[hatty.holder]

I have recently began helping in a disabled boys orphanage in one of the poorest parts of jamaica. There is a small boy who I have been told is 3 years old. He is very very undergrown (about the size of a 9 month old) and is unable to walk although his legs can hold his weight. When he is spoken to he will repeat whatever was said. What would cause him to be so under developed and how could I help him? (especially how I can help him walk. It just seems he has never been taught and now his legs turn in slightly) I would be very grateful for any answers you are able to give me.

[Alty]

It's impossible to give an accurate diagnosis over the internet. Does this child have access to a doctor? Have they done tests? Have they determined what's wrong?

There are so many things that could be wrong, lack of adequate nutrition, prematurity, dwarfism, fetal alcohol syndrome, down syndrome, FTT (failure to thrive), autism... and so many others.

Unless this child gets the medical help he needs the only thing you can do is love him, care for him and nurture him. Some things can't be fixed, even with medical care, but that's the first step before anything else.

Good luck.

[Wondergirl]

One of our experts (J_9) is a nurse. I'll PM her to see if she has some ideas.

Does a doctor ever diagnose these boys? Is there a file on each of them?

[J_9]

I'm also left wondering if this might be cerebral palsy.

In the end Alty is right. There is not always a fix for such problems, all you can do is love and support these children.

[twinkiedooter]

Probably extremely poor nutrition. Jamaica is a very poor country and poverty and lack of food is quite rampant there. Try having the child fed more food several times a day to have him gain some weight. To be that small sounds like malnutrition for starters.