[blindkid] never stands still

Sat Jun 12 10:18:27 UTC 2010

Richard,

Thank you for your detailed response.  I already have a treadmill and she has been on it a few times.  A few months ago I was trying to teach her the concept of running. (she walks very slow with her cane)  I thought about having her use it on a regular basis for exercise because she is so comfortable on it, but with her age I was worried about her being too young.  

Kathy

________________________________
From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 12:01:21 AM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still

Kathy,

I don't mind at all. We only started with the treadmill a few months back and she'll be 8-years-old in September. We never really explored this when she was younger. One day a week during school, Kendra goes to an after school program where many of the metro atlanta blind students can go to interact and get some specialized training. One day when I was picking her up, we walked past a classroom where older kids (also blind) were learning about exercising, including stationary bikes, a stepping machine, a weight machine, and a treadmill. She was slightly afraid of it but rather intrigued.

Every week, she wanted to go and explore the room. She was too young for the class but the teacher was nice and since I was there to keep her out of harm's way, she would let us stay. After a few weeks she wanted to walk on the treadmill. We decided to let her try it out at 1 mph, then maybe 1.5 or 2. She kept going back each week. Once, a teenager was running at 10 mph on it. She wanted to try that too. I decided against that, but we got a little faster. Time to explore was limited and we all liked the idea of a treadmill here at home so found a used one at a good price.

Once home, we had a lot more time to use and explore the machine. She may walk one time for a minute or two, The next time she'll want to go for 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes, she'll ask to start again after 10 minutes and do it again. I'd say we've done as much as 30 minutes walking and a few minutes at a time "sprinting". This machine will also go 10 mph. I think we've run at somewhere between 6 and 7 mph. She wants to go faster. I'm being a little cautious. The faster you go, the easier accidents clearly would be-- there is less room to react to mistakes.

One thing the OT at that program showed me that seemed very helpful-- place your hand gently against the small of your child's back at first. This business of walking with no cane-- particularly at a good pace, let alone running all with your hands on a fixed handle can get bodies in the wrong position. There seems to be a tendency for kids to lean forward in poor posture and it is really easy to get off center at first. Keep hands symmetrically on the bar and be certain feet are far enough from the edge that a foot doesn't come down off the belt. Gentle pressure in the small of the back can guide a body back to vertical as well as side-to-side. I found the learning curve was speedy for her.

After a while, move your hand away and offer only occasional prompts. Like everything else, reduce hands-on and prompting as you are able. We've had decent luck with this. If the machine will not auto-stop (some have a safety lanyard) teach your child where the stop button is. Remember, if you fall and the machine keeps going it acts sort of like a belt-sander, scraping away if you're not thrown clear. We've had one slight fall with no injury. Me mindful of the landing zone behind the treadmill. If there is a trash can or a vacuum cleaner sitting there by accident, that;s what the user will get thrown onto in fall. Obviously a fall at 1.5 mph is just going to gently bush you off the back , but at a running pace you'll get tossed.

I have no doubt that some OT's etc., might frown on kids this young (and younger) being on a treadmill for safety reasons. For us, the benefits seemed to outweigh the minimal risks, but remember there are a number of ways to get banged up with these machines if you're not being careful enough and accidents do happen, but kids get hurt in trampolines too or even walking across the floor.

One other idea. (Sears will love me for this.) Many Sears stores have a bunch of treadmills setup and on the floor. You might let your child do a bit of exploring on the treadmills there. Health clubs may run you off, but the commission paid sales guys don't want to do that-- they want to sell you a machine. There are no doubt other places to "shop" as well... That might give you an idea if your child is really likely to use one of these and what size of machine might be indicated no matter where you really plan to buy.

I hope that's not too much info-- good luck!

