OT “Filled with Gratitude and Excitement”; Sees Profound Results for 6 Yr-Old Boy

Submitted by Briana Dannecker, MS, OTR/L

OT “Filled with Gratitude and Excitement”; Sees Profound Results for 6 Yr-Old Boy
Before
After
Deficits related to reading
Improved reading comprehension
Difficulties in school
Improved scores on assignments and exams 
Inconsistent hand dominance
Demonstrates consistent right-hand dominance
Difficulties with handwriting
Improved formation, sizing, spacing, line placement, and directionality of uppercase letters
Inapprpriate handwriting grasp
Utilizing an age-appropriate dynamic tripod grasp on writing tools
Often fixated on dislike, discomfort, or fatigue when writing
Increased motivation and stamina when writing, completing these tasks in less time with fewer breaks
Deficits related to attention
Improved attention span during all therapeutic tasks, including previously non-preferred activities
Poor eye contact
Improved eye contact
Poor conversational skills
Improved conversational skills

C.T. is a 6-year-old boy that was exhibiting deficits related to attention, social interaction, fine manual control associated with grasp, manipulation, precision, strength, hand dominance, and bilateral coordination, visual perceptual/visual motor skills, handwriting, spelling, reading, math, sensory processing, and motor planning/gross coordination.

I chose to begin by using the Brain Tune-up prior to non-preferred activities, specifically handwriting tasks, because C.T. often fixated on his dislike, discomfort, or fatigue rather than focusing on the task at hand. I quickly observed increased motivation and stamina when the Brain Tune-up was utilized; C.T. was completing these tasks in a shorter amount of time with fewer breaks provided. 

Two weeks following implementation of the Brain Tune-up, C.T.’s mother joined us in his therapy session to learn passive Rhythmic Movements [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations® course]. The caregiver education session took place on 10/15/2020, approximately 3 months ago. The very night of parent education, his mother reached out to tell me that C.T. had spelled 7/9 words correctly on his practice quiz, which was very rare. The next morning, C.T. did two of the rhythmic movements prior to leaving for school. He earned an A+ on the spelling test, spelling all words correctly, even the bonus word. His mother reported that he had gotten a 64 or lower on all previous spelling tests. 

C.T.’s caregiver is excellent with consistent carryover of rhythmic movements. I can see that C.T. is steadily becoming more coordinated with active facilitation, indicating brain maturity, and has also demonstrated improved self-advocacy for speed and duration of movements. I have begun to implement reflex integration work [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations® course] into our sessions together, as he exhibits an unintegrated TLR, ATNR, FPR, Moro, Spinal Galant, and hand reflexes. 

Following consistent carryover of Rhythmic Movements, his mother reported improved reading comprehension and phonological awareness with improved scores on assignments and exams in school. C.T. now demonstrates consistent right-hand dominance while utilizing an age-appropriate dynamic tripod grasp on his writing tools. 

He has displayed improved formation, sizing, spacing, line placement, and directionality of uppercase letters. C.T.’s mother often says, “His handwriting is better than mine!”. He demonstrates an improved attention span during all therapeutic tasks, including previously non-preferred activities. Therapists who have interacted with C.T. in the past spontaneously remark on his improved eye contact and conversational skills. 

From this client’s experience with a neurodevelopmental program, I learned how profound Rhythmic Movements alone can be. I am truly filled with gratitude and excitement for continued reflex integration work in addition to sustained implementation of rhythmic movements. 

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