THE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT
By Linda Kane, Author, M.CND, International Speaker
The Neurodevelopmental Approach is like no other approach to human development. It is unique in its method of looking at the whole individual, not the separate pieces. Taking the individual pieces, without an understanding of how they interrelate, will severely impede the success you will have in working with individuals – young and old.
If you have received a label, should receive a label, or are searching for a label for your child, whether the labels are due to learning concerns, genetic disorders, or brain injuries sustained, I encourage you to understand labels. Labels are nothing more than symptomatic identification of problems or concerns. Labels do nothing but limit. Labels do nothing but lower expectations. The opportunities and stimulation offered to an individual determines their potential. When appropriate and specific opportunities are presented, better outcomes are achieved. When excellent opportunities are not provided, often due to the limitations set forth by the self-fulfilling prophecy of the label expectations, the potential will be significantly less.
Learning disability labels are curious. Most believe they are unchangeable conditions you must learn to cope with for life. They are often treated as though they are diseases. The term “disease” gives one the impression that there is nothing you can do to change the situation. Left unchecked, Dyslexia, ADD and ADHD, etc. seldom see much change. Dyslexia, ADD and ADHD, etc. are not diseases. When you understand the root cause of the symptoms of these learning disability labels, you can treat the cause and alter the symptoms. Often you can eliminate the symptoms and, thus, remove the label entirely. If not eliminated, you can improve the situation immensely. Treating some of these conditions with medication is nothing more than treating symptoms. Learning how to cope and compensate for these conditions will never bring you to the point of eliminating them. Only by addressing the causal root level will freedom from labels, with all their frustrations, pain, and limitations, be achieved.
When genetic labels are a concern, you have to reach beyond expectations. The expectations have been set based upon observations. An example would be the label of Down syndrome. The genetic coding of Down syndrome was first identified by Dr. J. Langdon Down. Once Dr. Down identified the twenty-first chromosome overexpression, he began assessing the commonality of individuals who shared this condition. The individuals he observed were all the people he worked with within institutions. His assessment, which formed the paradigm for Down syndrome, was based on individuals who had minimal opportunity presented to them. I would suspect anyone of us would have far different outcomes had we spent our lives institutionalized. I challenge you to look beyond the expectations and reach for typical, healthy function. Your child with genetic concerns will never achieve their optimal functionality with subnormal goals. No one knows how much a person with a genetic condition will obtain. Without question, though, normal function will never be realized if that is not at least the targeted goal. A very high percentage of individuals we have worked with have far surpassed the predictions and expectations their genetic conditions offered.
In the case of brain injury, roughly the same scenario occurs. Limited opportunity produces limited results. Traditional methods of dealing with the injury are typically insufficient to create the stimulation needed to produce change. The brain is a magnificent piece of creation. Modern science is now beginning to understand what Neurodevelopmentalists have known since the 1930s. The brain is not hard-wired. The plasticity and redundancy in the entire central nervous system is incredible. If you stimulate, with appropriate stimulation, you can improve function. If you stimulate with proper frequency, intensity, and duration, there will be improved function. There is an erroneous belief that structure determines function; however, the truth is function determines structure. By inputting the proper function, you can improve function and thus alter and improve structure. With appropriate stimulation, appropriately administered, you can have healthy parts of the brain take over the function of damaged, unhealthy parts of the brain. It is a matter of knowing what stimulation is needed. Traditional methods of working with brain injury do not follow normal developmental progression. Bypassing levels of development will only limit success.
A typical example would be putting a non-walking child into a stander before that child going through the crawling and creeping stages of development. Crawling (on the stomach as a combat crawl) and creeping (on hands and knees) are the only activities that organize the lower levels of the brain. Bypassing these steps will make a fragile foundation for higher brain level function. A child is not born with developed hip sockets. The activity of crawling and creeping develops their hip sockets so that they can adequately bear weight. If those crucial steps of crawling and creeping are skipped, standing in a stander will put the hips and related structure in jeopardy. The correct working with tone (whether high or low) is another area that is often misguided. Ranging of muscles will generally cause high tone to increase – similar to stretching a rubber band. You may get that band to stretch out further; however, when the pressure is released, it snaps back even tighter than before. By knowing how to release the lower body’s innate reflex system, you can work spastic leg muscles without risking injury to them.
