Submitted by VT, Occupational Therapy Assistant
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Fierce crying when mom would leave daycare | Daycare staff reports he rarely cries when mom leaves |
| Would suddenly lie down and sleep even though he had a good night’s rest | No longer shutting down and sleeping at any time |
| Wobbly gait | Stronger and more confident in his body |
| Did not tolerate lying on his back for diaper changes | Diaper changes are no problem |
Conner is a 2-year-old boy (29 months) who I saw initially at a daycare center in his mother’s place of employment. He was 20 months old when I first began treating him as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.
"His parents’ concerns included his inability to tolerate the daycare setting. He would frequently lie down suddenly and go to sleep even though he had a good night’s rest. He did not participate with others or play with toys. He preferred to stay on the outskirts of the activities going on around him. They were also concerned with his delay in gross motor skills, dislike of lying on his back, fear of movement, and inability to self-regulate."
He began combat crawling at 12 months of age. He was walking when I first began working with him but was still quite wobbly and unable to independently step up two stairs on a toddler indoor piece of equipment. He did not tolerate lying on his back for diaper changes at daycare or at home, making it difficult to clean those especially messy ones. He did not enjoy sitting in a bucket swing and nursed from mom when he was stressed while she visited the daycare for therapy sessions. He cried quite vociferously each time she left the daycare center.
The tool from this course [the Brain and Sensory Foundations First Level course] that I chose to use with Conner was the first Rhythmic Movement [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course]. I chose this because he demonstrated discord in his movements, lack of body awareness and difficulty with self-regulation. He skipped essential skills such as rocking on his hands and knees when learning to crawl, so he did not create his own intuitive sense with rhythm in his body. Due to his young age and lack of following directions, I determined that passive rhythmic movement would be a great place to start.
I gently moved his body so he could feel the rocking motion of his body on the mat. After a couple sessions in this manner, I was able to roll him to his back and continue the RM #1. He was better able to tolerate this when I softly sang to him.
I knew that he would progress much better if his parents could carry over the technique on a daily basis. I provided parent education in completing the technique, and his mom was very receptive. She initially began with 1-2 minutes of RM #1 at home in the morning before leaving for work/daycare. He seemed to enjoy this with her after 1-2 sessions.
Over the course of a few weeks, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that Conner did not cry when she left the daycare center. She made it routine to complete the RM at daycare every morning.
Different people who came in frequent contact with Conner noticed improvements after several weeks of Rhythmic Movement [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations First Level course]. I am fairly confident that these changes are largely, if not solely, due to the RM because there were no other significant differences in his therapy or daily routine.
"The physical therapist on the team noticed he was more willing to attempt challenges and seemed to be growing more confident in his body. Daycare staff reported he rarely cried when mom left him there. Daycare also noted he was no longer shutting down and sleeping at any time, he was tolerating laying on his back for diaper changes, and was now interested in watching and listening to song time! Everyone was very happy with the changes they were experiencing with Conner!"
A couple months later, Mom switched to part-time hours and removed Conner from daycare. He stayed home with her and Grandma instead. They have both continued to provide RM daily, and Conner continues to make positive changes. He still tolerates lying on his back for diaper changes and will even now lay on his back in a playful manner. He is much more animated at home, making happy sounds. I have taught mom the next two RM techniques. He has enjoyed both of them.
My experience with facilitating RM with a young client and his family has been eye opening. It taught me the power of rhythm and movement with all areas of development including gross motor, body awareness, vestibular, and self-regulation. I have been very pleased with the results and so has his family.
Mom became very motivated by the results and started to educate herself in available resources.
[Edited to length and clarity; emphasis added]