May

May

May

May

May

May

May

Congratulations

to Magda Botma from Mossel Bay who

completed the Comrades Marathon this past

Sunday! Well done Magda!

Baie geluk!

Dit is vir ons heerlik om hierdie spesiale foto met julle te deel: Marlise en Leah - gebore 18 Mei en hier presies nog net een dag oud! Marlise, ons vier graag die grootsheid van hierdie wonderwerk saam met jou en Neville, en weet sommer dat sy vir julle ongelooflike geluk en liefde sal bring. Ons gaan jou mis tydens jou kraamverlof, maar gun jou elke minuut saam met jou kos-bare meisiekind! Geniet dit!

Institute talk...Saying bye-bye to Elma

Whenever one wants to talk from the heart, the natural tendency is to revert to mother tongue – exactly what I did when I thought of Elma. For our English speaking Instructors – in a nutshell: I am grateful that Elma has entered a new phase in her life where she applies our FAMILY FIRST rule. To be married for years and then to find a freshness and new blossoms in your marriage is a privilege. To be more available for her aging mom is also a privilege. So it is with sadness and gladness that we say goodbye to Elma – sadness because she will be missed dearly, gladness because she can be with her family. Elma’s passion for her work was contagious and her care for all the new Instructors inspiring. May those of you who have been touched by Elma show her the ultimate respect by flying higher than eagles as BabyGym Instructors – your success will be her lasting legacy. You will be missed, but remembered Elma!

Liewe Elma

Dis met ‘n groot dankbaarheid in die hart wat ek die epos skryf. Dankbaar vir die gees waarin dit

gebeur; dankbaar vir die voorbeeld wat jy gestel het van diensbaarheid; dankbaar vir al die lig wat jy

elke keer in die Instituut ingebring het en natuurlik die eintlike rede vir ons saamwees – die aanraak

van honderde lewens – groot en klein. Hierdie was ‘n goeie seisoen. ‘n Vrugbare seisoen. ‘n Seisoen

waar 2 partye beter eindig as begin. BabaGim is verseker ryker , groter en sterker agv al die ure en

emmers vol liefde wat jy hier ingestort het. Jou onbevange gee en ondersteun en omgee is ‘n

voorbeeld, DANKIE! Ek is ook bly dat BabaGim op sy beurt jou hart bietjie heler kon help maak sonder

om Ruan se plek te raak. Dis veral met dankbaarheid oor jou verhouding met Pieter dat ek juig. Geniet

die seisoen. Ons gaan jou mis – baie mis. Maar jy sal altyd in BabaGim eggo! Hou kontak, stuur

boodskappies van waar die pad julle vat. Jou ma - waardeer en koester die tyd.

Met liefde en waardering Melodie

STOP, DROP AND ROLL!

Dearest Friends in BabyGym, I am writing this letter, because I have grown to love and respect you all as outstanding human beings who care for others, because you are my colleagues in BabyGym, and have become my friends. I have come to a point in my life, where I’ve had to make a decision on my path forward and the next chapter in mine and my husband’s life together. The recent loss of a very dear friend for more than 20 years has reminded me once again, how fragile life is, not to mention how short! BabyGym was my saving grace after my son passed away in 2006, and since then I was fortunate enough to touch many people’s lives through the wonderful “vehicle” of BabyGym. I am forever grateful to Melodie for giving me this fantastic opportunity of the last 4 years to impact on the many mums, dads and babies’ lives that crossed my path. Since April 2011 I was fortunate enough to act as an Advanced Instructor and absolutely loved training new and old Instructors and helping them to “fly” with their new businesses. I shall dearly miss all of this. I have made many, very dear friends and I trust that you will still remember me every so often and pop in for coffee when you are in the area. (I am a right-brainer and love unannounced visits!) I will forever be a loyal and passionate supporter of BabyGym and will refer every single mommy and baby who crosses my path! Please continue to make such a huge difference to our next generation of babies and mommies, run your businesses with passion and love and I know you will reap the rewards. My sister Sandra (BabyGym Instructor in Jeffreys Bay) reminded me today of a “mantra” that my 25year old son in Cape Town always uses: STOP,DROP AND ROLL! This seems so appropriate for my situation today….It’s time for me to STOP, DROP AND ROLL! (Dankie my Morné-kind, jy is te wys vir jou 25 jare! Ma het gehoor en geluister.) I will close-up “shop” by the end of June 2012 and wish one and all success in your BabyGym businesses and love, joy and happiness in your lives. If you remember nothing else, then hear me in your ears when next you find yourself in a scary situation: RUB YOUR EARS, HUG YOURSELF, and FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT! With much love and appreciation for your love and support over the past 4 years. Elma Vertue PS. Wouldn't you also stop, drop and roll for two such handsome men?

