THE REACHING OF HIGHER COGNITIVE LEVELS SEEMS TO REQUIRE THE OVERCOMING OF GRAVITY - A DESCRIPTION OF A METHOD FOR SENSORY MOTOR TRAINING
Mats Niklasson B.A., NDT
Vestibularis ™ Pa rkgatan 11 S-383 31 Mönsterås, Sweden
E-mail: [email protected]
Introduc tion
The tra ining
A methodic al way of sensory motor training, Education in Bala nce™, with the s pecial aim of
giving the nervous syste m a second chance to mature, has given empirical results which indicates
that overcom ing gravity is of importancef or reaching higher cognitive levels.
We ar e born with a set of ' Primitive Reflexes ' ( Fundamental Movem ent Patterns ) which are
supposed to be inhibited during the first year of life. If one or more of these ' Reflexes ' remain
uninhibited it / they will partly close th e ner vous system and will most probab ly become a
hindrance for further physical and intellectual development.
The tr aining at Vestibularis™ seems to show that vestibular stimulance is a ne cessary component
when it comes to suppressing ' the Reflexes '.
The result of the training also gives support to McGraw's Neurobehavioral Theory of
1
Development and Consciousn ess.
T he clie nt is training 15 m in /day at ho me togethe r with a pare nt and is re-a ssessed and given new
e xercises eve ry eigh th we ek ove r a pe riod of two years.
During the fir st yea r of life, the ' Primitive Reflexe s ' are supposed to be suppressed to leave room
for Postural R eactio ns.As the la tter ap pear, rolling, cree ping a nd cra wling are likely to unfold.9
For rea sons u nknown, our clients hav e faile d to m ature in this particular neurological sense . The
a im of the tra ining is ther efore, as me ntione d abo ve, to give the nervous s ystem a sec ond chance
to matureby setting back the ne urolog ical c lock a nd repeating special and stereo typed movement
5
pattern s in a c ertain order.
Resul ts
At the e nd of the tr aining we find it empirically evide nt th at, as the ' Primitive Re flexes ' are
su ppres sed, the Pos tural R eactions an d the Gross Motor Miles tones unfold.
Our pre limina ry findings in a gr oup o f 60 ch ildren give measu rable suppo rtto the hyp othesis that
it is possible to give the nervous syste m a second chanc e to m ature , despite the clients age.7 We
have also fou nd tha t our c lient's ability to handle v estib ular stimulation im prove s duri ng the time
of training. T heir behaviour al so im prove s as well as the s elf-esteem and they ar e gene rally
p erforming b etter at sch ool. Accor ding to Orn itz 10 the v estibu lar system has th e gre atest
re spons ivness between 6 and 1 2 months with a le vel o f reactivity betwee n the age of 10 and 14
years.
Me th od
The Frames
Education in Balance is a method of sensory motor training developed by Mats and Irene
Niklasson ( Figure 1 ). The training is divided into five integrated parts and follow the sequ ence of
neural development.
2,3
4,5
1. Stereotypical, fetal and neona tal movements. Devise d by Blythe and Goddard Blythe,
Niklasson and Niklasson,7 following the patterns of the ' Primitive Reflex ' system.
” The early movements of the fetus and neonate, which were previously viewed as passive
byproducts of rapid neural wiring are now viewed as interactive,that is, having a rec iprocal effect
6
on the underlying structure and function of the central nervous system ”.
D isc u ss ion
It is my suggestion that the initially partly close d ner vous system opens up as a re sult o f the
se nsory motor training progra mme descr ibed. Another result fro m the training s eems to be
in creased pos sibilities to reach highe r cognitive levels . Sixty years ago, McGraw h ad a Neuro
Behavioral Theory of De velop ment and Consciousne ss as described b y Dalt on1 ( Figur e 2 ).
M cGra w describe d the impor tance of se quen tial or der in motor development.11 She also
1
su ggested that the c hallenge of overco ming gravity heig htene d consciousn ess.
Following our results of the training, I spec ulate that a driving force for gr owth and de velopment
is man's inbor n urge to overcom egrav ity.