Richard

On Jun 11, 2010, at 7:45 PM, Kathy B wrote:

> Richard,
> 
> Do you mind me asking how old Kendra was when you first started having her use the treadmill?  And, how long will she stay on it at one time?
> Thanks,
> Kathy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 3:02:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
> 
> Darian,
> 
> I think you're exactly right-- virtually all kids have this sort of energy. The thing that comes up with blind children more often is that some of them have more trouble finding enough safe-feeling ways to release the energy which must go somewhere. No doubt, ANY child who cannot (for whatever reason, it need not be vision-related) move and jump and play as much as he or she feels compelled to is likely to begin to express motion and release energy in socially undesirable ways.
> 
> My sighted kids can tear off and run and they're not afraid they'll crash into a tree. Kendra won't do that, but she'll put that same level of energy or excitement into jumping in a trampoline, swimming, or any number of other "safe-feeling" activities. Something else I didn't tie to this before-- back to the treadmill. Kendra is hesitant to run across a field, no doubt she doesn't feel sure-footed enough when running and/or she thinks she'll crash into something. However, on a treadmill she will walk briskly or even sprint at times and she loves it.
> 
> Richard
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Jun 11, 2010, at 11:55 AM, Darian Smith wrote:
> 
>> If I may-
>> I think (and I could be wrong) that it's really a matter of having
>> alot of energy that needs to be expressed in some way.  getting your
>> child to be activ with regards to running, playing in a playground
>> withother kids  the child's age, swimming anything that will burn off
>> that energy might help. II feel  pretty confident  that sighted
>> children have just as much energy and run into the same things as
>> well.
>> Just my thoughts and they are as valid are as invalid as youmay like
>> to take them.
>> Best,
>> Darian
>> 
>> On 6/10/10, Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>>> Jeremy twirls, but he does not do it for prolonged periods, and all
>>> toddlers, sighted toddlers do that, although by three or four it does
>>> usually decrease from what I have seen in the early childhood field.  We
>>> usually try to shape the spinning into something, I.E. Duck Duck Goose going
>>> in circles around one of us while we tap his head for ducks and pick him up
>>> and raspberry and tickle him for goose, and Ring Around the Rosey, which
>>> with only one child, is pretty much just spinning with a song and a planned
>>> fall down at the end.  Now he never spins without also singing the song, so
>>> I'm not terribly concerned.
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
>>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 6:46 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Our 7-year-old still does that occasionally and has done it since she  was
>>>> 
>>>> probably 2. I used to try to tell her to stop but we had far  better
>>>> results long term when we redirected her to something else.  Then once we
>>>> started offering her more and more movement alternatives  the problem
>>>> decreased greatly. If she's spinning a lot at home now,  we'll usually ask
>>>> 
>>>> if she needs to go and jump. Generally, she'll stop  spinning with the
>>>> question and walk straight to her trampoline.
>>>> 
>>>> Richard
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Jun 10, 2010, at 6:26 PM, L wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> My daughter does the same thing, she is 3.  SHe will spin in circles  and
>>>>> 
>>>>> makes me dizzy.  We have just told her, stop spinning, most of  the time
>>>>> she does.  But even while spinning she is holding her  favorite sensory
>>>>> toy, so I am not sure what to do either!  Thanks  for the question.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>> From: Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net>
>>>>> To: Blindkid email <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Thu, June 10, 2010 12:42:54 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'm no expert on this but I'm wondering if she is filling a sensory  need
>>>>> 
>>>>> by this constant motion. Does she stop moving when you are  talking with
>>>>> her or she is otherwise engaged? Perhaps providing her  with other ways
>>>>> to gain sensory input would help.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Marie (mother of Jack born May 2005)
>>>>> See glimpses of life with my determined son who is developing in his  own
>>>>> 
>>>>> way at his own time at http://allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com
>>>>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Kathy B <burgawicki at yahoo.com>
>>>>> Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:18:43
>>>>> To: <BVI-Parents at yahoogroups.com>; <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Subject: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi All-
>>>>> 
>>>>> My daughter (4), totally blind, has a real hard time holding still.   She
>>>>> 
>>>>> is constantly in motion by fidgeting, wiggling, bouncing, etc.   She
>>>>> doesn't do a whole lot of rocking but she does need motion.  How  do I
>>>>> get her to stop.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Please help!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Oh, the swimming lessons are going great!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Kathy
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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>>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> --Darian Smith
>> Skype: The_Blind_Truth
>> Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
>> “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are
>> spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Teilhard de Chardin
>> 
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