Shaken Baby Syndrome

you might consider sending a pm to lylac. she has some pretty extensive experience with shaken baby syndrome.

Hi :) Nope not a special case at all, but somewhat common these days..as sad as it is. I have 4 babies with brain damage..3 shaken..1 born that way. Ranging from mild/moderate to severe.. A child with a traumatic brain injury..most likely have seizures. And 3 a day may or may not be a problem. It all depends on what type they are..Crawling at 1 year old is VERY VERY good. My moderate child didn't start walking until 2+ years. My more severe ones are 10, 8 and 6 years old..10 and 6 can't walk. 8 and 6 can't eat..My 6 year old is developmentally a newborn -2 months. She can't walk, talk, eat..and never will. She's aforever baby. A sweet soul trapped in a body that she can't control..Getting back to you..I see it as very doable, as long as your totally committed to this child/ren perhaps all of you life and/or theirs.If you have any specific questions please ask

Thanks for responding! Lylac you are one strong woman :) Thanks so much for sharing your story. We had been focusing on the "not crawling till 1" thing and not seeing the big picture about how good that really is. We've been told a few times that this is something "he'll grow out of" given your story that doesn't seem likely. I guess I don't have any really specific questions, seeing as how I haven't gotten specifics on how all he's doing. May I private message you in the future once I learn more?

Sure anytime...about the seizures..two of mine have them all day..every day. It's our normal now. Everything will seem overwhelmimg at first, but once you get the kids and settle in...It' becomes easier. I have never seen or heard of a SBS survivor growing out of it..not saying there hasn't been..just saying I've never seen one..even the most mild cases will have "something" that isn't normal. And every SBS child is different as the clouds in the sky..what one will do..the other may not

SBS causes brain damage. It is irreversible; the brain cannot heal itself from such violence. About half of the children with SBS die. Many of the others will need lifelong care. Children who survive may be blind or deaf. Many will have seizures. Many will have learning problems or mental retardataion, sometimes severe. Some may have cerebral palsy. Some may have breathing difficulties. Some may have behavioral problems. In most cases, the person who shook the baby was simply unable to deal with normal infant/toddler behavior, such as crying or having a bowel accident. However, some victims of SBS have other special needs, which may have stressed the caregivers and caused them to "snap," so a good overall health workup is important. Also, many victims of SBS experienced previous abuse, and some will have medical issues such as poorly healed fractures. Before you make a decision about adopting a child who has SBS, you would do well to read about the problems that such a child might have. Picture the worst case -- for example, a child who will never walk or talk or add 2 + 2 or write his name -- and think whether you can manage that level of special needs. Then, get as much medical information as you can about the specific child. Can he see? Can he hear? Can he crawl or "cruise"? Can he speak? Can he take food by mouth, or is he tube-fed? How severe are the seizures? What do the MRIs, CT scans, etc. show about what part of the brain is affected, and what deficits he is likely to have? And so on. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that his condition isn't so serious -- but you may discover that he resembles the worst case scenario child you imagined. Sharon

A friend of mine is a foster parent. She had a baby about 6 years ago who was SBS. This child was also exposed to several things inutero. I will never forget the very first time I saw this baby. She was only a couple of months old when she was apprehended after the incident. I am not saying this to be mean, but she looked like an alien. It was heartbreaking. Fast forward 6 years, and despite having what I would call extreme ADHD, she seems perfectly normal. If you met her, you would never know the difficult start she had. She was extremely lucky, and I know every situation is different. I know of another child (this child goes to the elementary school here), and she was SBS, and is way more severe. She can walk with help, has vision problems, and has several delays including cognitive. But, she is an absolute joy to be around. Read everything you can, and if you can accept the worst case scenario, then it will be an easy decision. I always say, "prepare for the worst, but hope for the best". Good luck.

Well the boy with shaken baby syndrome is my step son. Getting custody of him is pretty non negotiable at this point. He's my husband's son and very much loved, we'll take on every battle with him and just be there to support him. I know he takes food by mouth, there is a picture of his care chart from the hospital and he was on similiac with a dr browns bottle. I've been trying to do research on long term effects but most sites I find deal mostly with causes. I know the cause, mom's husband (my husband was told she was divorced but she really wasn't) has anger issues and can not deal with stress. She left him with both kids and both kids started acting up at the same time and he couldn't handle it. He was abusive to the older boy too, I'm sure he'll have his own set of issues which is why our family already sees a counselor and will continue to do that after we get the boys and we've been told by our case worker the boys will probably see a therapist by themselves as well. His first foster mom made no mention of seizures, blindness or delays other than speech and physical delays like crawling/walking. But like I said in my original post, there have been a lot of lies. I'm really trying to prepare for the worst, but i'm really hoping for the best.

Thank you for your reply. I'm really hoping that he has I guess a "mild" case of it. If seizures and some delays are all we have to deal with I'll will count myself lucky. I didn't realize just how bad it could be till this post, and it sounds like he's not as bad as it could be. I really hope that we get more information about all C's health problems just so that we can begin to prepare better. Figure out what all programs are available in our area for his problems that might be able to help.

This has nothing to do with Shaken Baby Syndrome. But I wanted to warn you against allowing the boys to have any therapy without you or your husband included in the sessions. Children who have experienced things like these two have, are very prone to attachment issues. The children need to bond to you and your husband, not to a therapist. Others on here can probably explain it better than I can.

I think with time the child can et cured and lead a normal life if given proper care and love. He needs the love and support of you and your husband, to feel attached to. Make sure that he does not feel lonely.