing Issues that a child my have.