This time of year really gets people thinking about toys. And while most people may be deciding between a Playstation 4 or Xbox One, neither system is the best decision children. Check out these helpful tips about toys that can actually teach while they entertain.
It’s a weekday afternoon at the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club and about a dozen children ages 5 to 8 enter the computer room. Each puts on headphones, straps a round plastic button to one hand and starts clapping.
Most of these children are struggling in school, and some have learning disabilities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder.
They are participating in a three- to four-week pilot program called Hardy Brain Camp, a unique form of therapy designed to help the young pupils focus and succeed in school.
By Hannah Guzik
Special to The Star
Posted August 23, 2012 at 4:05 p.m.
When Fred Davis lost both of his legs to infection –he thought his walking days were over.Then he was introduced to a therapy that combines movement and timing to help the brain redevelop motor skills. It’s called Interactive Metronome. For six months, Mederi Caretender therapist Tameka Walker has been helping Davis relearn to walk. "Left hand, right toe, left hand, right toe. Got it?” she instructs. To the chime of a cowbell, Davis steps one foot forward on a mat – and then pulls it back. Then, it’s the other foot, always sticking to the beat. If his rhythm is off, he hears an unpleasant buzz. Davis suffers from diabetes. In 2005 — he injured his toe. The untreated injury led to gangrene and an eventual amputation. In February of this year, another injury led to the loss of his right leg.
Preventing falls among patients in healthcare settings requires a comprehensive approach. As therapists we find that falls can result in hip fractures, head injuries or even death. In many cases, adults aged 65 years or older,who have experienced a fall, have a hard time recovering and their overall health deteriorates. One half of all older adults hospitalized for hip fracture never regain their former level of function. For our patients, the fear of falling results in self-limiting activities. It causes reduced mobility and fitness and ultimately predisposes them to falls.
Many of you are already familiar with Dr Kevin McGrew. You’ve read his intriguing and elucidating blog posts and you know he is affectionately referred to as The Time Doc because of his incessant interest (et..em, obsession ?) with any and all things related to mental timing. You may also know that his unique curiosity has lead to a vast collection of literature contained at one of his many blogs, The Brain Clock Blog. Dr McGrew’s singular effort to bring together and collectively analyze the existing literature has contributed greatly to our understanding of the role of temporal processing in various human abilities and medical conditions and how interventions like the Interactive Metronome may be improving the resolution, synchronicity, and performance of our internal clock…
A Brain-based Approach for ADHD and LD
Donna Abler, a holistic occupational therapist, is accepting summer registrations to help children overcome motor, behavioral and cognitive challenges associated with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD) through a natural, drug-free approach. Developed in the early 1990s, Interactive Metronome (IM) is a computerized, brain-based therapy tool that has gained national attention as a breakthrough intervention to support processing abilities in the brain, including language, motor and cognition skills. Its effectiveness is backed by clinical research…
Brain training helps Topeka child with ADHD
When Aaron Davis hears a beat his brain fires a reaction to his hands or his feet. When his parents, Richard and Brenda, see the mental to physical connection, they remember at one time the simple task was impossible. Richard says, "We get emotional. It's incredible, the difference."
A year ago, Aaron struggled in school, lacked social interaction, and seemed to be in a world of his own. Brenda says, "We were told he had a wheat allergy and he had a gluten allergy and to take all of that out of his diet. So we did that for a month and there was no improvement. Then we were told the natural food market has these wonderful vitamins and that will help. We tried that and nothing worked."
Doctors then told Richard and Brenda their son had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. The solution: medication. But Richard says, "He was still struggling in school, he was still behind."
Nothing made Aaron better. Just when the family had given up all hope, a friend suggested Interactive Metronome. A program that retrains the brain. Doctors say IM uses a repetitive exercise that changes or remaps neurons in a certain part of the brain resulting in a change in behavior. Brenda says, "The first time he went to IM, that night, we already saw a difference."
IM Provider April Christopherson OTR/L guest stars in the “Focus Point” Voice America National Radio program.
She discuses “The Shandy Clinic” in Colorado Springs, CO, Interactive Metronome, other programs that she has worked with, and the use of modalities to treat pediatrics (SPD, ADHD, Autism), TBI, and Stroke Rehab. The show also discusses the importance of rhythm and timing in the brain, and how it affects our everyday lives. You can listen to the interview at this link: VoiceAmerica
