Cranial Technologies

Our daughter was on the «severe» end of «flat headedness», so there really wasn’t any question as to whether we were going to go with the helmet treatment. Two doctors, and the cranial technologies therapists, were all on the same page with it. We have been going to the Westwood location since July (4 months now) and it has been an excellent experience all around. Our daughter is on her second Doc Band (the brand name for the helmet), which was definitely necessary given the severity of her plagiocephaly (clinical term for flathead). We never, ever felt pressured by the staff, and they have been nothing but extremely helpful throughout the entire process. They are knowledgeable about the condition, and as physical therapists and occupational therapists, they understand how your child is developing, or not developing, if that is an issue. The two women who work at the front desk are so helpful and pleasant as well. We have seen a number of different therapists at this location over the last few months and all have been nothing less than excellent. I am so glad we decided to go with them for the treatment as they have made this bizarre experience of my infant daughter having to wear a helmet 23 hours a day just more positive over all. Also, they make the insurance process rather simple, and they are quick with any follow up regarding insurance authorization. If your kid winds up in the unfortunate situation (but not the end of the world) of having to wear a helmet for a little while, this place will absolutely make the process much easier on both you and your child.

Pros:
–They take insurance
–First visit is FREE!
–They have this incredibly fancy camera that takes a 3D picture of your kids head and gives all sorts of measurements. It’s great to have some solid data!
–If we DID need a helmet, I was confident that they would do a great job.
Cons:
–They are helmet salesmen.
In the end, they only get money if they sell you a $$$$$ helmet. When we went, they taught me some stretches to do at home, but they were minimal and my kid H.A.T.E.D. them. My gut told me that this problem could be solved without a helmet, so we ended up seeing a physical therapist. (Dr. Davi at Physical Therapy Solutions on Pico. They take insurance. Highly recommend.) The physical therapist taught us a way to do stretches that the kid didn’t hate, helped us set up a sleeping situation to round out his head, and was very positive about not needing a helmet if we were diligent with stretches. After 6 weeks, I have a happy baby with a round head. Six weeks of physical therapy is a lot cheaper and easier than a helmet.
All that to say, if your mommy intuition is telling you that this helmet place is a little more intense than you need, I suggest looking into physical therapy before throwing down for the helmet.