It takes a remarkable person not just to say a creed and memorize a creed, but to

live by a creed.

Refresher BabyGym Instructor Training

BabyGym training is presented frequently throughout the year; we would like to encourage you to attend refresher

training at least once a year. Cost is R500 for the 3 days and BabyGym Instructors earn 10 points for the second

training, and 20 points for the third training. To register for training contact the Advanced Instructor presenting the

training.

For the complete list of training dates kindly visit www.babygym.co.za

Training dates for the remainder of 2012 are as follow:

Doc Melodie says...

Question: I always warn against walking rings in my class, but I am not sure of the impact of a jolly jumper. If the

baby has good head and neck control, would it be okay to place baby in the jolly jumper for short periods at a time?

Answer: The use of a jolly jumper (just like a walking ring and supportive chair when not feeding) is discouraged

even if a baby has great neck and head control due to the impact of the baby's weight on bones that have not densified enough to bear baby's weight and the shock of the bounced impact. Babies LOVE bouncing as they love rocking, as it is one of the three movement planes that stimulate the inside senses. Remember: The three semi circular canals each represent a movement plane - forward and backward; up and down; left and right. Bouncing stimulates the up and down plane and when done on mom's lap it is fine, because the 'lap' will tell you when it is enough.

Vraag: Ek het al 'n paar maal afgekom op babas van verskillende ouderdomme dat wanneer jy hul op hul magies

sit hul nie hul armpies vorentoe wil hou en op die handjies wil druk nie maar eerder die arms langs die sy en na agter

hou. Soms is dit beide arms en soms net een van die arms. Kan dit dalk dui op sensoriese sensitiwiteit, of dalk net 'n

tekort aan bewustheid van die arms en hande en dus moet mamma net baie meer op die massering en stimulering

van die proprioseptore fokus of kan dit dalk iets te doen he met 'n refleks wat nog nie geinhibeer het nie?

Antwoord: Dankie vir die skitterende vrae en nog meer vir jou insig in die moontlike oorsaak van die situasie. Jy

het 2 opsies genoem: sensoriese sensitiwiteit - as dit sensoriese sensitiwiteit is, behoort arms vorentoe te wees

maar handjies gelig om aanraking te vermei; 'n tekort aan bewustheid van die arms en hande en dus moet mamma

net baie meer op die massering en stimulering van die proprioseptore fokus – ek sal saam met hierdie een gaan.

FERM massering en oor bal rol dat handjies moet steun en ook armoptrekke sal verseker ‘n verskil maak. Neem asb

fotos as jy kan, dis wonderlik om dit ook met die ander Instrukteurs te deel.

Vraag: Wanneer ons die BabyGym 3 klas aanbied, moet die babas op daai mylpaal wees, bv kruip?

Antwoord: Die idee met BG3 is dat baba die klassie bywoon so 3-4 weke voor die baba veronderstel is om die

mylpaal te bereik. VOOR dan hou hul vol met BabaGim 2 se bewegings.

Thank you to each and every BabyGym Instructor who submitted her 5 well thought-out questions pertaining to BabyGym 1, you have each earned yourselves 10 Bubble points! Melodie will answer each question submitted, which will be included in the Frequently asked Questions for BabyGym 1, you will be notified as soon as the FAQ have been added to the Instructors site. Here are answers to some of the questions:

Question: When is the best time during pregnancy to offer BabyGym 1; and if a mom says: “The doctor says I am

having a big baby and a caesarean will be easiest” (I don’t know how many times I have heard this) – would it be wrong to encourage mom to first try a natural delivery??

