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A copy of the current financial statement of the Dandy-Walker Alliance, Inc. is available by writing to: Dandy-Walker Alliance, Inc. 10325 Kensington Pkwy Suite 384 Kensington, MD 20895 or by calling 1-877-Dandy-Walker. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401, 410-974-5534.
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my daughter is three with DWM

my daughter abigail was never diagnosed with DWM untill last year. when she was younger i kept telling the doctors there was something wrong because she was developing very slowly at age two they did tests and realized she had a DWM. she doesnt walk or talk but she has the most beautiful smile and she is always happy. i have felt very alone because nobody around me has ever heard of DWM. when i saw this website i cried its comforting knowing there is people out there going threw the same thing my family is going threw. i would really like to talk with families that are dealing with the same thing i am. my email address is nathanielz_ma@yahoo.com

June 5th, 2010 | Category: General

3 comments to my daughter is three with DWM

  • Maxinepink
    June 22nd, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    Hi,
    My daughter has Dandy Walker Malformation and she is 2 years old…Id Abigail in Early Intervention because the services really helped my daughter. These services are very important…My daughter can walk, run, and speaks like a scholar…although she is only 2 she is developing at the rate of a 3-4 year old…she can count to 20 and she knows colours and shapes and loves to do puzzles…You need to keep on stimulating her and she will come on leaps and bounds….I really believe that!!

    Has Abigail got a shunt in because my daughter has…
    I would love to hear from you again.. I’m from Ireland by the way.

    God Bless
    Maxine

  • joycebeene
    June 28th, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    You are not alone and there is hope! I went through this 19 years ago and this year, my daughter finished her first year of college and is looking forward to returning to school in the fall! I agree with the other mother who posted, early childhood development help is crucial to your daughter’s help. When my daughter was young, we had a lady come from our state’s health department to work with her on her cognitive skills and motor skills once, sometimes twice a week. I think it helped so much. Just keep engaging her and playing with her. My daughter was very small and never ever made it to one of the growth charts the doctors had. I eventually threw away every book that told me that she should do any given thing at a given age and just took one day at a time! We never treated her any different, just kept working with her and when she started to do things, let her do them. Sometimes she would bump her chin trying to hold her head up or when she was learning to stand, fall over…but we allowed her to try and eventually she succeeded! By all medical definitions she was not supposed to be able to walk or run yet she made her ski team in the 6th grade and was on the cheerleading team in 8th grade! Don’t give up hope and always believe in miracles! Even if they are little miracles, they exist!

    To this day, I cannot tell you when she first started talking, crawling or walking…I did not keep track of the age, I vowed to myself that when she did them, no matter at what age, it would be enough and that I would not put timelines on her. She developed slower than others of that I am sure, but she did develop! You just have to have hope and love her enough to be there with her all the way and be thankful for every little thing she accomplishes, no matter how small.

    Remember, you are not alone!

    Joyce Beene
    joycebeene@onemoon.us

  • cjwatson
    August 25th, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    I have to agree with the other mother’s posts! You cannot put a timeframe on a DWM childs growth. Belive me, I know it’s difficult not to. I have a co-workder who’s daughter was born just a few hours before my daughter, and I see that her daughter does certain things sooner than my baby. My daughter was diagnosed at 6 months gestation, and I expected the worst. She was born in December of 2008…yes she was/is small, no she hasn’t met every growth chart in her doctor’s office, but she has not required a shunt as of yet (and her doctor doesn’t expect for her to need one), she walks, runs, talks (although she may not be as quick at speaking clearly as most kids her age), but she is a master at puzzles and any toy that requires problem solving, she understands directions, and happens to be very habitual child.

    Every little thing that she does is a big deal to us! Is it natural to worry about when you will begin to see more drastic signs of DWM? I think so, but for me…that is where my faith comes in. I feel that as parents of a DWM child, we understood what we were getting ourselves into before we gave birth, and I can only be happy about what she does accomplish, and I refuse to compare or worry about what she can’t or hasn’t done.

    I just discovered this site, and I’m so happy that an outlet and resource like this exists! I swore I looked high and low when I was pregnant, and could find much…you are not alone!! Take care…

    Charmaine
    cjwatson73@yahoo.com

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