How is NeuroNet and Balametrics different than Occupational Therapy for Sensory Integration Disorder? I see a lot of similarities in learning to deal with balance, and tracking moving objects.
Also how hard is it to use the Balametric board? It seems like an expensive piece of equipment.
I understand the connection with visual processing to balance. But, I’m not sure I understand how balance ties to memory storage and retrieval. Is it that the body is using up its resources to maintain balance when it is not automatic, rather than using that “brain power” for memory?
You reminded me though how my son’s teacher use to have all the kids sit on big bouncy balls during circle time when he was in kindergarden. Thanks for the info. again Mary. You are a wealth of knowledge.
Rosie
Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed and helpful response. We’ve done OT for years, and frankly once or twice a week had some benefits, but never a big impact. We’ve just started PACE. Once PACE is complete I am going to start trying some of these other programs. I think daily repetition is the key to success and real change.
Thanks again.
Rosie
Here’s an excerpt from the Out of Sync Child that links the vestibular system to the auditory system that might help you.
We have been doing NN instead of OT. Both approaches located my son’s problems in the vestibular system. I haven’t done the OT so I can’t completely compare the exercises but there is a difference in approach.
NN emphasizes daily practice in retraining the brain. OT, at least where I am, was mainly office based. I tried to get a home program without a whole lot of success.
NN tests for auditory processing problems, retreival, visual, and fine motor. My son had problems in three of out four areas. We have used the balance board from ballametrics (easy to use) as well as a rotational board (goes in circles) that was designed by ballametrics folks for NN.
We have used a large ball for bouncing. My son started with alternating his name and letters of the alphabet. Now he is doing novel three syllable words (different one every day) with letters of the alphabet. He now puts his arms up in the in rhythm as opposed to clapping. This works on the vestibular system and builds auditory memory.
He also has stood on balance board and hit a swinging ball with alternating fingers. This works on small motor development and vestibular system.
The Vestibular System and Auditory-Language
Process
by Carol Stock Kranowitz, MA.
As they research their child’s disability, many parents learn about sensory integration and the importance of the
body’s vestibular system, perhaps the most basic of all the sensory systems. Initially they learn that the vestibular
system coordinates body movements, maintains balance and equilibrium, and helps children develop normal
muscle tone. It is not as immediately apparent, though, how the vestibular system influences auditory-language
processing. However, the vestibular system plays a significant role in the development of language, so that
children with vestibular dysfunction may also have auditory-language processing problems.
It’s important to realize that the vestibular and auditory systems work together as they process sensations of
movement and sound. These sensations are closely intertwined, because they both begin to be processed in
receptors of the ear.
Audition, or hearing, is the ability to receive sounds. We are born with this basic skill. We can’t learn how to do
it; either we hear, or we don’t. The ability to hear does not guarantee, however, that we understand sounds. We
are not born with the skill of comprehension; we acquire it, as we integrate vestibular sensations. Gradually, as
we interact purposefully with our environment, we learn to interpret what we hear and to develop sophisticated
auditory processing skills. Some auditory processing skills include the following:
Auditory discrimination - differentiating among sounds
Auditory figure-ground - discriminating between sounds in the foreground and background
Language - the meaningful use of words, which are symbols representing objects and ideas.
Language is a code for deciphering what words imply and how we use them to communicate. Language that we
take in, by listening and reading, is call receptive. Language that we put out, by speaking or writing, is expressive.
Language and speech are closely related, but they are not the same. Speech is the physical production of sound.
Speech skills depend on smoothly functioning muscles in the throat, tongue, lips, and jaw. The vestibular system
influences motor control and motor planning that are necessary to use those fine muscles to produce intelligible
speech.
Because the vestibular system is crucial for effective auditory processing, the child with vestibular dysfunction
frequently develops problems with language. How do these problems play out? Here are some common
characteristics of children with poor auditory-language processing:
May seem unaware of the source of sounds and may look all around to locate where the sounds come
from.
May have trouble identifying voices or discriminating between sounds, such as the difference between bear
and bore.
May be unable to pay attention to one voice or sound without being distracted by other sounds.
May be distressed by noises that are loud, sudden, metallic, or high-pitched, or by sounds that don’t
bother others.
May have trouble attending to, understanding, or remembering what she reads or hears. She may
misinterpret requests, frequently ask for repetition, and be able to follow only one or two instructions in
sequence.
May look to others before responding.
May have trouble putting thoughts into spoken or written words.
May talk off topic, e.g. talk about his new shirt when others are discussing a soccer game.
May have trouble closing circles of communication. i.e. responding to others questions and comments.
May have trouble correcting or revising what he has said in order to be understood.
May have weak vocabulary and use immature sentence structure (poor grammar and syntax).
May have difficulty with reading (dyslexia), especially out loud.
May have trouble making up rhymes and singing in tune.
May have difficulty speaking and articulating clearly.
May improve her speaking ability after she experiences intense movement. Moving activates the ability to
speak.
The child with vestibular and language problems benefits greatly from therapy that simultaneously addresses both
types of dysfunction. Speech-and-language therapists report that just putting the child in a swing during treatment
can have remarkable results. Occupational therapists have found that when they treat a child for vestibular
dysfunction, speech-and-language skills can improve along with balance, movement, and motor planning skills.
And even without the assistance of therapists, children who move spontaneously often show enhanced ability to
verbalize their thoughts.
For more information on sensory integration, vestibular dysfunction, and auditory processing, check out the DDR
Sensory Integration link on-line at the following address: http://funnelweb. utcc.utk.edu/jroman/ddr/ddr.htm.
Excerpted from The Out-of-Sync Child: Understanding and Coping With Sensory Integration Dysfunction -In
press-due 1997