“No one told us how important movement is…everyone moves and of course it’s linked to independence. Thank you for breaking it down.” Parents, Sydney workshop
Feldenkrais & Autism
A Feldenkrais approach to movement calms the nervous systems down, inviting the child to breathe a little more, to slow down and begin to feel and listen to their internal intelligence.
Calming down systems, offering a sense of grounding and providing opportunities to learn through sensation enables children to function in more connected ways.
Calmer, more connected, with a greater sense of self the child can engage with the world around them in a more meaningful way.
Learning through movement and sensation can help with
- Challenging behaviours
- Self-stimulatory behaviours, known as stimming – bouncing, spinning, tip toeing movements, flapping or fidgeting hands and bubbling vocalisations.
- Melt downs, times of being over and underwhelmed, moments of crisis.
- Clearer verbal and non-verbal communication
- More connected movements and coordination
Feldenkrais & Neurological Movement Conditions
Working with how the child is already moving invites their body and brain to work together. Inviting this joined up approach and respecting the neuroplasticity of the brain helps with learning and integrating new movements.
It could be the child is already rolling, sitting, crawling or walking and are wanting to move onto the next developmental stage but they are a little stuck. Working with Feldenkrais joins the movement dots. When the child feels more connected to themselves they can coordinate their own movements and begin to have greater control of their body.
Learning through movement and sensation can help with
- Involuntary movements and spasms
- Softening high tonus of muscles
- Developing fine and gross motor skills
- Coordination of fine and gross motor skills
- Finding move stability and balance in sitting and walking
- Moving more independently
Feldenkrais is fantastic for children with
- Cerebral Palsy
- Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities
- Undiagnosed disabilities and conditions linked with Global Development Delay
- Building solid movement foundations for coordination
- Developing verbal and non-verbal communication
- Developing independence
Each Practitioner brings skills and knowledges from their backgrounds of working with children with physical, sensory, learning and neurological conditions through a movement modality.
Looking for more information?
Movement My First Language Website © 2019. Photo credits: Laura Montag for Lou Coleman.
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