Day 29 Ways to move - not all movement is created equal

Aloha sensory heroes. We are on week five. We have a couple lessons here. We are on day 29. So exciting. You've learned so much and I'm just, I'm just really, really proud of you. So this video is, is just to get you thinking about different ways to move. So in sensory integration we are always looking at vestibular and proprioceptive input with movement. So I'm going to help you think a little bit more like how we think. So most of the kids that we see, like almost every single one of them have an impaired sense of position in space. Their sensors in their muscles and in their joints, those internal sensors which are called proprioceptors, they are like somebody turned the volume way down. And some of the tests that we do to identify this is, you know, can they touch the very tip of their nose with the tip of their finger with their eyes closed? A 5 year old should be able to do that within a centimeter. Can they, do they, do they know where their body's in space? Are they bumping into things? Are they tripping onto things? They just don't get that tactile input and just don't even realize a of lot, lot of times when they're le, they do a lot of leaning and pushing and, and when I see them in the assessment room, we have a crash pad there, it's pretty, pretty clear who needs that sensory input because they just start crashing into it and doing flips or just jumping, jumping, jumping on the mat. You can see really quickly. So movement that stimulates the proprioceptors is pretty safe input. That's not going to be over stimulating typically. So because it's very organizing. So whenever we can add push and pull and carry into, into movement, it's going to make it more calming and organizing. So for example, especially for little kids, I like the little three and five pound balls, like little exercise balls you can get and have them carry that around with them and have them roll it down the slide or just carry it through the obstacles. They love, kids love balls. And so that's a really easy way. And it also engages the core. So pulling a wagon, pushing, you can have them, you can fill up a laundry basket and have them push the laundry basket. You can have them in the laundry basket, grab a towel and they have to hang on to the towel. So now they're contracting all their muscles, firing off those proprioceptors. So basically if it's making them grunt and they're using their muscles then I love it. That is going to be something that's going to really help them get more calm and get more organized. And one of my favorite, couple of my favorite ones are the wheelbarrow walk and tug of war. To really engage the proprioceptors. You can also do like a little push of war where they, you. They push on your hands and you just push as hard as you can. And that's an easy one that you can do even like in a grocery store or something. So just something where they're contracting all their muscles, there's resistance. And then they're going to be firing them off also when they compress their joints. So that's like when they're jumping, they're. They're compressing their joints and they're getting the input that way. So whenever I look at movement and I'm. I'm looking at children, I'm looking. That's one of the things I'm thinking about is are they getting some of that input to their muscles and joints in a more intense way. So at the clinic, we'll do things like say they're on a platform swing. We'll add pull ropes. So now they have to pull and balance and get the movement at the same time. So movement. In terms of movement through space, your vestibular sense, there are three different ways to move. There's vertical, diagonal, and horizontal. And so our semicircular canals inside our ear, our vestibular system have, they have like three loops and they're fluid filled with little hairs in there. And those are those motion detectors. And so if I'm going up and down, the fluids moving up and down, moving those little hairs, and then I get the message, oh, I'm going up and down. If I'm swinging, I'm getting the angular one, and if I'm spinning, then I'm getting that one that's more horizontal. So with, with those receptors, the change in the direction is, is going to be more stimulating because you're going to. Those hairs are going to be moving, triggering that message. So you're pretty safe with up and down and linear movements and angular movements are pretty safe to not overstimulate the child. The one that you have to be more aware of and conscientious of is rotary. Now, a lot of our kids need intense rotary, and they seek it. And so we will do. We call it kind of like fast blast. So we'll, we'll have them go fast, one way fast. Another way to get the hairs to move in the, in the semicircular canals. And we'll just do a few directions each way, stop and see if they feel a little dizzy, see if they feel it. It's always best if they're directing the movement. And, and a lot of times it takes a lot of intensity for them to feel anything. And so that is a very careful thing that we do in the clinic that we, that we figure out. But if you have a child that's just spinning for like hours and they just don't ever want to stop, you can try. You can try having them change directions back and forth and then see if they're starting to feel it. And if the, if they do feel it, that's when you want to stop, because vestibular input can last seven hours. So just like if you were on a boat, you go to bed, you feel like it. Everything's still moving. So it's the same thing. And it's the most. It's the first sense to develop in utero. And it's like, it's like our gps, it's like so important. And so when it's not working well in kids, for the most part, what we see is they're bouncing off the walls. Sometimes they're the opposite and they're afraid of movement. But most of the kids we see, they're just. Their body's telling them I need input to my muscles, to my joints, to my movement system. And so they're just literally seeking it all the time. And then that gets them in trouble when their body's telling them what it needs. And then that's not what the teacher needs or the parent needs because need them to sit. And a lot of times they don't have the core strength to sit still either. That's another thing that we see really often. So I just wanted to kind of create some awareness around movement and ways to move and things that are helpful and things that are not. I have as a bonus in here the best sports and activities that, that give these senses more input and are. Tend to be more calming and organizing for the kids versus some activities that are just kind of make them more stressed out, more chaotic. So that'll kind of give you some ideas. But now you can think of, like, when you're watching your child, like, you can think about it, what are they getting out of that? You know, so if they're doing an activity that, let's say they're hammering a nail, that's intense proprioception, that kind of movement is really, really feeding that sense. If they're out there Digging in the dirt and moving rocks and doing all that great kind of sensory play outside. They're just feeding, feeding their, their proprioceptive and tactile input. If they're on the swings all the time, on the trampoline all the time, rolling around on the floor, all that kind of stuff, then they're really seeking out the, the sense of movement. And so that will help you kind of like look at your child and, and think about like, oh, this is, this is what they're seeking out. And how can I, how can I give them more of what their body is, is craving? And it's a very, it's a very tricky thing in therapy for us to do it, like stay in that zone of like. So it's, it's a difficult thing for me to tell you how to do it, but a fair amount of it is intuitive. If you just kind of have this framework to observe your kids and then it can help you be more patient with them too. Like, oh, they need to move. They really need to move. So give them lots of opportunities to move. They're just not moving enough. You know, they're sitting a lot at school screen time, which I don't recommend having more than an hour a day. It's just, it's just they need to move. They need to be playing hard and be outside and just being kids, you know, so that is just a little overview on, on ways to move. It's all. Movement's not created equal. The best movement is really engaging the muscles and the joints and, and the most calming movements are more slow, linear, angular. The most, the more revving up type of movements are more rotary, unless you're super under, responsive in that vestibular system. And then that rotary movement is actually going to make you feel centered and calm. So it's kind of an interesting thing. But, but keep in mind, if the child is looking any different, there's their, their skin is changing color, their eyes are moving, they're feeling nauseous, they're, they're just, there's any change from basically being happy and interactive, you need, you need to stop the activity because that's the point where they're starting to get a little overstimulated. Even if they're just like more, more, more, you know, you got to know when to cut it off. And that's basically when you see them, you see a change in them of any kind, then you're like, okay, we need to take a little break here. If your child ever gets, you know, motion sick or you think you or they gotten really dizzy. One quick fix is a lot of proprioception. So a quick game of tug of war where every muscle's tightening up, co contracting. That can help calm that sense, the vestibular sense back down and make them feel not nauseous and not dizzy. I had one evaluation that this kiddo was so car sick on the way here, he. He was just green. And I spent the whole first 10 minutes just playing tug of war with him until he felt good. Then I was able to do the evel. So. Okay. Oh, we got our last day on the next video. Aloha.