Microcephaly

Here is a photo that can maybe help answer some questions I've gotten about microcephaly.  Microcephaly literally means "small head".  It is actually fairly common (2-3% of the population could be considered microcephalic).  For someone who is very small, it would be expected for the head to also be very small.  Isaiah is small, however because his head is also small for his body it has become concerning.  Isaiah is the size of an average 14 month old, but his head is the size of an average 8 month old.  So, if Isaiah was 14 months old (so his size would meet his age), he would still be considered to have microcephaly with his current head circumference measurements.  If, at 21 months of age, Isaiah was the size of a 14 month old, and his head was also the size of a 14 month old, that would be far less concerning, since his head would be porportionate to his length.

If you google microcephaly you will get all sorts of photos of individuals with varying degrees of micro which I think is confusing for people.  Isaiah's is certainly not as severe as some children's and for the most part we don't even really notice the difference when looking at him until he is next to children of the same size (length) as him.

I've had several people ask what this diagnoses means for Isaiah, and the answer is simply 'we don't know'.  He will likely always be very petite.  If you calculate his likely adult size based on his current length he would be about 5ft as an adult, give or take a few inches, but those predictions can be very inaccurate.  He may have a harder time in school, or he may catch up and show no differences in learning.  We just don't know.  What we do know is that Isaiah is getting every resource we can provide him him with in order to reach his full potential, and he has an incredible support team of family, friends, and therapists with absolutely no lack of love and affection.