Answer: Any time around 32 weeks is good because it is close enough to the birth that they can remember the

BabyGym tips and early enough to seriously consider natural birth as an option. It is VERY important that each and every BabyGym Instructor respect a mom’s choice, BabyGym 1 is not about making moms feel bad if they choose differently, the purpose of BabyGym 1 is to indicate that natural birth accounts for a high intensity experience that does a lot for a baby’s tactile (touch/skin) awareness. Because touch is the first brain developmental building block, if a baby has experienced a few hours of deep tissue massage (contractions) baby may be more inclined to be soothed rather than frightened by touch, which hugely assist with easier feeding. If baby has a supported birth, IT IS OK. It just means mom and dad needs to use the repetition rule, because baby did not get the intensity of

experience needed. That is why we offer a simple firm and deep pressure massage in week 1, so babies born by assisted delivery can get enough proprioceptive input to enjoy touch and feeding with ease. Marlise Howell, BabyGym Instructor in Fish Hoek actually said it so well after hours of contractions and then a ceaser – “...at least I could give Leah a few hours of contraction stimulation before making the safest choice for her.” This is a wonderful example of someone who knows her stuff and looked on those hours of contractions in a positive light because she knows the importance of deep pressure massage.

Question: Can each of the 5 elements of the APGAR score be matched with a specific BabyGym activity?

Answer: NO. The 5 elements of the APGAR score (Appearance; Pulse; Grimace; Activity and Respiration) are 5

very simple indicators of a baby’s ability to adjust to life outside of the womb. That is all That a BabyGym Instructor should know and say about the APGAR. BabyGym activities offered in BabyGym 1, 2 and 3 all serve to promote transition from in utero conditions to in life conditions. For interest sake, let’s take Grimace – because a baby has never seen light, it is natural for a baby to grimace in an attempt at protecting his or her eyes. If a baby doesn’t attempt to protect the eyes, it means baby needs a bit of support to adjust. What kind of support is needed? That falls outside BabyGym’s area of speciality – a medical person will know what is needed. Once medical care has been given, BabyGym can serve to jumpstart the senses, brain and muscles into action so baby can then develop as nature intended – step by gentle step.

Question: If a BabyGym 1 mommy cannot breast feed, what must she do?

Answer: Follow the example set by breast feeding; stimulate baby’s sucking reflex; using a teat that resembles

mom’s nipple and swop arms when feeding. In BabyGym we focus on the baby and more specifically the development of the baby’s brain. What does feeding have to do with brain development? EVERYTHING! Suckling is baby’s first milestone and crucial for bonding, relaxation and boosting immunity. Remember as per your manual – the three layers of the skin (in the developing embryo) becomes the skin, intestines and brain of the baby? If touch is uncomfortable, feeding is difficult; if feeding is difficult baby becomes anxious; if baby becomes anxious digestion becomes difficult; when feeding and digestion is difficult baby stays in the survival brain and the pathways to the emotional and cognitive parts of the brain have to wait for attention. I urge you to read brain development MILESTONES & learning and also to encourage BabyGym 1 parents to invest in it, it is a simple to read book that helps moms and dads to know why nature knows best. The can read and reread and in so doing shape their little one’s brains moment by moment.

Question: Do we discuss latching while talking about stimulating sucking for the breast feeding or not? Answer: No, we are not latching specialists; our field of expertise is the baby not the mom. If we step into the

mom terrain, we step on the Childbirth Educators terrain and we want to work with them, not against them.

Question: In BabyGym 1 we teach mom and baby to stay calm, what about dad?

Answer: Dad can benefit as much from mom’s keep calm moves as mom does herself. His role is clearly defined

as a supporting role and the one with the mission to get an unwashed baby onto mom’s chest as soon as possible and to remember how to stimulate baby’s sucking reflex. Those two things – chest and suckling are his two ‘projects’ and of major importance. It is crucial that he realises that he is the brain, while mom’s role is to stay with her instinct to guide her to know what to do next. Her instinct will also be to want the support and advise from an experienced child birth educator. BabyGym Instructors – always remember our focus and expertise is the baby; a child birth educator’s focus is mom –

together we make a stunning supportive team. Stay within our boundaries. Stay away from the medical field and stay away from the field of a child birth educator. Respecting their expertise will ensure long lasting relationships, stepping on their terrain may mean immediate discreditation of yourself and of BabyGym. Stay with what we know and you will experience success and moms and babies will flourish around you.

