[blindkid] rocking

Tue May 1 02:26:12 UTC 2012

Another area to consider is why our blind kids tend to be sedentary. How can 
they be encouraged to move in the ways that sighted kids move to burn off 
energy?  Early cane travel makes movement possible, but kids need the 
freedom to use their cane skills all day, every day, just as sighted kids 
are constantly moving and exploring on their own.  It would be interesting 
to observe sighted kids of the same age as a blind child in question and 
note the various activities in which the sighted kids engage. What are the 
differences?

Debbie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Beyer" <jim at riversedgehomes.com>
To: "'Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)'" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 8:04 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] rocking

> Trampolines are a healthy device for getting rid of some of the extra 
> bounce
> in our otherwise sedentary blind kids.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Barbara Hammel
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 2:28 PM
> To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] rocking
>
> I've an idea.  Since he is so young, what about some of those therapy 
> balls
> that are soft and squishy?  See if it's wanting to poke his fingers into
> something.  Some of them even have balls in them to poke your fingers 
> along.
>
> Eyeglasses have been suggested.  Obviously, he can live without it if he
> stops for a while.  Think about what you might be doing different when it
> quits.  Do you stop commenting about what he is doing?  Stuff like that. 
> If
>
> you stopped doing something because the behavior had seemed to become
> extinct, do whatever you did before to get it back down again.
> If he wants something to stimulate him in the eye area, maybe try a heat
> pack or cold pack.  (Act like they must hurt so want to give something to
> aid it.)
> Just some out-of-the-box ideas that no one has suggested yet.
> Barbara
>
>
>
>
> Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Traci Wilkerson
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 3:14 PM
> To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] rocking
>
> So what suggestions do you have for eye poking?  Our son has decreased it,
> but then will kick it back up again, he even quit completely for about 4
> months, but then it started up again.  He is 5, right now we are at the
> bribing stage.  :)
>
> I was just wondering about this reading your posts about movement, if I
> could somehow spin these to apply to his poking,no intention to hijack!
>
> Traci (Olivia,7 Evan,5, both LCA)
> On Apr 30, 2012 3:17 PM, "Barbara Hammel" <poetlori8 at msn.com> wrote:
>
>> Richard's suggestion of a rocking chair might be a good one.  I can tell
>> you that when I was 12, I was a jumper.  In the dorm I was always 
>> reminded
>> that I couldn't jump without a jump rope.  Needless to say, when I'd go 
>> to
>> the Gym, I'd grab a jump rope and jump as fast as I could.  (I always won
>> the "How many times can you jump in x amount of time" contests, too.)
>> Barbara
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg
>> -----Original Message----- From: Richard Holloway
>> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 12:35 PM
>> To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] rocking
>>
>> Frequent rocking or spinning or other "blindisims" can be an issue for
>> certain. Our daughter, Kendra (age 9) is much more prone to spin than to
>> rock, but I suspect a similar approach may work for both.
>>
>> Blind kids generally move around less and end up with other motion in
>> their "sensory diet" than sighted children. I'm absolutely certain this 
>> is
>> true for Kendra. We got her jumping in a trampoline when she was very
>> young. She has jumped to the point of destroying so many that I have lost
>> count, She is 9 years old and we have gone through roughly 8 new
>> trampolines (give or take a couple) in roughly 8 years. She used to jump
>> as
>> much as an hour or two a day. She still jumps, though a bit less now. 
>> She
>> has broken countless elastic loops, springs, trampoline mats, and even
>> actual frames (the springs wore the frame until it failed while being
>> jumped on in one case). We have been through at least 5 designs from
>> different manufacturers. It isn't the trampolines, she just wears them
>> out...
>>
>> We have added other movement as much as possible. Gymnastics, Dancing,
>> Swimming, Biking, Swinging on various kinds of Swings... If Kendra feels
>> she "has" to spin? We tell her to put it into a dance... We never really
>> had to deal with the rocking so much, but I wonder if more "appropriate"
>> rocking, like using a rocking chair would help get that out of her 
>> system,
>> so to speak. THAT (a rocking chair) is just a guess-- I suppose it could
>> make it better or worse, but I doubt a test for a short time would do 
>> much
>> harm. On the swinging, if the feels to old to swing in a kid's swing, use
>> a
>> bench type (porch) swing. She can swing with a friend, sibling, or
>> parent....
>>
>> Our thought here is that socially appropriate movement like spinning in a
>> dance, or in the pool is a good thing as compared to spinning in the
>> middle
>> of the den or a department store... Kendra has also developed sort of a
>> "spinning seat drop" in the trampoline which we are okay with, so long as
>> it stops (or at least reduces) other less desirable movement when she's
>> not
>> jumping.
>>
>> Our approach has generally been  to send our girl her to the trampoline
>> when she starts to spin at home. "Do you need to go jump?" We usually
>> don't
>> mention she's spinning but just suggest she go and jump, though sometimes
>> we have addressed it directly too. What we have noticed is when she stops
>> jumping so much, she starts to spin more when she is just standing 
>> around.
>> It is very repeatable. Go back to jumping more and the spinning is 
>> quickly
>> reduced. When she has the routine, sometimes she'll just say "I need to 
>> go
>> to the trampoline" and she will self-correct for a desire to spin. That
>> took a while, but it is pretty neat that she does it at this point.
>>
>> So my suggestion is to redirect when she is rocking (spinning, etc.) and
>> keep her moving as much as possible.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>>
>> On Apr 30, 2012, at 10:12 AM, hpscheffer at aol.com wrote:
>>
>>  Hi, I'm looking for suggestions or your feedback on how to help my
>>> daughter to stop rocking. She is gotten a lot better, but as some of you
>>> may know, when she gets excited or really into something she will do it
>>> without realizing it. I'm thinking we are missing something, because 
>>> just
>>> reminding her does not do it. I've heard about the vestibular 
>>> stimulation
>>> rocking will do for a blind person, but her OT and her PT have never
>>> worked
>>> with a blind child and they do not seem to have an answer. She is 12 and
>>> soon to be 13, she is blind from ROP.
>>>
>>>
>>> Any information will be appreciated.
>>>
>>>
>>> Heidi
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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