T he influence of gravity u pon d evelopment seem s to be neglected so far but has to be recog nized
by pare nts, sc hools and the society at large. It is not sim ply a matter of be ing able to master one's
own bo dy, but also a matter of being able to deve lop a value capac ity. Th is is n ot fully pos sible
12
unless the wh ole b rain is involved. In or der to involve the whol e brain especially the c hilds
struggle again st gra vity must be taken serio usly.
2. Vestibular stimulation, which we find to be of importance for the integration of the stereotypical
7
movements into the nervous system.
” Stimulation of th e vestibular nuclei generates muscle tone and liberates the nervous syste m from
these infantile reflex patterns ”. 8
3. Games with the special aim of enhancing muscle strength and bo dy awareness.
4. Gross motor milestones. The unfolding of rolling, creeping and crawling mirrors the child's
possibility t o be disobedient to gravity.
5. Exercises in erect position. At the end of the programme the client is ready to train balance in
standing position.
A ckno wledgeme nts
Our clients and their reasons for training
Our clients are mainly c hildre n between the age s of 5 and 15. Most of them are intellectually an d
physically within the normal range. They a re essentially slow le arners, with or without
concentration problems. Some are diagnosed with ADHD or Damp (Scandinavian definition;
Deficits in a ttention, motor controla nd perception ).
Initially most of our clients have low self-esteem. They usually sho w bad or fru strated beha viour.
They are often regarded ' lazy ' when it comes to schoolwor k, either underachieving despite hard
effort or showing little or no interest although they are considered bright.
Initial Assessment
A set of prim itive reflexes and postu ral reactions are tested as well as the clients capability to roll,
creep, crawl and move in erect position. The client's ability to cope with rotation is also tested.
Each test is evaluated in terms of figures measuring from 0 to 4, where 0 means no difficulties an d
4 means severe difficulties.
I thank Dr. Bo Ahre nfelt, Johan nes Ahrenfe lt, Pro f. Ma tti Be rgström, Ilona Bolton and Dr. Peter
Åsman for va luable help.
Re fer e nc e s
1
Dalton Thomas C. The On togeny o f Cons ciou sness : John Dewey and M yrtle McGraw's Co ntribution
to a Science of Mind. Journa l of Consciousn ess Studies 199 9; 6: 3-26.
2. Thelen E. R hytmical stereot ypes in normal h uman infants. Anim Behav 1979; 27: 699-715.
3. Thelen E, F isher DM. The o rganisation of sp ontaneus leg mo vements in new born infants.
Motor Beha v 1983; 15: 353 -77.
4. GoddardS. Early learning in the balance:Priming the first ABC. Support for Learning 2000; 15,4:154-158.
5. GoddardS. A Teachers Win dow into the Chi ld's Mind. Eugen e, Oregon, U.S.A: Fern Ridge Press 1996.
6. McPh illips M, Hep per PG, Mulh em G. E ffects of rep licating primary-r eflex movements on specific
reading diff iculties in childr en: a randomise d,double-blind,controlled trial. T he Lancet 2000; 355: 537-41.
7. Niklasson M , Niklasson I. Evaluation of the method Education in Balance. In work.
8. Robbins J. Vestibular Integration Man's Con nection to the Ea rth. Somatics 1 977; Autumn: 2 7-36.
9. Capute A, Accardo PJ. Dev elopmental Disabilities In Infan cy And Childhood. Baltimore: P aul H Brookes
Publishing Co19 91.
10. Ornitz EM. Normal and Pat hological Maturation of Vestibul ar Function in th e Human Child.In: Romand R,
ed Develop ment of auditory and vestibular s ystem. New York: Academic Press, 1983: 479-53 5
11. McGraw M . Develo pmen t o f neuromusc ular mechanism s as reflected in the crawling and creeping
behaviour o f the human infant. The Journal of Genetic Psych ology 1941;58: 83-111.
12. Berg s trö m M. M ean ing an d t he Livi n g B rain . In : Py lk k äne n P, ed The Sea rch F o r M eani ng.
Wellingbor ough,Northamp tonshire, Englan d: Crucible, 198 9: 124-154.
Education in Balance™ , Vestibularis™and the Logotype are trademarks owned by Vestibularis™. © Vestibularis™ 2001