BabyGym 1 vs. BabyGym 2

Good Morning all you hard working and lovely BabyGym Instructors

I hope that you are all well and enjoying those precious little bodies that you are helping.

It has come to my attention that there is slight confusion as to when to do BabyGym 1 and 2. As we are all cross

referring and chatting to the same clients (which I am very excited about), I wanted to mail you all and make sure

that we are all speaking with one voice.

As often happens when something is new and just getting off the ground, people may have interpreted things a little

differently and this is totally understandable and not a major problem.

So just to clear things for everyone and make sure that we are on the same page.

BabyGym 1: This is a programme of 2 sessions is designed specifically for expecting parents. It was written to

support parents with knowledge for the birthing process and couple of weeks after birth. It is aimed at leading up to

birth and the moment of birth, to get early touch and feeding correct. So yes, as a parent they will do BabyGym 1 in

the first weeks after birth but then be ready to move on and learn BabyGym 2. You will see in order to register

BabyGym 1 with the BabyGym Institute, only the mum and dad are registered, NO baby.

BabyGym 2: This is taught whenever you come into contact with a parent and baby. As stated on our website it is for

babies from birth to 14 months. You will always start with BabyGym 2 if baby has been born. It is the Firm

Foundations programme. I always recommend it from birth onwards until their 1st milestone of crawling, however if

baby is not yet reaching walking and has not done BabyGym 2, then they need to do BabyGym 2 before doing

BabyGym 3.

We are still promoting that mum and dad, if possible, do the BabyGym 2 programme whilst on maternity leave which

is usually 0-3 months.

Remember also from a legal and licence point of view you may not do BabyGym with any baby unless the baby is

registered with the BabyGym Institute (R130 excl vat). You are only able to register them by registering BabyGym 2,

special needs etc.

So to summarise if you get an inquiry from a pregnant parent, promote BabyGym 1. If baby has been born, they are

ready to work together and do BabyGym 2. If they are worried that they did not do BabyGym 1, explain that it is ok,

they are going to get the info that they need regarding touch and sucking in the weeks to follow with BabyGym 2.

Remember BabyGym 2 does not have to be done in 5 weeks, we can slow it down and spend extra time on each

week if need be and do it over a longer period. Familiarise yourself with what is on www.babygym.co.za as this is

what parents are reading about BabyGym.

Wishing you all a lovely warm week ahead, filled with lots of smiles and wriggling bodies.

Kind regards Joanne Bradley Head of BabyGym Training

What’s new under ‘downloads’ on the BabyGym Instructors site?

BabyGym 1 Discount & Gift Voucher

Graduation day invitation

Celebrating 10 years of BabyGym... with a cruise!

As mentioned in our previous BabyGym News the quote for our cruise in 2012 was far more than the costs we

anticipated, but the excitement of the cruise hasn’t faded and hence we propose that we celebrate BabyGym’s

10 year birthday with a Cruise on the MSC Opera! The cruise will also serve as our annual BabyGym Babble and

count toward points for the year of 1 March 2013 -28 February 2014 although the cruise will take place during

February 2013. Please take note of the following:

Cruise date: 15- 17 February 2013

Estimated cost pp: R3000.00

Depart and arrive at: Durban Harbour

Accommodation: 2 Instructors per cabin Included in cruise fare Excluded from the cruise fare

Accommodation on board All drinks (All drinks at dinner times are excluded)

Meals on board, breakfast, lunch and dinner Items of a personal nature

The following drinks at the buffet restaurant only: Items not mentioned above Breakfast: Coffee, tea, juices, water dispensers available Transfers to and from the harbor approximately R220 per Lunch: water dispenser’s available person return

All Live entertainment on board Flights

Mandatory on board services charges MSC Opera: a masterpiece on the seas The MSC Opera cruise ship certainly lives up to her name - classic, grand, opulent - and really is a luxury liner with something to sing about! A true sense of grandeur and spaciousness prevails on MSC Opera, one of MSC Cruises’ most welcoming cruise liners. Displaying

the hallmark Italian style found on all of MSC Cruises’ stately ships, the public areas are enhanced by a sweeping marble reception area and magnificent open spaces with glass walls in order to best exploit the fabulous ocean views. To travel on MSC Opera is to experience the best of old-fashioned elegance with the best of modern home comforts. Once onboard MSC Opera you can look forward to a truly authentic Italian experience: enjoy an espresso at the coffee bar or indulge in a typical handmade Italian treat at the ice cream bar. Take Italian lessons, stop by the Internet Café or catch up on news back home and make use of our Wi-Fi spots in select areas of the ship. And when evening falls, join us for an elegant seven-course dinner followed by outstanding entertainment in our splendid Teatro dell' opera.

