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With a bright blue helmet encasing his cranium, Connor Szopko looks well protected from protruding corners and precarious falls.
But Connor, at 11 months, is not wearing the helmet for protection from household dangers. He is wearing it to help shape his skull.
The condition, plagiocephaly, is when the skull becomes asymmetrical, and flattened in one or more places. And it is becoming more common.
Connor Szopko’s parents, Rob and Beth, of Downers Grove, said their son has experienced great results with the treatment. Connor has worn the helmet nearly all day for about four months.
Throughout the couple’s experience in addressing Connor’s plagiocephaly, they have learned the condition can be common in infants as a result of the “Back to Sleep” campaign. That movement created a push to place babies on their backs in cribs and has contributed to decreased cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
“(Plagiocephaly) is not a rare thing anymore,” Rob said. “A couple kids in (Connor’s) daycare are going through this, too.”
Prior to identifying the plagiocephaly, Rob and Beth noticed Connor’s tendency to tilt his head to one side when he was an infant. Connor was diagnosed with torticollis, which is the tightening of one side of a neck muscle. Rob said Connor was in the breech position much of the time he was in the womb, and that was a primary factor in causing the tilt.
Rob and Beth began repositioning therapy when Connor was 3 months old to help correct the tilt, which included spending more time on his stomach and placing his toys where he would need to stretch the neck muscle to look at or play with the toys.
“When Connor was 3 to 6 months old, I was getting up every two to three hours repositioning him in his sleep,” Rob said. “The torticollis got better but not a lot of improvement in the shape of his head.”
Around 7 months old, Connor began seeing Angela Bauer, an American board certified orthotist with Scheck & Siress, an office which specializes in prosthetics, orthotics and pedorthics, in Schaumburg.
Connor was diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly and was fitted with a helmet.
“The helmet does not squeeze the head into the corrected shape, but rather, it is constructed based on the existing shape and void spaces are provided inside the helmet so that the head can grow into a more corrected shape,” Bauer said. “The head will grow to the path of least resistance.”
With a bright blue helmet encasing his cranium, Connor Szopko looks well protected from protruding corners and precarious falls.
But Connor, at 11 months, is not wearing the helmet for protection from household dangers. He is wearing it to help shape his skull.
The condition, plagiocephaly, is when the skull becomes asymmetrical, and flattened in one or more places. And it is becoming more common.
Connor Szopko’s parents, Rob and Beth, of Downers Grove, said their son has experienced great results with the treatment. Connor has worn the helmet nearly all day for about four months.
Throughout the couple’s experience in addressing Connor’s plagiocephaly, they have learned the condition can be common in infants as a result of the “Back to Sleep” campaign. That movement created a push to place babies on their backs in cribs and has contributed to decreased cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
“(Plagiocephaly) is not a rare thing anymore,” Rob said. “A couple kids in (Connor’s) daycare are going through this, too.”
Prior to identifying the plagiocephaly, Rob and Beth noticed Connor’s tendency to tilt his head to one side when he was an infant. Connor was diagnosed with torticollis, which is the tightening of one side of a neck muscle. Rob said Connor was in the breech position much of the time he was in the womb, and that was a primary factor in causing the tilt.
Rob and Beth began repositioning therapy when Connor was 3 months old to help correct the tilt, which included spending more time on his stomach and placing his toys where he would need to stretch the neck muscle to look at or play with the toys.
“When Connor was 3 to 6 months old, I was getting up every two to three hours repositioning him in his sleep,” Rob said. “The torticollis got better but not a lot of improvement in the shape of his head.”
Around 7 months old, Connor began seeing Angela Bauer, an American board certified orthotist with Scheck & Siress, an office which specializes in prosthetics, orthotics and pedorthics, in Schaumburg.
Connor was diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly and was fitted with a helmet.
“The helmet does not squeeze the head into the corrected shape, but rather, it is constructed based on the existing shape and void spaces are provided inside the helmet so that the head can grow into a more corrected shape,” Bauer said. “The head will grow to the path of least resistance.”
According to kidshealth.org, most cases of flattened heads are self-corrected in a child’s first year, and very few cases require reconstructive surgery.
Rob said he and Beth did a great deal of research about plagiocephaly before choosing to pursue a helmet for Connor.
“I read a bunch of case studies before we decided and there wasn’t anything that showed me (the helmet) was detrimental or negative for the child,” Rob said.
The couple said utilizing a helmet to help guide the growth of Connor’s head was a decision of low risk and high reward.
“It’s better to be proactive in this situation,” Rob said. “The advice I would give is as soon as you notice (a change in the head shape) get things going. The earlier (into the process) the less they will have to wear it and notice it.”
Rob said Connor’s time wearing the helmet is likely coming to an end, and he and his wife are interested to see how Connor adapts without it, especially when he bumps his head because the extra cushion with which he is familiar will be gone.
Connor’s progress will be monitored with check-ups at their pediatrician.
