Growth and physical development are important to education but have been largely ignored by the educational system since routine developmental testing of all children has been phased out. The outcome has been that children who are delayed in specific aspects of their physical development simply 'slip through the net' of services which should be in place to identify underlying factors and provide appropriate remedial intervention or educational support. These children are at risk of under-achieving at school, not because they lack intelligence or motivation to learn but because some of the physical skills which are needed to support and demonstrate intelligence in the classroom are under-developed. These children are at increased risk not only of under-performing but of experiencing frustration and developing associated 'secondary' behavioral signs. The child may be referred for assessment, and if the combination of problems fits into a recognized category, a diagnosis or label (ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia,autistic spectrum, …) will be given. But diagnosis in the area of specific learning difficulties does not always explain why the problem has developed, nor does it identify specific underlying mechanisms at fault. In other words, diagnosis in the area of educational difficulties frequently tells us what is wrong, but rarely reveals why it has happened.
The following factors may underlie a child's under-achievement with reading, writing, spelling, concentration and many other physical, emotional and social challenges: Neurological immaturity of:
early movement patterns (primitive reflexes)
postural control
balance - vestibular development
proprioception development – sense of self movement
body geography
presence of vertical and horizontal midline
laterality / dominance
eye, hand, and speech coordination / fine motor skills
visual perception and visual – motor integration
auditory discrimination and processing
phonemic awareness
sense of touch
sense of well-being
Other factors:
Structural - bone, muscle and/or fascia obstructions and/or misalignments which may be blocking the functioning of the nervous system.
Biochemical – nutrient deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, digestive imbalance, food allergies and/or intolerances may be reducing and /or interfering with the macronutrients (fats, protein and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) highly necessary to build the neural circuits and neurotransmitters for proper functioning of the nervous system.
Environmental – screens of any kind, EMF, air born molds, allergens, …
Emotional trauma – holding back a child in the survival mode which is in the primitive immature part of the brain.
These factors would cause your child to have the following symptoms:
curl forward over the desk or curl a leg under and sits on it making learning difficult
fatigue within 15 to 20 minutes when reading
fidgets – rocks on his or her chair, or taps, is restless and disturbs the class
just sits – head turned to one side appears not to listen
looks at his or her feet all the time, can't jump from boulder to boulder, or has to look at fingers when tying shoelaces or can't talk while tying shoelaces
spells words in odd ways eg. the word 'help' becomes 'helg'
presses too hard with the pencil, producing wavy lines
avoids reading
has difficult social relationships
is easily frustrated
reverses letters and numbers
is easily distracted
is clumsy or accident prone; has coordination problems
has difficulty remembering or following instructions
is over emotional or hypersensitive
shows difficulty learning or performing new tasks ie. learning to swim, riding bike
shows difficulty telling the time
has difficulty maintaining an erect posture
copies one letter at a time from the blackboard
loses their place easily when reading and when copying from the board or from another piece of paper
forgets to borrow in arithmetic
cannot follow directions, eg. “Go to the door.” “ Put the ball in the basket.” Inwardly, these children cannot connect the movements between themselves and their actions (body geography) and need time to think it through before being able to respond.
Lack stamina to deal with the many and varied sense impressions
reacts slowly to what he or she sees and in reproducing it themselves
is slow to develop skills and shows poor concentration
has speech and articulation problems
has mixed laterality
is diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Asperger’s, autism, and so on
A child diagnosed with ADD/ADHD will show some or all of the following symptoms:
deficits in attention to detail ie. schoolwork
careless, messy work that is inadequately thought through
impersistence – failure to complete tasks and shift from one uncompleted task to another
daydreaming – does not appear to listen or follow conversations or instructions
organizational problems
lack of forward planning
avoidance of tasks that require sustained attention and self application
stimulus bond – distracted by irrelevant stimuli within the environment
difficulty following conversations, frequently interrupts and /or changes the subject midstream.
A child diagnosed with DYSLEXIA will show some or all of the following symptoms:
difficulties with automatic balance
difficulties in reading and/or writing and/or spelling and/ or math
auditory processing problems
abnormal processing of visual information
difficulties understanding sequences and patterns
difficulty knowing left from right
difficulty with organization
difficulties with speach and language skills
short term memory
A child diagnosed with DYSPRAXIA will show some or all of the following symptoms:
apparent clumsiness
co-ordination / movement difficulties
dressing and eating skills
difficulties following instructions
disorganized
speaking and listening
holding pens/pencils and handwriting
social skills and friendships challenging
oversensitivity to noise, light, touch or other sensory inputs
Dr Masgutova, in her book Integration of Infant Dynamic and Postural Reflex Patterns – MNRI, states that: “ If there is a conflict between controlled and natural basic movements, then developmental challenges occur. For example, children who find controlling their movements difficult usually find controlling their emotions equally challenging. These children are often prone to angry outbursts and may be considered aggressive.” She goes on to say that : “Movement control problems have been shown to cause a wide spectrum of developmental challenges, such as impulsivity, hyperactive, aggressive behavior, laziness, “ late blooming”, worry, fear, dyslexia, a delay in speech or intellectual development, etc...”