Let the saving start! We will need to make a booking and pay our non-refundable deposits for the cruise by the end of July 2012!

Activity reports for May 2012

Taalontwikkeling

Izienne van Jaarsveld

1. KOMMUNIKASIEMODEL

SPREKER / LUISTERAAR ↔ BOODSKAP ↔ LUISTERAAR / SPREKER (geskrewe of gesproke & verbaal / nieverbaal) 2. DEFINISIE: Taal is die reeks van simbole wat ons gebruik om ’n boodskap oor te dra. 3. TAAL KAN VERDEEL WORD IN: Reseptiewe taal; die vaardigheid om taal te verstaan Ekspressiewe taal; die wyse waarop ons onsself uitdruk deur taal te gebruik.

4. AREAS VAN TAAL

5. GEHOORKWESSIES Die algemeenste oorsaak van spraakprobleme is gehoorverlies. ’n Baba met ’n gehoorgebrek mag klanke begin maak op dieselfde ouderdom as ’n baba met normale gehoor, maar hy hoor nie die klanke wat hy maak nie. Hy hoor ook nie ander klanke in die omgewing nie. Hierdie gebrek aan terugvoer van buite strem sy vordering. Sy gehoor sal beperk wees weens die feit dat hy nie op klanke kan reageer nie. ’n Neonatale gehoorsiftingstoets deur ’n oudioloog net na geboorte (dag 2 of 3) word sterk aanbeveel! Onthou, kinders word gebore bedraad om taal aan te leer, maar dit beteken nie noodwendig dat ’n kind gebore word met taalvaardighede nie. Sy/haar begripsvermoë van gesproke/ekspressiewe taalvaardighede moet mettertyd ontwikkel word deur middel van stimulasie en ervaring. 6. SPRAAK- EN TAALONTWIKKELING (GEBOORTE TOT 24 MAANDE)

WYSE Hoe ons iets sê

GEBRUIK Hoekom ons iets sê

INHOUD Wat ons sê

Gorrel ±6 weke – Baba begin reageer op jou glimlaggende gesig en stem met baie borrel- en gorrelgeluidjies – dit is sy manier van kommunikeer. Geboorte – 6 maande: Vroeë kommunikasie

Jou baba verstaan nog nie taal nie. Baba sal begin om op harde geluide te reageer deur te skrik en op jou stem deur te kalmeer. Op drie maande sal baba sy kop begin draai wanneer hy ’n stem of interessante klank hoor. Ouers en babas is van die begin af vennote in kommunikasie. Hulle ontwikkel ’n patroon van beurtafwagting – dit is die basis van kommunikasie. ’n Goeie voorbeeld van vroeë beurtafwagting is tussen die pasgebore baba en sy mamma tydens voedingstye. Mamma en pasgebore baba kyk vir mekaar. Wanneer die baba aktief suig, is die mamma passief. Sy hou aan om vir haar baba te kyk. Wanneer baba ophou suig, word mamma aktief deur met baba te praat. Wanneer baba weer begin suig, pas mamma haar gedrag aan by baba s’n – hulle maak beurte. Beurte maak is die basis van kommunikasie. Al gebruik babas nie woorde nie, interpreteer ouers hul gedrag asof die baba probeer om te kommunikeer. Wanneer babas na gesigte of voorwerpe kyk, glimlag of na voorwerpe gryp, reageer ouers asof hulle kommunikeer. Wanneer ’n baba na mamma of pappa kyk en glimlag, reageer hulle deur terug te glimlag. Ouers reageer asof die baba ’n gesprek begin het. Wanneer die baba wegdraai, staak die kommunikasie. Op hierdie stadium van ontwikkeling vertoon die baba nog nie opsetlike gedrag nie, maar ouers reageer asof die baba probeer het om te kommunikeer. Die baba leer hoe om kommunikasie te inisieer en kommunikasie te beëindig.

