IM is now used by therapists at TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehab Hospital, named one of America’s Top 10 Rehab Hospitals. You may recall TIRR in the news recently as the hospital that treated Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after her traumatic brain injury. We are pleased that therapists at TIRR have chosen to add IM to their treatment tools as they lead the way in advanced rehabilitation.
These safety rules for ADHD children may seem obvious, but we find that reminders seldom hurt — especially for caregivers who don't live every day with attention deficit and hyperactivity.
A parent or older sibling must always supervise free play.
Stop his jumping or running sooner than you might with another child.
When outside, hold hands.
When out for a stroll, walk on the side that's closer to the street.
Be ready to stop a child with your actions, not words, should he happen to dart off.
Hold hands in stores or malls, or place the child in a wagon or cart with a seat belt.
Article Published on Additude magazine.
Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy
One of my favorite groups of patients to work with using Interactive Metronome® are those affected by hemiplegia. These are my kiddos who either totally neglect one of their arms, or who only use their arm when absolutely necessary. They constantly hear “use both hands” or “use your helper hand” time and time again. There are other options for those affected with hemiplegia such as constraint-induced therapy, which can also be beneficial, but IM is a great way to get them to start using their affected upper extremity.
IM helps with reading skills
One of the things that many of the parents of the children whom I have worked with have told me while we were doing IM sessions was that they noticed some type of improvement with reading. Some of these children had difficulty with reading and letter recognition from the start, and others did not, but improvement was still observed by parents or teachers.
Are you looking for a gift for your child who is participating in IM sessions? Parents at our clinic ask me all the time what would be a good gift for their child. Something to enhance their therapy yet is fun. Below I’ve listed some games which can be found at the Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon or Toys R Us, so they are easy to find.
Teenage autism and social Isolation
Hanging out with friends after school is a big part of a teenager’s life and is crucial for developing people and communication skills. For those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social activity is very rare, especially after school and out of the family circle. This is something that has kept Professor Paul Shattuck of Washington University in St. Louis busy for many years; he says that limited or absent peer relationships can negatively influence health and mental health, especially during this difficult age.
