When I tell people that I am a neuro developmental therapist, the most common question I am asked is ‘What is Neuro Developmental Therapy? ' Most parents, teachers and health professionals have never heard of the term or understand how a program of Neuro Developmental Therapy can help a child overcome learning, motor, behavioural and sensory challenges.
So simply put, Neuro Developmental Therapy is a non-invasive movement based program that involves carrying out physical exercises every day based on the natural movements normally made by an infant during the first year of life. These exercises help to mature the central nervous system by integrating retained primitive reflexes, improving balance, posture and the control of eye movements which supports a child's general development and progress in not only school but also sport and social situations.
Now I am sure you must be wondering what on earth are retained primitive reflexes?
Learning Begins with Primitive Reflex Movement
Let’s rewind back to when your child was born, I am sure you still remember that over-whelming joy at seeing your baby rooting and sucking for the first time and how when you placed your finger in their tiny hand he/she was able to grip it tightly. These automatic stereotyped movements made by newborn babies are called primitive reflexes. Every baby is born with a set of primitive reflexes which is their tool kit for survival and early learning during the first year of life. As a baby grows these reflexes should mature and start to weaken through movement and eventually integrate or ‘go to sleep’. This allows the postural reflexes to develop along with related motor skills like, sitting, crawling, walking, running and jumping.
For different reasons, such as a history of a traumatic birth, feeding issues, recurrent ear infections or missed or delayed developmental milestone primitive reflexes with their associated complication may remain, and postural reactions may not fully mature. This can lead to the difficulties with not only subsequent motor development, but also visual functioning needed for reading, eye-hand co-ordination needed for writing, sequencing for learning tables, perceptual skills and spatial awareness involved in solving certain math's problems and for social interactions. The presence of Primitive reflexes and the lack of Postural reflexes provide evidence of Neuro-motor and sensory immaturity in the functioning of the central nervous system which can act as a barrier to learning and lead to behavioural problems such as
concentration difficulties, frustration, poor impulse control and general underachievement.
What are the signs of retained primitive refllexes?
There are several red flags that can alert you to neuromotor and sensory immaturity caused by retained primitive reflexes. In general, parents often notice that their child is maybe struggling to master skills that should be easily within their reach, like riding a bike, telling the time, playing football, reading and writing. Bed wetting may persist above the normal age. Dyslexia, Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia) and ADHD may have been recently diagnosed.
At school concentration may be an issue with their teacher reporting that the child is either very nervous or disruptive in class, can’t sit still and is too easily distracted or is afraid to read aloud or put their hand up in class to ask a question. For some children school can be too loud and they can become frightened and anxious really easily. They are often afraid of failure, dislike change and have a low self-esteem. Socialising with their peers in the school yard can be overwhelming and they quite often come home from school
feeling absolutely exhausted.
Neuro Developmental Therapy can help children overcome difficulties associated with:
● Reading & Writing
● Spelling & Math's
● Educational Underachievement
● Dyslexia
● Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia)
● Clumsiness
● Poor balance & coordination
● Dis-organisation
● Poor working memory
● Poor attention and concentration
● Difficulty sitting still
● ADD/ADHD
● Auditory Processing Difficulties
● Anxiety
● Low self-esteem
● Noise and tactile sensitivity
● Sensitivity to bright light
● Bed wetting above the normal age
What does a program of Neuro Developmental Therapy involve?
Following a detailed assessment of your child developmental history, gross and fine motor skills, balance, primitive and postural reflexes, eye movements and visual perception; (Audiometric assessment, if appropriate) your child will be given an individualized program of exercises to carry out at home under parental supervision. The program takes approximately 18 months to complete. Progress is reviewed at 6 to 8 weekly intervals and the exercises adapted accordingly.
When a primitive reflex has been fully integrated the change in the child's behavior is always noticeable. They are generally much calmer, happier, more confident in themselves. Sporting activities become easier as they have better balance and coordination. They are better able to socialise with their peers and their teacher will often comment that their concentration and focus and general academic skills like reading, writing, spelling and math's have also improved. If you would like to know more about neuro developmental therapy please contact Grainne Dillon on 086-8030745..
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