Using Gravity to Facilitate Sensory Motor
Development in Children
Eileen Richter, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA
Development in Children
Eileen Richter, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA
Description
Gravity influences infant development in many ways, from triggering vestibular processing to developing and strengthening muscles. Due to a number of factors, including improper positioning, lack of typical sensory motor opportunities, other environmental factors, and/or diagnoses of failure to thrive, autism, sensory processing disorders, etc., many of today's children are delayed in their sensory motor development when compared with past generations. These delays are particularly apparent in lack of core strength, proximal stability, and upper extremity coordination.
Along with other treatment strategies, gravity can be used by therapists to enhance development, especially in the areas of sensory motor processing, reflex integration and motor coordination. A variety of intervention strategies that engage vestibular mechanisms and take advantage of gravitational influences, including some innovative equipment, will be discussed and demonstrated via labs and video presentation.
Objectives:
following the course, participants will be able to
1. Discuss the role that gravity plays in typical infant development.
2. List the ways that positioning and other environmental influences can obstruct or enhance sensory motor development.
3. Demonstrate at least 3-4 strategies to facilitate reflex integration and sensory motor development.
4. Describe the importance of multidimensional treatment strategies for enhancing sensory motor development .
Agenda (6 contact hours)
8:30 The role of gravity in sensory motor development
10:00 Break
10:30 Barriers to development/lab
11:15 Antigravity Floor Lab/demo
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Principles of treatment/clinical reasoning
1:45 Working the Core Lab
2:30 Break
3:00 Working Posture Lab
3:45 Case examples/analysis
4:30 Adjourn
Gravity influences infant development in many ways, from triggering vestibular processing to developing and strengthening muscles. Due to a number of factors, including improper positioning, lack of typical sensory motor opportunities, other environmental factors, and/or diagnoses of failure to thrive, autism, sensory processing disorders, etc., many of today's children are delayed in their sensory motor development when compared with past generations. These delays are particularly apparent in lack of core strength, proximal stability, and upper extremity coordination.
Along with other treatment strategies, gravity can be used by therapists to enhance development, especially in the areas of sensory motor processing, reflex integration and motor coordination. A variety of intervention strategies that engage vestibular mechanisms and take advantage of gravitational influences, including some innovative equipment, will be discussed and demonstrated via labs and video presentation.
Objectives:
following the course, participants will be able to
1. Discuss the role that gravity plays in typical infant development.
2. List the ways that positioning and other environmental influences can obstruct or enhance sensory motor development.
3. Demonstrate at least 3-4 strategies to facilitate reflex integration and sensory motor development.
4. Describe the importance of multidimensional treatment strategies for enhancing sensory motor development .
Agenda (6 contact hours)
8:30 The role of gravity in sensory motor development
10:00 Break
10:30 Barriers to development/lab
11:15 Antigravity Floor Lab/demo
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Principles of treatment/clinical reasoning
1:45 Working the Core Lab
2:30 Break
3:00 Working Posture Lab
3:45 Case examples/analysis
4:30 Adjourn