The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a diagnosis with wide-ranging problems usually determined by a checklist. When a certain number of symptoms on this checklist are associated with an individual, they will receive this label. Differing symptoms within the list also determines if they additionally include the tags of Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), or High-Functioning Autism. Most often, when working with children with ASD, you are primarily working with children who have sensory dysfunction and metabolic problems. Getting to the root of the issues and aggressively addressing the sensory distortions can result in significant improvement to complete recovery for the individual.
From the moment of birth, brain cells die. Every second, every minute, every day, brain cells die. Although brain cells continue to die, the brain does increase in size. The increase in the size and weight of a maturing child’s brain is a reflection of the growth of the connections between the brain cells. The brain grows these connections through stimulation – specific stimulation. There is a paramount difference between specific stimulation and random stimulation. Much of the stimulation done is random stimulation. Random stimulation will not produce change quickly or efficiently. It creates change almost by accident. Kindergarten classrooms typically are covered with loads of stimulation. Too much stimulation. Colors splash across bulletin boards and posters, items are hanging from the ceiling, and the walls are crammed full. Unfortunately, this stimulus does not produce learning, as it is too scattered and random. A room, which offers little stimulation, is far more successful in its endeavors for educating children.
The stimulation offered needs to be done so with proper frequency, intensity, and duration. Frequency means having enough opportunity and repetition for the stimulus to produce a change in the brain and become learned information. Often we are testing for output without accurately inputting the instruction precisely. Intensity refers to the strength of the input of the stimulation. Is the stimulus at a level to actively engage the individual, or have they “tuned out” because of a lack of intensity? You can drag an individual through the activity but, without a high level of involvement and interaction, change and the consequent learning will not occur. Duration has a dual meaning. First, it refers to the time of execution for the stimulation. Usually equating the shorter the length, the higher the intensity. Five or ten minutes of mathematics will have a far more significant impact than dragging a child through an hour of math. Duration also refers to staying with the stimulation for however long it takes to produce change. Specific stimulation will produce change; however, it may take time. Many times the stimulus is creating, developing, and building new pathways to the brain. Usually, that work produces internal changes that go unnoticed during the early stages. Just because immediate improvements are not evident does not mean it is time to stop offering the stimulation. Specific stimulation will produce change. One must persevere for the duration needed to see the outward transformation, which brings us back to the ND Approach. By knowing what is specific, through the NDApproach of looking at things, you can have significant change.
The NDApproach uses a developmental profile to look at two primary areas. The first area addresses sensory input. In the scope of sensory input, auditory, visual, and tactile function is evaluated and identified. The second primary area appraises motor output. In the field of motor output, gross motor, fine motor, and language function evaluated. You cannot have sound output without clear, concise input. It is essential to look at the whole individual. With underdeveloped tactility, you can have problems in other areas. If an individual cannot feel their feet, they will not stand unaided, no matter how many hours they spend in a stander. When an individual cannot feel or sense their hands, it is hard for them to write. If an individual does not use their central detail vision properly, they have a hard time formulating language, coloring within lines, and doing anything that requires the use of their eyesight. They can also have many problems that develop through enhanced peripheral vision. An individual who processes information sequentially at a low rate will have many issues ensue as a consequence. They will be limited in their ability to follow directions, stay on task, and keep up with ordinary conversational language. They will have problems with distractibility and conceptual thought processes. Language problems require looking at the tactility of the mouth, oral motor control, control and utilization of the lips, vital capacity, resonation, phonation, sinus passage development, auditory sequential and tonal processing, processing rate, health, and the condition of the ears (ear canal, inner ear, middle ear, and eardrum). Every piece must be evaluated, and have their root cause determined, to design an effective treatment program.
Most families desire taking primary responsibility for their loved one’s welfare. Sadly, too often, the family feels the least equipped to take on that role. They are overwhelmed by the needs of their child (or sibling, parent, or other family member), the newness or complexity of the diagnosis, the medical community, and the educational community. The NDApproach gives power back to the family, the real experts of their children. The NDApproach is a powerful means for providing families the knowledge, expertise, and exact “how-to” for working with their children. Once fully equipped, the family can make wise choices for their child.
