New Neurodevelopmental Therapy Method Could Help
New ideas are being used to treat developmental and functional problems, including many kinds of congenital, acquired and traumatic problems. Sadly, physical therapists who use these principles can be hard to find. The emerging method is neurodevelopmental therapy, or NDT.
At its core, NDT is a way to look at problems on a very personal level. Pediatric physical therapists use hands-on exercises and advanced tools to teach activities. For example, imagine a child who can't grasp a fork might set a goal to do it. The physical therapist might guide the child through lifting the hand, finding the object and noticing its sensation and then picking up its weight. It's baby steps, and guided by touch from the time the session begins until the task is accomplished.
An important part of this NDT method is patient goal-setting. In the case of children, families play a role. For grown-ups dealing with problems such as TBI and stroke, the goal might be learning to reach above the head without falling. Elite physical therapists who ise these techniques say that a patient's perception of treatment can make all the difference.
Beyond the intuitive sense that it works, NDT truly gets real, powerful results. Professionals in the field report that need less help and fewer devices and improve at proper positioning. Goals can be set, and reached, in eating, speech, movement and much more.
For kids with disabilities, physical therapists can use NDT to help them be less dependent. They can learn to bear their own weight, climb stairs, or even crawl or stand. Experts believe that some improvement is within reach of almost any patient, even if they have been diagnosed with lifelong conditions.
The body of research on NDT isn't very extensive, but the topic isn't really being challenged. Many of the research papers were about relatively small sample sizes, so aren't widely generalizable. But it all makes sense and a growing number of physical therapists for children and other specialists are trying it.
If you need help with speech, eating and mobility, consider finding a financial support for families with autism San Diego California expert for a few sessions.