Occupational Therapy & Sense of Movement and Balance: Development of the Vestibular System
A child’s sense of movement and balance is centered within their vestibular system. The nerves that control the vestibular system and reactions, are located within a child’s inner ear where they sense changes in gravity and movement. The vestibular system provides information about movement and gravity. The sense also tells about the body motion, it’s direction and speed.
The vestibular system works by telling a child’s brain what direction they are moving in, whether their head is up, down or turned to the side, and helps a child feel the need to change and adapt their posture or position in order to stay upright and erect.
Some children do not register movement as well as others might, and so they tend to seek out movement so much so, that it seems like it is all the time!
In some children, their sense of vestibular movement is under-responsive, so these children continue to seek movement experiences. Sometimes children seek movement unconsciously even when they are involved in eating, watching TV, or listening to a story.
The sensory vestibular activities and ideas presented in this book, help to promote performance and tolerance to movement activities. The activities, ideas, exercises, and reference suggestions provided here also provide functional fun challenges against gravity to help children that may have difficulties with their equilibrium, balance, self-regulation, vestibular maturity, and adjusting to changes in sensory input throughout a child’s normal day.
Adding just a few vestibular activities to the day allows for long-lasting effects.
This book, written by an Occupational Therapist, will cover:
Sense of Movement and Balance: Development of the Vestibular System Introduction
Vestibular System Development
Examples of Sensory Seeking Behaviors
Common Behaviors of Sensory Seekers
OT Activities, Ideas, and Suggestions for Development of a Child’s Vestibular System
OT Vestibular Activities, Ideas, and Suggestions
Strategies for Reducing Sensory Vestibular Overload
Vestibular Strategies and Tolerance Levels
Sensory Gonge Top Use
Sensory Stimulation and Vestibular Activities with the Gonge Top
5 Types of Fidget Toys to Match Sensory Needs
Calming Fidgets
Alerting Fidgets
Chewy Fidgets
Tactile Stimulation Fidgets
Resistive and Heavier Input Fidgets
Heavy Work / Heavy Vestibular Work
Body Awareness / Vestibular Position in Space Awareness
Vestibular Body Awareness and Proprioception Games & Activities
Author, Judy Benz Duncan has been an Occupational Therapist for over thirty years. She has worked with children from infants to teenagers in numerous settings that included early intervention, pre-school programs, grade school, home health, developmental training centers, and sensory integration clinics.
Judy developed the foundation for designing therapeutic activities and tasks using interactive play and creative imagination to engage the children at a level they could easily relate to while working toward the achievement of their Occupational Therapy program’s functional goals and treatment plan
Judy attended the University of Florida, University of Kansas, and the University of Tennessee. She received New York State approval as a Supplemental Evaluator for OT with early intervention and pre-school students, and has helped develop and start an OT program for families and children in New York. Judy continues to stay up-to-date in the clinical field through mentoring other OT students and new graduates.
She continues to contribute to children, families and professionals everywhere through her professional writing endeavors which include writing books and manuals, managing the therapeutic website, TheraPlay4Kids.com, writing OT blogs and topic-specific articles, working on "interactive story play" book series, writing bi-weekly professional blogs for a pediatric orthopedic surgeon group, a psychiatrist, and an attorney at law. She continues to be an active mentor of new OT graduates, as well as OT students.