Back to ND Articles
By Linda Kane, Author, M.CND, International Speaker
The Neurodevelopmental Approach is like no other approach to human development. It is unique in its method of looking at the whole individual, not the separate pieces. Taking the individual pieces, without an understanding of how they interrelate, will severely impede the success you will have in working with individuals – young and old.
If you have received a label, should receive a label, or are searching for a label for your child, whether the labels are due to learning concerns, genetic disorders, or brain injuries sustained, I encourage you to understand labels. Labels are nothing more than symptomatic identification of problems or concerns. Labels do nothing but limit. Labels do nothing but lower expectations. The opportunities and stimulation offered to an individual determines their potential. When appropriate and specific opportunities are presented, better outcomes are achieved. When excellent opportunities are not provided, often due to the limitations set forth by the self-fulfilling prophecy of the label expectations, the potential will be significantly less.
Learning disability labels are curious. Most believe they are unchangeable conditions you must learn to cope with for life. They are often treated as though they are diseases. The term “disease” gives one the impression that there is nothing you can do to change the situation. Left unchecked, Dyslexia, ADD and ADHD, etc. seldom see much change. Dyslexia, ADD and ADHD, etc. are not diseases. When you understand the root cause of the symptoms of these learning disability labels, you can treat the cause and alter the symptoms. Often you can eliminate the symptoms and, thus, remove the label entirely. If not eliminated, you can improve the situation immensely. Treating some of these conditions with medication is nothing more than treating symptoms. Learning how to cope and compensate for these conditions will never bring you to the point of eliminating them. Only by addressing the causal root level will freedom from labels, with all their frustrations, pain, and limitations, be achieved.
When genetic labels are a concern, you have to reach beyond expectations. The expectations have been set based upon observations. An example would be the label of Down syndrome. The genetic coding of Down syndrome was first identified by Dr. J. Langdon Down. Once Dr. Down identified the twenty-first chromosome overexpression, he began assessing the commonality of individuals who shared this condition. The individuals he observed were all the people he worked with within institutions. His assessment, which formed the paradigm for Down syndrome, was based on individuals who had minimal opportunity presented to them. I would suspect anyone of us would have far different outcomes had we spent our lives institutionalized. I challenge you to look beyond the expectations and reach for typical, healthy function. Your child with genetic concerns will never achieve their optimal functionality with subnormal goals. No one knows how much a person with a genetic condition will obtain. Without question, though, normal function will never be realized if that is not at least the targeted goal. A very high percentage of individuals we have worked with have far surpassed the predictions and expectations their genetic conditions offered.
In the case of brain injury, roughly the same scenario occurs. Limited opportunity produces limited results. Traditional methods of dealing with the injury are typically insufficient to create the stimulation needed to produce change. The brain is a magnificent piece of creation. Modern science is now beginning to understand what Neurodevelopmentalists have known since the 1930s. The brain is not hard-wired. The plasticity and redundancy in the entire central nervous system is incredible. If you stimulate, with appropriate stimulation, you can improve function. If you stimulate with proper frequency, intensity, and duration, there will be improved function. There is an erroneous belief that structure determines function; however, the truth is function determines structure. By inputting the proper function, you can improve function and thus alter and improve structure. With appropriate stimulation, appropriately administered, you can have healthy parts of the brain take over the function of damaged, unhealthy parts of the brain. It is a matter of knowing what stimulation is needed. Traditional methods of working with brain injury do not follow normal developmental progression. Bypassing levels of development will only limit success.
A typical example would be putting a non-walking child into a stander before that child going through the crawling and creeping stages of development. Crawling (on the stomach as a combat crawl) and creeping (on hands and knees) are the only activities that organize the lower levels of the brain. Bypassing these steps will make a fragile foundation for higher brain level function. A child is not born with developed hip sockets. The activity of crawling and creeping develops their hip sockets so that they can adequately bear weight. If those crucial steps of crawling and creeping are skipped, standing in a stander will put the hips and related structure in jeopardy. The correct working with tone (whether high or low) is another area that is often misguided. Ranging of muscles will generally cause high tone to increase – similar to stretching a rubber band. You may get that band to stretch out further; however, when the pressure is released, it snaps back even tighter than before. By knowing how to release the lower body’s innate reflex system, you can work spastic leg muscles without risking injury to them.