Koergeluide Enkellettergreepstadium – Later ontwikkel hierdie klanke in eerste woorde – “maa”, “paa” – baba verstaan nie wat hy sê nie.

Brabbel ±5 maande – Brabbel – gebruik verskeidenheid van patrone van klanke om te kommunikeer. Tonaliteit van sy stem verander wanneer hy jou aandag wil trek of jou probeer namaak wanneer jy sing of met hom praat. 7–12 maande: verstaan roetine Gedurende hierdie stadium leer babas om ’n mate van beheer uit te oefen op hul omgewing deur middel van kommunikasie. Hulle begin gesigsuitdrukkings, stembuiging en gebare gebruik, bv. deur na voorwerpe te wys om te kommunikeer. Op hierdie stadium kan ons nie praat van babas wat taal verstaan nie. Deur daaglikse aktiwiteite soos voeding en slaaptyd oor en oor te ervaar, begin hulle egter verwag dat dinge op ’n sekere manier sal gebeur. Hierdie “roetine” vorm die basis van hul vroeë begrip van gebeure in die wêreld.

Vroeë taal ±1 jaar – Begin klanke gebruik met tonaliteit en klem. Eerste woorde

Eerste woorde – 12–15 maande, verstaanbare woorde, eerste woorde sal name wees van dinge wat belangrik is vir baba.

12–24 maande: Eerste woorde Rondom baba se eerste verjaarsdag sal hy of sy woorde begin gebruik i.p.v. klanke. Kinders bou ’n woordeskat van om en by vyftig woorde op teen die tyd dat hulle omtrent twee jaar oud is. Hierdie woorde sluit gewoonlik name van voorwerpe en mense asook aksiewoorde in. Jou kind verstaan ook nou woorde. Name van voorwerpe en sommige aksiewoorde word herken wanneer hulle in ’n bekende situasie gebruik word. Kinders sal reageer asof hulle opdragte wat aan hulle gegee word, verstaan omdat die opdrag sekere woorde bevat wat bekend is uit hul daaglikse roetine.

Eerste sinne ±15 maande – Woordeskat brei ongelooflik uit – voor tweede verjaarsdag brei woordeskat baie uit – gebruik twee woorde saam om kort sinne te maak, bv. “Ek sit”. Kind voeg woorde saam om sinne te vorm. Vroeë probeerslae sluit tweewoordfrases in, bv. “Eet koekies”. Hierdie frases brei later uit na volsinne van drie of vier woorde, bv. “Ek eet koekies nou” rondom die ouderdom van drie jaar.

Onthou: Bogenoemde mylpale is slegs riglyne. 7. ALGEMENE IDEES VIR OPTIMALE STIMULASIE:

Gebruik die vyf sintuie gedurende taalstimulasie.

Let op hoe jy met jou kind/baba praat. Gebruik korter, eenvoudige sinne. Maak oogkontak gedurende kommunikasie. Raak aan jou baba wanneer jy sy of haar aandag wil trek. Gebruik gesigsuitdrukking en tonaliteit gedurende kommunikasie. Vermy babataal.

Beperk TV.

Storieleesaktiwiteite is ’n moet!!

Praat met jou baba vanaf geboorte – dit vorm die basis van vroeë taalontwikkeling.

Boots jou kind na – alle klanke, kommunikasie en woorde en later aksies wat jou kind uitvoer.

Wees konkreet – gebruik regte voorbeelde – moenie slegs voorwerpe benoem wanneer nuwe woorde aangeleer word nie.

Leer moet lekker wees!!!!!

Luister na jou kind – Buig tot op jou kind se vlak, maak oogkontak en luister na hom of haar. Reageer op wat jou kind sê. Wys vir jou kind dat jy belangstel in wat hy sê. Maak seker jou kind het genoeg geleenthede waar ander mense na hom kan luister.

Gee jou kind genoeg tyd om te reageer. Jou kind mag ’n tydjie neem om sy gedagtes en gevoelens te orden en in woorde om te sit. Moenie hom of haar in die rede val nie.

