[blindkid] never stands still

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Mon Jun 14 16:15:27 UTC 2010


Joe's  tip sounds interesting as does the beach idea. Sadly, I doubt  
that we'll get to try the running on sand very often but I would  
assume if you do that right where the water has just been it would be  
really smooth and who doesn't love the fresh air and relaxing sound of  
the surf!

Richard



On Jun 14, 2010, at 10:00 AM, Carol Castellano wrote:

> I remember teaching Serena to run--loved seeing that smile on her  
> face.  We have a gentle hill in our front yard.  She stood behind me  
> and I had her hold on to the bottom of my unzipped jacket (so it  
> could go a foot or so beyond my body).  Then I ran (slowly) down the  
> little hill and she followed.  It seemed to get the feeling of  
> forward motion into her.  It wasn't long before she wanted to do it  
> by herself.  She tended to move in more of an up-and-down motion  
> than a forward motion, so I would cue her with "think forwards."
>
> Now we run together along the shore when we are at the beach.  We  
> use the technique of gently touching our forearms/elbows.
>
> We also got a tip (I think from Joe Cutter) for teaching swinging  
> the arms while walking.  Get two canes or ski poles.  Have the child  
> stand behind you.  You and the child hold the poles horizontally.   
> Start walking and the child will feel the motion of your arms moving  
> back and forth  alternately via the poles.
>
> Carol
>
> Carol Castellano, President
> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
> 973-377-0976
> carol_castellano at verizon.net
> www.nopbc.org
>
> At 06:18 AM 6/12/2010, you wrote:
>> 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 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>  
>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> blindkid  
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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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