The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a diagnosis with wide-ranging problems usually determined by a checklist. When a certain number of symptoms on this checklist are associated with an individual, they will receive this label. Differing symptoms within the list also determines if they additionally include the tags of Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), or High-Functioning Autism. Most often, when working with children with ASD, you are primarily working with children who have sensory dysfunction and metabolic problems. Getting to the root of the issues and aggressively addressing the sensory distortions can result in significant improvement to complete recovery for the individual.
From the moment of birth, brain cells die. Every second, every minute, every day, brain cells die. Although brain cells continue to die, the brain does increase in size. The increase in the size and weight of a maturing child’s brain is a reflection of the growth of the connections between the brain cells. The brain grows these connections through stimulation – specific stimulation. There is a paramount difference between specific stimulation and random stimulation. Much of the stimulation done is random stimulation. Random stimulation will not produce change quickly or efficiently. It creates change almost by accident. Kindergarten classrooms typically are covered with loads of stimulation. Too much stimulation. Colors splash across bulletin boards and posters, items are hanging from the ceiling, and the walls are crammed full. Unfortunately, this stimulus does not produce learning, as it is too scattered and random. A room, which offers little stimulation, is far more successful in its endeavors for educating children.
The stimulation offered needs to be done so with proper frequency, intensity, and duration. Frequency means having enough opportunity and repetition for the stimulus to produce a change in the brain and become learned information. Often we are testing for output without accurately inputting the instruction precisely. Intensity refers to the strength of the input of the stimulation. Is the stimulus at a level to actively engage the individual, or have they “tuned out” because of a lack of intensity? You can drag an individual through the activity but, without a high level of involvement and interaction, change and the consequent learning will not occur. Duration has a dual meaning. First, it refers to the time of execution for the stimulation. Usually equating the shorter the length, the higher the intensity. Five or ten minutes of mathematics will have a far more significant impact than dragging a child through an hour of math. Duration also refers to staying with the stimulation for however long it takes to produce change. Specific stimulation will produce change; however, it may take time. Many times the stimulus is creating, developing, and building new pathways to the brain. Usually, that work produces internal changes that go unnoticed during the early stages. Just because immediate improvements are not evident does not mean it is time to stop offering the stimulation. Specific stimulation will produce change. One must persevere for the duration needed to see the outward transformation, which brings us back to the ND Approach. By knowing what is specific, through the NDApproach of looking at things, you can have significant change.
The NDApproach uses a developmental profile to look at two primary areas. The first area addresses sensory input. In the scope of sensory input, auditory, visual, and tactile function is evaluated and identified. The second primary area appraises motor output. In the field of motor output, gross motor, fine motor, and language function evaluated. You cannot have sound output without clear, concise input. It is essential to look at the whole individual. With underdeveloped tactility, you can have problems in other areas. If an individual cannot feel their feet, they will not stand unaided, no matter how many hours they spend in a stander. When an individual cannot feel or sense their hands, it is hard for them to write. If an individual does not use their central detail vision properly, they have a hard time formulating language, coloring within lines, and doing anything that requires the use of their eyesight. They can also have many problems that develop through enhanced peripheral vision. An individual who processes information sequentially at a low rate will have many issues ensue as a consequence. They will be limited in their ability to follow directions, stay on task, and keep up with ordinary conversational language. They will have problems with distractibility and conceptual thought processes. Language problems require looking at the tactility of the mouth, oral motor control, control and utilization of the lips, vital capacity, resonation, phonation, sinus passage development, auditory sequential and tonal processing, processing rate, health, and the condition of the ears (ear canal, inner ear, middle ear, and eardrum). Every piece must be evaluated, and have their root cause determined, to design an effective treatment program.
Most families desire taking primary responsibility for their loved one’s welfare. Sadly, too often, the family feels the least equipped to take on that role. They are overwhelmed by the needs of their child (or sibling, parent, or other family member), the newness or complexity of the diagnosis, the medical community, and the educational community. The NDApproach gives power back to the family, the real experts of their children. The NDApproach is a powerful means for providing families the knowledge, expertise, and exact “how-to” for working with their children. Once fully equipped, the family can make wise choices for their child.
Back to ND Articles
