They create nerve growth factors which are chemicals in the brain that allow the regeneration of nerve pathways (circuits) so that new cortical skills can be accessed. Nerve growth factor is created every time we stimulate any part of the brain or the body through motor or sensory activity.
Sensory Processing depends on the neurodevelopmental movements of infancy.
Due to the neuroplasticity of the brain neurodevelopmental delay can be largely, partly or wholly corrected at any age by redoing the developmental stages of early infancy.
The foundation for neurological development, for brain-body and sensory maturity, are neurodevelopmental movements.
Most education and many remedial techniques are aimed at stimulating higher cortical centers in the brain. The expectation with these techniques is that the child who is subject to them should improve by practicing more, reading more, writing more, paying more attention, and listening to further explanations, which can only exhaust, frustrate and demoralize a child. A child who is faced with emotional, behavioral, motor and /or cognitive challenges may be operating predominantly from their lower brain with limited neural connections to their higher functioning brain. These higher cognitive functions however are dependent on the maturation of the lower functions in the brain stem and mid brain which are principally the sensory and motor functions.
A neurodevelopmental remedial approach identifies the lowest level of dysfunction in the brain and aims therapy at that area, at the brain stem and mid brain level. Any child and adult who have sensory and motor challenges, will have some immaturity in their neural functions and consequently will have challenges in their higher cognitive functions. It takes a lot of energy to compensate for such immaturity, since the cognitive brain is trying to compensate for what the lower brain is failing to do. Some can function with compensations, we all do to some extent, for some however it is challenging and a hindrance to living and learning.
Research in the area of neural plasticity has shown that the “wiring” of the central nervous system is open to change and that this rewiring has a profound impact upon a child's ability to interact effectively socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. It aims at supporting the maturation of the central nervous system by creating neural circuits from the lower/primitive to the higher/mature centers of the brain.