Moenie druk op jou kind plaas nie – deur juffrou te speel, vrae te vra soos Wat? Wat? Wat? Moenie te veel druk op jou kind plaas om te praat nie. Jou kind sal nie voor ander mense wil “opvoer” nie.

Carolyn A. Wiener, M.A., C.C.C. Is My Child’s Speech or Language Delayed? Leslie S. McColgin. Disorders of Speech and Language Leslie S. McColgin. The Speech and Language Glossary Elizabeth Skrakis-Doyle, Ph.D. Speech Development Elizabeth Skrakis-Doyle, Ph.D. Language Development

Controlled movement versus ADHD

Melodie de Jager

The human body was designed to move.

It is the early movement experiences that lay the foundation

of what follows

C. Krebbs

Movement

is a change in the position of your body

is a particular way of moving your body

is to begin ‘doing’ using muscles

leads to change and development.

In a nutshell movement is to use your muscles to do something. There are many different kinds of movement – there is reflexive movement to make sure you stay alive (breathing, heart beat etc.); there is also primitive movements to guide the child through the developmental phases (Moro reflex, rooting and sucking reflex etc.); there is also postural reactions to keep you upright (Parachute, Ocular Head Righting, etc.); basic movement (rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, etc.); skilled movement (holding an implement, tying a shoe lace, skipping with a rope, writing, etc.); expressive or creative movement (communicating ideas and concepts, dance, mime, etc.) and other functional movements that fulfils a specific purpose at home, in school or on the sports field. The neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert gets directly to the heart of movement when he asks: ‘Why do we and other animals have brains? We have a brain for one reason and one reason only, and that's to produce adaptable and complex movements. Movement is the only way you have of affecting the world around you’. But what does he mean by ‘movement is the only way you have of affecting the world around you’? He is saying that the only way you can make an impact is by moving. It also means that you cannot show that you have learned without moving. It is by tying a shoelace or cutting on a line, or reciting a poem, or writing a test that you can show what has been learned. ‘Knowing’ is not evidence that learning has taken place, only output through doing and moving provides evidence that learning has taken place.

Learning has occurred when a person can do something he was incapable of before.

Honey and Mumford

Controlled & uncontrolled movement

Muscles cannot think, but they can rest or move. When muscles move they either:

react reflexively without thinking – uncontrolled movement (hyperactivity) or

respond, by thinking before acting – controlled, planned and skilled movement.

Uncontrolled movement can clearly be seen when a child is clumsy; battles to sit still; can’t wait to answer a question and shouts the answer out; finds it difficult to work with others and finds sharing a desk close to impossible. When a child still has limited control over his muscles concentration is very difficult and it often gives rise

to ADHD, bulling and poor social skills, to name a few. It is not as if the child plans to be disruptive or awkward, it just happens all on its own. Such a child moves without thinking. Controlled and skilled movement on the other hand can be seen when a child moves and acts in a coordinated and controlled manner. He can line up without standing to close or bumping into others; he can kick and catch a ball without moving his jaw or biting his tongue. Such a child has learned through many repetitions to control his instinctive need to move freely. He has practiced his movements many times over the years to become so refined, that he can now act in a skilful and planned manner by coordinating thought with planning the order and timing of movement.

Gross and fine motor movement

Movement not only refers to gross motor movements such as running and jumping and skipping, but also to fine motor movement. Fine motor movement are more skilled movements usually involving the mouth, fingers, toes and eyes. Fine motor movement can only develop fully, once the gross or big motor muscles have developed. That is why children under the age of six need to spend so much time outside running, climbing, jumping, pushing, hanging, kicking, throwing and catching to develop the big muscles in their shoulders, hips, trunk, arms and legs way before they are able to sit upright and still on a chair. It is only once these gross motor skills have developed enough that they can keep their bodies still without thinking about sitting still. It is only now that they can develop and coordinate the fine motor muscles of the hands, eyes and mouth to cut on a straight line or colour in between the lines or a bit later to read and write with ease. That means that rhythm, speech, writing and reading are skilled physical movements, based on the development of -firstly the gross motor muscles, and secondly the fine motor muscles.

