Vestibular Integration Strategies

CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Vestibular Integration Strategies for gravitational insecurity or a hyper responsive vestibular system (vestibular defensiveness): Each child is different and will react differently depending on their mood, environment, and comfort level with the therapist or caregiver.

Always keep trying therapy techniques, never try once or twice and give up, most children need to see something done by another child or someone they love and trust and see their emotional response as positive before they will even try a new activity. Try the following and report back to the OT how it went!

• Slowly roll the child from one parent to another on the bed, laugh and play peek a booGently do flips on the bed or on pillows

• Rock gently on a peanut or elliptical shaped ball that is close the ground, if this is too high, place the child on your extended leg in the floor and play ride the horse games and sing and laugh while they are moving on your leg.

• Get riding toys such as rocking horses and little cars and riding toys that they can control the movement. After they feel confident doing this by themselves, then gently push them faster, with a lot of stop and go movements.

• Go in stroller rides and do a lot of gentle stop and go movements, and change directions of stroller often, if they are comfortable with this, then move faster and even run pushing the stroller (always be safe and cautious and make sure they are secure!) GYMNASTICS CLASSES ARE WONDERFUL!

• Run, dance, and play chase while holding the child. If they feel okay with this, then dance with them in your arms and put their head in many different positions such as in a football hold, on their tummy, upside down for a short period, and up on your shoulders. The key is to stimulate the semicircular canals and otolith organs in the middle ear by changing the position of the head often, the more you do this the quicker the insecurities go away!

• Swinging starting out with the child in your lap, on a porch swing hung from two points is best, then try them surrounded by pillows on the swing alone, then take away the pillows with a safe distance to them. Do not move suddenly, and keep them as low and secure as possible.

• Rock in a rocker with the child, then gradually put them in the rocker by themselves, they may need a pillow or blanket tightly securing them at first...gradually move to them being alone on a moving surface.

• Swing in a safe infant swing with small movements, put on a video that they like and can watch while they are swinging.

• The last swing to try after they are successful with a two point hung swing is a swing hung from a single point with them alone in the swing. Do this gradually and in small gentle increments...the goal is 15 minutes of swinging two times daily eventually!

Then try the following by themselves:

• Swinging in a blanket or hammock

• Slide play , Riding various vehicles - tricycles, bikes, scooters, Trampoline jumping

• Walking on unstable surfaces - this requires adjustment of body movements for maintaining balance.

• Swinging on swings - encourage but never force this! This movement can be therapeutic but if gravitational insecurity is an issue keep it in small gentle doses not to overwhelm their systems and cause fright or flight reactions. swing low so the childs feet can touch the ground.

• Spinning on a tire swing or merry-go-round - monitor as this can be over stimulating.

• Rocking chairs

• Teeter-totters, seesaws ,Somersaults, stair climbing