| Liam was not hitting his developmental milestones at | | | | 12. It checks on what is going on now- it's a balance |
| the recommended time period for each developmental | | | | mechanism and senses where your body position is in |
| stage. He sat up around ten months old and was | | | | space |
| taught to crawl at twelve months after working with | | | | 13. The cerebellum receives 200 million inputs from |
| multiple Early Intervention therapists. | | | | nerve fibers from all over the body. One million nerve |
| At ten months old a MRI revealed an underdeveloped | | | | fibers are from the eyes |
| cerebellum. He was given a diagnosis of Cerebellar | | | | 14. The cerebellum plays a role in cognitive functions |
| Hypoplasia. | | | | like language and attention |
| The following are some symptoms of Cerebellar | | | | 15. It also plays a role in emotional functions like |
| Hypoplasia: | | | | regulating mood and pleasure response |
| - Developmental delays | | | | The cerebellum takes up 10% of the space in our |
| - Jerky movements and/or tremors | | | | head but contributes 100% of our daily movements. |
| - Ataxia - general uncoordinated movements | | | | So how does a therapist tackle a diagnosis of |
| - Hypotonia- low tone in muscles | | | | Cerebellar Hypoplasia? From what I've observed the |
| - Seizures | | | | typical course of action is to take the child's age and |
| - Involuntary eye movements | | | | compare them to what a typical child is doing at this |
| - Mental retardation | | | | age and teach this to the child with the delays. For |
| Here are some symptoms we saw in Liam: | | | | instance: Liam is two and a half years old, according |
| - He didn't hit his development milestones at the | | | | to the Bayley Scale of Infant Development III, he should |
| recommended time period | | | | be walking and talking in two to three word |
| - His legs were weak- he stood for only a few | | | | sentences. During therapy Liam is taught how to |
| seconds and got tired quickly | | | | walk by being supported upright and walking around |
| - Each time he performed a new movement, when | | | | objects. Liam is completely into the activity and |
| reaching out to grab a toy or object for the first time, | | | | would love to walk like all his peers so he is happily |
| the reaching action would be shaky. Once he has | | | | being guided along during these activities. As for |
| performed it a number of times, the movement would | | | | speech, Liam tends to get bored easily and wants to |
| be smoother | | | | move on to another more exciting activity. Liam had |
| - He fell and still falls a lot | | | | a team of dedicated and loving therapists who are |
| - Saying new words would sound garbled although the | | | | ready to show him how it's done and hope he will |
| tones are correct | | | | make some progress. |
| - He had no appetite - he drank a quarter of an ounce | | | | Over a year and a half of traditional therapy, we |
| of milk and would be satisfied (as an infant he nursed | | | | decided to stop it all. There must be a better way to |
| for a total of 10 minutes on both breasts) | | | | get the same outcome. Liam was young, I want to |
| Liam did not have these symptoms: | | | | use this to his advantage. After learning more about |
| - No seizures | | | | the Anat Baniel Method from her Move Into Life |
| - He had no eye problems- he can track people and | | | | Workshop that I attended, I decided this is the method |
| things with his eyes | | | | that will allow Liam to be a complete person. Her |
| - His cognitive development is delayed but there is no | | | | method puts order in the disorder. It talks to the brain, |
| apparent mental retardation | | | | it allows for the movements to come from within the |
| Liam was enrolled in the Early Intervention program | | | | child. |
| before he received his official diagnosis of Cerebellar | | | | So how does the Anat Baniel Method differ in their |
| Hypoplasia. Liam was initially prescribed two days a | | | | approach? First of all, a diagnosis is not important. |
| week of physical and occupational therapy for thirty | | | | What's determined first is whether or not the child's |
| minutes a day. Liam made little progress during this | | | | brain is capable of learning. When Anat sees a child, |
| time. About a year later, we saw a Development | | | | as she describes "I look for the first opening and seek |
| Pediatrician through EI and was finally given the | | | | the change, I am listening for the echo", she is waking |
| appropriate amount of therapy. He received five | | | | the brain up and getting it to reconnect with the body. |
| days of PT, OT, Speech and two days of Special | | | | The method communicates with the nervous system, |
| Education. He was also approved and fitted for the | | | | it wakes it up so it can find alternative ways of doing |
| Sure Step bilateral SMO (Supra Malleolar Orthosis). | | | | something. |
| <!--more--> | | | | Secondly, the method does not compare the child's |
| I knew a little something about the cerebellum from | | | | ability to any scale. In order to truly teach someone |
| Biology 101. I knew it governs movements and had | | | | something, you have to start where they are at. |
| something to do with language but that was it. I was | | | | Making mistakes and adding variations gives the brain |
| on a mission to find a better solution to treat Cerebellar | | | | an opportunity to differentiate and really understand. |
| Hypoplasia. But first I needed to understand the role | | | | During a lesson, Anat or an ABM practitioner will touch |
| of the cerebellum. | | | | and feel where movement is available in the body. |
| Cerebellum, Cerebellum...What is your function? | | | | For example: Liam had no forward movement in his |
| 15 Cerebellum Facts: | | | | pelvis. Since he had no forward movement in his |
| 1. The cerebellum has two hemispheres, it is the lowest | | | | pelvis, Liam never transitioned to standing without using |
| part of your brain right above the brain stem and it | | | | a prop to pull himself up. After a few ABM lessons |
| takes up 10% of the brain's volume | | | | that focused the work on creating movement in his |
| 2. The cerebellum contains over 50% more neurons | | | | pelvis we saw Liam spontaneously standing up for the |
| than the rest of the brain combined. (A neuron | | | | first time. |
| according to the Miriam Webster dictionary is: a noun | | | | To quote Anat Baniel from her article "A new |
| "a grayish or reddish granular cell with specialized | | | | approach to helping children with Cerebral Palsy and |
| processes that is the fundamental functional unit of | | | | other brain related disorders." published in Cerebral |
| nervous tissue" | | | | Palsy Magazine, June 2003 |
| 3. At birth the cerebellum is immature and develops | | | | " The gentleness with which the guiding movements |
| through childhood and adolescence. Full structural | | | | are done and the insistence on having the child move |
| growth and maturity occurs around fifteen to twenty | | | | in ways that feel easy and are not beyond the child's |
| years of age. | | | | true ability, creates a sense of safety for the child. This |
| 4. The cerebellum anticipates future movements and | | | | allows the child to feel him/herself and become aware |
| actions | | | | of what he/she is doing and what is being done to |
| 5. It controls body and limb movements | | | | them. As a result they become active, intelligent and |
| 6. It controls the smoothness of walking | | | | happy learners just the way healthy children are. In |
| 7. It makes corrections while moving | | | | fact, healthy children move –albeit spontaneously- in |
| 8. It assist in learning new movement skills | | | | a great variety of ways that are easy and available to |
| 9. It organizes the learned and automatic movements | | | | them. Portions from these movements get integrated |
| 10. It coordinates the information sent from the brain's | | | | by the brain into a useful action – for example |
| cerebral cortex and plans, times, organizes and makes | | | | crawling. Once a child accomplishes a milestone, it |
| the movement exact and smooth | | | | continues to generate a great variety of small and |
| 11. It senses the balance between your skeleton, | | | | large movements from which the next milestone will |
| muscles and tendons | | | | be carved. |