Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68185
SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN 7. HAVE FAITH IN THE FAMILY'S HEALING CAPABILITY Having faith in the power of the children and their families to heal themselves is the essence of sustainable, family-centered health care. This includes the capacity of children to engage directly with their own nervous systems to create new options. Of course, children need the guidance and support of the adults around them, but I suspect we have long underestimated the capacity of children of all ages to be proactive regarding their own health, including challenged children, children without access to language, and children with special needs. 8. ACKNOWLEDGE THE CHILD'S LEARNING STYLE Children's imaginations are usually undamaged by the restrictive strictures of the so-called "real" world. It helps to know as much as possible about how the individual child's mind works. For instance, some of their wonderful brains are primarily visual; others are kinesthetic. Some children can learn more readily from the way we speak and others will have a very literal response to the words we use. An attentive practitioner can decipher a child's learning style through their interaction with them, but it can be helpful to have lead information from parents when that is available. For the special needs child, acknowledging that there might be different ways to incorporate the skills or information you want them to integrate will be especially helpful in your process. Here are some ways to incorporate the various learning styles for your client. SUGGEST VISUALIZATIONS Once you have a framework for communication, you can suggest visualizations to support the child's healing process. I have already in a world that honored his unique gifts. Within a very short space of time, the boy stopped his temporary incontinence and began to progress with his reading. With his mother's help, he was consistent with both the visualizing and with energy treatments that were creating increased neurological resonance between his right- and left-brain hemispheres. When I saw him last, he was talking happily about his friends and enjoying school. Stephanie Mines shares a tender moment with a teeny client. mentioned how I encourage Sophie to see her spine as long and tall and straight. I gave Sophie a picture of a well-aligned spine to help her with this visualization. This tool has worked with many others, including a young client of mine who was not accepted at school by some of the other children because of his neurodiversity and speech impediments. He did not look forward to growing up into a world of bullies where he perceived himself as unacceptable. He therefore kept undermining his growth. He wet his pants, behaved childishly, and resisted learning. I asked him to visualize himself surrounded by good friends with whom he was laughing and speaking easily. I invited him to see that he had friendships with people who saw him as the wonderful, bright being he was. I proposed a visualization of himself as a happy young man, thriving MOVEMENT FOR COORDINATION, INTEGRATION Movement has many gifts. It simultaneously releases and expresses the body and stills the mind. It discharges while refueling. Everyone needs movement. Children's growing bodies especially crave physical outlet. Giving children therapeutic movement that combines healing and expression with structural and energetic integration is a smart idea. Here are some of the movement tools I incorporate into all my sessions with children: • For integrative movement, I playfully walk around my studio with my client or move joyously with them when the session is over to help them incorporate the changes that have occurred in their body during treatment. As we do this, I observe the shifts in their gait, symmetry, proprioception, and balance. This also allows the child to experience our relationship in motion and in space. • I give the child a movement-based toy at the end of the session. This is not an expensive gift, but one I know is age- appropriate and will get them to move. A small rubber ball that they will immediately start bouncing is a great tool for the child. A bottle of bubbles is another inexpensive and successful option as they can chase the bubbles or dance with them as they float in the air. All of this is done intentionally, with an eye to integration. 42 massage & bodywork september/october 2010