At Starfish Therapies, we like to keep up on other therapies and strategies that are out there so we can share with you options that may be helpful for your children.  This article provides a brief summary of Therapeutic listening, a program that uses specially designed music to stimulate the vestibular-cochlear system.  The theory is that we are less able to hear or understand the human voice if we are overaroused and the music is used to normalize that over arousal.  Therapeutic listening is mostly used in conjunction with Sensory Intergration (SI) therapy for children with Sensory Processing Disorder.  However, it may be beneficial for any child who has delayed or impaired speech, oral motor, visual motor and spatial awareness skills for a variety of reasons.

 

The vestibular-cochlear system was mentioned above. This system allows us to feel and hear sounds and movement. The
cochlea is the part of the ear that allows us to hear. The vestibular portion of the ear is what detects movement of the head through space.  It is considered the organizer of our
body senses.  It is located in our inner ear, allowing us to understand time and space from our body's perspective.  It has a
strong impact on muscle tone, posture, balance, coordination, integration of the two body sides, visual spatial skills,
emotional responses and motor planning.  Therefore, this system is connected through many complicated neuro circuits to the rest of the nervous system.  So you can imagine that if it is over or under aroused, impaired or underdeveloped in some way, it can greatly impact every area of development.  Therapeutic listening exercises this system in a specific way to improve the accuracy of the way sensory information is processed and sent out to other systems.

 

Listed below are just a few of the benefits that therapeutic listening is believed to have:

Therapeutic listening is implemented through a series of CD's over a course of weeks.  The program is usually designed by an occupational therapist in conjunction with other sensory-motor interventions.  Therapeutic listening requires very specifc music/sounds and very specific headphones that accomodate for certain frequency ranges.  So if you are interested in this type of therapy, it is crucial that you discuss this with a therapist or other professional who can assist you in obtaining the proper equipment so that it will be safe and worth your time and money.  We do not have access to this equipment at Starfish but would be happy to give you information of those who do.

 

To read a summary of a research article on the effects of sound-based intervention for children with sensory processing disorder from the American Journal of Occupational Therapy click here. 

      

We would like to introduce you to a piece of equipment that you may or may not have seen in your therapy experiences.  It is the LiteGait, which is a partial body weight support (BWS) gait training device.  There is a growing amount of research and evidence that BWS gait training greatly improves locomotor function for a variety of diagnoses from adults who have suffered a stroke to children with Cerebral Palsy.  It has also been studied in patients with hemiplegia, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.  

 

In order to use the LiteGait, the patient is put in a harness that goes around the trunk and between the legs.  The overhead suspension system is then used to take off the desired amount of body weight.  As you can see in the picture, the LiteGait has wheels and is moveable.  Therfore, it can be used with or without a treadmill.  For pediatric and adult patients it can also be adjusted to support different positions such as sitting, kneeling, or quadruped and can be used to assist transfers such as sit to stand.  However, it is most commonly used for gait training. This system is beneficial because it allows the trainee to perform multiple repititions in a safe manner and in proper alignment while the trainer is able to have free hands to facilitate weight shifting, foot placement and symmetry of movement. Repitition of movement is crucial for motor learning or re-learning. However, it is often difficult for therapists to make that repition occur in good alignment or in a safe way if there are multiple issues present.  The LiteGait allows the therapist to decrease their focus on the safety and balance of the patient and increase focus on the quality of movement the patient is producing.     

 

To find out more about the LiteGait or review research that has been done to date visit their website.     

 

 

 

Each month Starfish Therapies donates a portion of their earnings to various organizations that support kids.  Starting this month we will begin spotlighting the organizations we give to.  This month our donation went to United Cerebral Palsy which supports individuals in living life without limits.