Thursday, January 22, 2009

Vestibular anyone????

Today is Thursday so that means OT for at least an hour. While the OT had Jonah on the ground he started to bang his forehead repetitively on the hard wood floor. I have seen him shake his head back and forth very fast as if saying no. I have seen him hit the back of his head on the high chair in the middle of feeds, but hitting his forehead is new. I'm so glad the OT was here to see it. She said something about vestibular. I have read a little about it but it is still kind of confusing. I bought a medicine ball to bounce him on but he is still doing it. I don't know what to do. I know he needs stimulation but what do I do with a 15 month old who can only sit or lay on his tummy?

7 comments:

Anita Nap said...

Oh, I can TOTALLY relate to that one. Marshall used to bang his head on the hard floor too. He also banged the back of his head in his high chair.

You say the OT said he needs more vestibular input. I tend to disagree (just a little). I was taught that Proprioceptive kind of goes hand in hand with Vestibular. Do you have a swing? That is going to be the best thing you can do for him. I would ask your OT about the Airwalker Swing. How often do you go to OT? When we got Marshall an Airwalker Swing, it calmed him so much!! It gives him the vestibular he needs (the swinging) but also wraps him up tightly and makes him feel secure. Can you put a hook in your ceiling to hang a swing? We rent a Duplex and got permission to do that. You can get a toddler swing that you can hang on your swingset and attach it to the hook in your ceiling. I'm guessing he needs more swinging but if he's like Marshall, he won't tolerate the swinging like that. Who knows..maybe it's just Marshall. If Jonah doesn't like to swing, he may need the Airwalker swing where he is squished (so he feels more secure) and it's dark so he doesn't get upset by the movement. Does this make sense? It took over 2 yrs of OT to get Marshall to the point where he will climb on the swings at OT (the big log type one even) and just ask to swing. You have to take it slow. I got a grant to pay for my swing. If you try the swing at OT and it works fro Jonah, you can apply for a grant at: www.challengedamerica.com. They paid for my swing. I think it's worth the try.

IN the meantime, if you want to borrow the book "Raising A Sensory Smart Child", I have it and would be willing to mail it to you.

Luke and Erin said...

Hum, I am not sure. Is that a balance thing? I will let you know if I hear or see anything that might help. Good Luck, sorry I am not of more use.

Anita Nap said...

The Vestibular System is how the body handles movement. Here is what the book "Raising A Sensory Smart Child" says about it:

Sensory receptors in the inner ear give your child crucial information about movement, gravity, and vibration. The vestibular system works twenty-four hours a day, since the pull of earth's gravity is constant and impacts everything we do. Every time your child's head moves, vestibular receptors receive extra stimulation, giving his body needed sensory information.


Ok, that's just the first paragraph. I will try scanning it and posting it in a new post.

Jessica said...

ok this is great info! Im on my way to the library with my 2 year old so i will pick up that book along with some dora movies and touch and feel books.(haha) The prob is Jonah does not go to OT the therapist comes to our home. He cannot go out places because he virtually has no immune system thanks to the amount of steroids he is on. The swing sounds good, i will look around. We have a jumper but he has no leg strength( he has not discovered they are there) But my 2 year old swings him in the Johnny jumper. will that work?

Mel said...

Okay, it's been a long time but I remember talking about this with our OT. She suggested the swinging but not just back and forth. Sometimes we would lay him on a blanket and swing him using the blanket (side to side). Also, she suggested spinning him around (not too fast) in like a saucer sled or holding him while dancing around the room.

Melissa said...

I agree with Anita Nap. The swing does wonders.

Anita Nap said...

You can swing him wrapped up inside a blanket as long as your arms will tolerate it. We used to do that before we got the Airwalker Swing. You can also put him on a blanket and drag him around the house. I'm going to IKEA tomorrow to pick up another swing and a tunnel. I'm going to start doing obstacle courses every day. If he can't jump that well, you could still get a mini trampoline and bounce him while he is sitting or hold his hands and have him jump a little if he can. Then he can go down a slide, crawl to the stairs, go down them (Marshall goes down head first to help give him more Proprioceptive input), crawl back upstairs (crawling is SO good for them..it gives proprioceptive again.), crawl through a tunnel, then dig in a bucket of beans to find a puzzle piece. Then he has to go back through all of it to put the piece in the puzzle. I know he's four so he can do that. Just think of things like that.