Debbie,
Do you know at what age such programs are appropriate and effective? My son has problems with coordination and balance (his running is very clumsy, cannot catch a ball well, cannot walk the balance beam no matter how low, etc.). I can imagine interventions like that could be helpful in the future if he does not improve. But he is only 3 right now (almost 4) and I don't know if he would cooperate or enjoy such formal programs. Also, at this age, it is not clear whether he has a serious problem or whether it's just his age and personality. He is very cautious and the activities he prefers are naturally sedentary (reading, computer, etc.). I was that way when I was little - I hated gym classes, occasionally got teased for lack of athleticism, could never quite master those childhood activities that come so easily for many like swimming and riding a bike... I guess I'm a natural nerd at heart, but aren't there a lot of "normal" people like that? Nobody, including myself, ever thought there was anything wrong with me. At what point in the spectrum do we decide what is normal and what is problematic? If my son grows to accept that he will never be graceful and feels perfectly happy to give up on becoming a professional athlete, should I still worry about getting him formal help?
Sorry, I guess I'm starting to ramble. I feel conflicted about how to deal with my son who has many amazing talents but also some unusual deficits. I want to prevent any harm to his self esteem by providing opportunities to correct his problems early on, but I'm also afraid that if I intervene unnecessarily, my efforts might actually do more harm than good. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Junior
Junior:
I think you are wise to keep an eye on things and also being very conscientious about what is "normal" versus a "disorder." My opinion is that old saying "if ain't broke, don't fix it." In this situation, if your son is happy then "it ain't broke."
Occasionally I see a child whom the doctor is worried about because of motor coordination problems, but the child is happy, the parents are happy and the "problems" don't interfere with the child's daily activities or family activities to any extent that is considered "dysfunctional." In those cases, even if the skill level is below average, I don't do treatment. If, however, the child is not succeeding in kid tasks, the parents are concerned because of social isolation and their child being "left behind" by peers or either parent or child is stressed due to the problems, then I recommend treatment.
Earlier in this thread I think I shared what a psychologist told me about gifted kids. I have heard others say similar things. Sometimes a child is gifted in some areas and typically developing in others. The asynchronous development can make it *appear* that there is a disorder or the child is below average because the other areas of development are exceptional. But it is important to recognize what is "typical" for a given age. I think it is also important to realize that there are sooooooo many different areas of development and they can't all possibly develop at the same rate across the board. Some kids have spurts of motor skill development while verbal skills sort of idle or vice versa. These differences are especially evident in early childhood. I'm noticing with my own son, almost 7 now, that the asynchronous development is starting to have a smaller gap, just like all the experts say should happen!
As far as the formal programs, Interactive Metronome is recommended for age 6 and up. I find it difficult to engage a child under the mental age of 8 or with severe attention deficits in the program. But it is the therapist's job to find the motivators! I have read some literature from the IM company that there are therapists using the program in modified form with children as young as 2 years. But I don't have any personal experience with this. Therapeutic Listening can be done in children under 2, but not with the headphones. There are strict criteria for the administering the program for kids that young. Over 2 years you use the headphones, which is much more effective for the auditory stim. I find Therapeutic Listening very effective in the age group of 2 to 7 years. I often use it as a precursor to IM training for older children (6-9 years) when there are significant auditory processing issues or attention issues.
Sorry, I get pretty long winded on topics I'm passionate about! Hope I managed to answer your questions.
