Why is my child’s body always floppy, and why does he run funny?
Why is my child’s body always floppy, and why does he run funny?
Parents notice all sorts of things about their children, and something that crops up time and time again is the problem of awkwardness and coordination. This isn’t about the child’s performance at sports day. Rather it’s the quality of their everyday movement.
One parent told me: “When my child runs, his arms are flopping around like they don't know what purpose they serve when running.” Another said, “He is constantly bumping and tripping over things.”
These observations are valid, and may indicate a wider brain/body issue that needs attention.
Our bodies play an essential role in learning, and movement is critical to good brain development. A child's brain is constantly taking information from the external environment and assessing their level of safety, threat or comfort. How your child moves can give you and others many clues into their world.
Do they have any other coordination issues?
Parental observation is hugely important in working out if there is a problem, and getting evidence for what that problem might be. You may not be a professional therapist, but no-one know your child better than you! So, what other things could be concerning you?
For example, do they write numbers in a strange way, starting from the bottom up, instead of top down? Do they hold their pencil in a way that looks awkward or even painful? Do they struggle to concentrate for any length of time on one activity?
Then there is language: does your child seems to memorise spellings well in tests, but the exact spellings are lost two weeks later? Can they talk about a favourite topic for hours on end, but struggle to tell you what happened during school that day?
Perhaps the school seems to think nothing is wrong, but you feel overwhelmed with similar worries and you think you should do your research – which may be why you are here reading this blog, today!
One day they can be a genius, but the next….
What can baffle you the most is that some days your child is as sharp as a tack but on others there is total disassociation. This inconsistency makes you doubt yourself at times, and you might even start to think you are being a neurotic parent!
In all honesty, this is the nature of neuro-divergence: it does not always fit one neat package. It is a mishmash of many different things and so it can be very challenging to pinpoint where you need to start.
But please do not despair: there are specialists who can make sense of everything and make a massive difference to your child's overall educational outcome and quality of life.
Occupational Therapy is an excellent place to start, but…
Occupational Therapy can be very effective in dealing with specific issues such as co-ordination ad handwriting. If you want to find our more, visit The Royal College of Occupational Therapists website. You will be able to get an assessment from them and learn more about how they can help.
However, you should understand that not all Occupational Therapists are experts in coordination and academic performance. They may tackle the balance issues and core strength, but they won't look into why your child writes their numbers in a funny way and why there seems to be little consistency when writing those numbers, for example. They will not link it to the occasional letter/number reversal.
You may find six months of handwriting practice will result in good handwriting, but the transfer of those skills will not resonate in other areas of fine motor control such as jigsaw puzzles or using a keyboard. You still need to deal with the underlying issues to make any long-lasting, healthy progress.
…you might need a different kind of help
Neurocognitive Therapists specialise in addressing how individuals move and they make sense of the very things you find quirky in your child. Reflex Integration therapy focuses on those issues that have prevented a child developing basic foundations skills post-birth due to birthing trauma or developmental gaps.
Reflex Integration therapy does not pigeon hole your child by giving them labels. Instead, it addresses all the issues that are holding your child back and helps them fill in the missing links.
You can help too!
Therapies like the Balance Auditory Vision Exercise Bal-A-Vis-X are inclusive enough for parents to learn too. Bal-A-Vis-X uses techniques that you can learn to do with your child without having to be a trained neuroscientist. Simple exercises allow a child to get a full complement of skills to learn with spontaneity.
So if you are worried about your child's poor coordination, give us a call and let's see how we can make sense of things and change the trajectory.
Dyslexia? Dyspraxia? ADHD? ASD? Speech & Language? Developmental Delay? Anxiety?
Is every school day a struggle? As a parent, you may feel exhausted and on this journey alone. Each year you see the gap getting wider. You need to do something - change the approach, help your child learn for themselves, find a way to turn this around - to help while you can - do this NOW. the first step is free.