Development of movement

A child is not born with fully developed muscles due to the limited space in utero. Muscles need to develop, but they do not develop in isolation. Muscles develop alongside the development of the three layers of the brain. This can best be illustrated by thinking of a child’s physical development in terms of a two storeyed building. The ground floor houses the basic workings for survival and that means being aware of his environment and to be aware, he needs wide awake senses. His senses tell him if he is safe or if he needs to fight, run away or freeze and blend with the woodwork. So the ground floor houses all the senses – the sense of touch, smell taste, hearing and sight, but senses without muscles to fight, run away or freeze are no good. The ground floor therefor also houses all the basic muscle movements - reflexive movements (breathing, heartbeat, etc.); basic movements and postural reactions. Thinking is not housed on this floor, nor is caring. This floor is called survival movement. Once a child has spent enough time on the ground floor making all the different primitive movements, he needs to learn how to control his most primitive movements. He learns control by progressing to rolling over, sitting up and later by getting onto an all fours. When a child has progressed to crawling, he has reached the first floor. The first floor houses confidence, emotions, self-esteem, health and caring. These feelings develop as moms and dads cheer baby on when his movements become more complex. The movements housed on the first floor are typical human movements that call for major celebrations, movements such as crawling, separating the thumbs from the other fingers to grasp and handle objects, making different sounds but no words yet, as well as pulling himself up into an upright posture and later to walk with ease. Developmentally the first floor links movement to emotional development - a phase that is vital before a child can make friends and get along with others. It is only once a child has had enough of me-time (emotional development), that he is ready for we-time (social development). Basic games like hide and seek are housed here, as is jumping on the bed, chasing each other, swinging, playing on a slide or on a roundabout. This floor is called social movement.

The lift can only reach the second floor if it has been on the ground floor and the first floor for long enough. The second floor is called skilled or controlled movement. These movements take a long time and many different movement opportunities to develop, opportunities to move freely and to move on instruction; with and without music; with and without equipment like scarves, and bean bags, big and small balls, balancing beams, hoops or planted tyres. They develop when involving fantasy and drama and dance. They also develop when spending many hours outside climbing, running, jumping and rolling while converting gross motor movement into fine motor movement. For this conversion to take place, a child first needs to learn to stop moving.

Balance is not moving

Balance means that a child has developed his gross motor muscles so well, he is now able to remain steady in an upright position while moving or not moving. Once a child has a sense of balance, he is really ready to progress to chair and table, paper, crayons and scissors, but not before. The scary thing is that more children seem to be diagnosed with hyperactivity every year.

Balance = controlled movement = absence of hyperactivity

There are many reasons why a child can be labelled hyperactive: a lack of discipline, poor diet, aberrant primitive reflexes, chemical imbalances and many more. Sometimes a child may appear to be hyperactive because he has not moved enough to find his balance. Balance is that perfect spot between left or right; between backward or backward; and between lying down and standing up straight and can only develop through lots of movement. In a nutshell: a child has to move a lot before he can sit or stand still. Balance is not developed by any kind of movement, the child needs to learn to control his movement before he can develop balance. Reading, writing and reasoning becomes seriously compromised if a child cannot be still, because a body that moves uncontrollably works just like a GPS that continuously ‘recalculates’ without completing a task.

Movement & learning

Learning involves the building of skills, and skills are built through the movement of muscles. According to Goddard (2002):

if a child has immature pathways between his senses and muscles (ground floor), it correlates with

uncontrolled and inappropriate movements

a child needs to consciously compensate for these uncontrolled movements by using mental energy, focus

and concentration to control movement and posture resulting in less mental energy, focus and

concentration available with which to think and learn

because, like the lift, nerve pathways must pass through the phases of survival movement to reach the

higher functional areas of the brain, an immaturity within the survival brain will have detrimental effects on

the higher centres of the brain (emotional and cognitive centres).

In a nutshell: a child’s behaviour is a direct result of his or her ability or inability to control his or her movement. If the body cannot be still, neither the heart nor the mind be still and concentrating. De Jager, M. 2010. Mind Moves – moves that mend the mind. JHB: Mind Moves Institute. De Jager, M. 2012. What does controlled movement have to do with learning? JHB: Mind Moves Institute. Goddard, S. 2002. Reflexes, learning and behaviour. Oregon: Fern Ridge Press. TEDGlobal, 2011. Daniel Wolpert. The real reason for brains, online video, accessed 10 February 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_wolpert_the_real_reason_for_brains.html