STNR therapy update

[AustinsMom]

Catatonic and others who are trying this:

We just finished week #6, and I have been uncertain about if I was seeing any improvements. My DH felt like Austins handwriting was getting better, but I wasn't sure. I did definitely notice he was holding his head up better during the exercises, and did not complain about his neck hurting when he was doing them. But today he brought home his weeklyl papers, and his handwriting on his spelling test was soooo good, for him. I was really impressed. And we have not been working on handwriting, and he is not naturally interested in writing neater.

One interesting thing is that he is holding his head up well, and keeping his hands pointed forward, but he's keeping his weight mainly on the heel of his hand and off the fingers. When i ask him to put weight on his whole hand, he says it doesn't feel good to do that. I called the Miriam Bender Diagnostic Center this week to ask a question about that, and got a voice mail and left a message. And Nancy ODell called me that night. She was very nice, siad we need to work on full hand weight, talked with me about how to do that. She was very encouraging and said DO NOT STOP doing them. She said many people stop after 12 weeks cause they start seeing changes, and it takes alot of discipline to do the full 6-8 months but to hang with it.

Just thought I would pass this on. I've got to read this weekend and check out the updates we need to do for phase 2. Thanks for the tip about these catatonic. It's a good match for my OT background, and fits in well with our routines.

[catatonic]

AustinsMom,
You are uniquely qualified to be the pioneer in STNR and share your wisdom with the rest of us. It certainly encourage me to persist. I'm really impressed that Nancy ODell would call you right back -- almost as impressed as I am that you would notice the hand thing in the first place.

I haven't had the discipline to do the STNR effectively. I believe it to be worth the effort, trouble is, my belief doesn't seem to translate into sitting down and doing the exercises every single day without fail.

Any suggestions on how to make sure we do these exercises every day? I really have trouble with routine and all my kids going in twenty different direction every day.

[AustinsMom]

It is so much harder for you, having more kids to keep up with--I just have one to put through the paces. (Although Lauren is home from college for spring break this week, she still doesn't count from a "take up your time getting through routine tasks" standpoint.)

My first suggestion is to do them at the same time each day--we do them right after dinner. My dh usually does them while I do dishes. (Seems like a fair trade.) The only other advice is to find that one thing your child would love to do with you (and there is a 100% chance you will not want to do it) and pair that with the exercises. We do the rocking, then 5 min of the crazy baseball game, do 3 rounds of crawling, 5 more minutes of the game, then finish the crawling. At our house, the games Austin really wants me to play with him--soccer in the hallway, yu-gi-oh duel, sword fighting with plastic swords, etc.--are ones I would rather go to the dentist than play. So I use them to get him to do things he doesn't want to do, but I want him to do.

Good luck. We upgrade to the next set of exercises this week. Talking to Nancy got me all pumped up for it.

[Kimmers]

Is this all outlined in the book?!

Kimmers

[catatonic]

Yes, and it's a good book, easy to understand with lots of pictures. What really hooked me were the photos of kids sitting in positions the authors said indicated immature Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex. My son could have been their poster child. The book outlines a 26-week program of exercises (crawling variations) designed to mature the STNR in about 15 minutes a day. We keep stopping and starting because I am not organized enough to implement the program correctly. I hope by using AustinsMom's suggestions that I'll be able to get it right, finally!!! If you're interested, the book is called:

"Stopping Hyperactivity: A New Solution"
by Nancy O'Dell and Patricia Cook

[lllex]

I was just reading on a web site about STNR to see if my son fit the description. At one point it says "as the neck and arms straighten, the immature STNR makes the knees want to bend", is that why my son can't do a cartwheel to save his life I keep telling him to keep his legs straight and not bend his knees and he just can't do it.

The site also said there are circumventions and interventions, I'm assuming the interventions are the excersises. Have any of you tried the circumventions and have they helped?

Last night while I was giving my ds his dose of pills my dh leaned over to me and said "he thinks you're crazy" LOL ;D . Just wait till I have him start these exercises. ;D

Laura

[AustinsMom]

Yes, the cartwheel you describe would fit with an immature STNR. Of course, poor motor planning can also cause kids to not be able to execute multi-step motor sequences (like a cart wheel) accurately. Your child would have multiple traits common for STNR if this is it. You might want to think back to when he was an infant. Did he crawl for an extended period of time on all fours with hands pointed forward? Or did he go right to walking or creep on his belly or use some other form of locomotion? If he didn't crawl, then an immature STNR is the likely culprit. I got the book for $2 plus shipping on the used portion of Amazon. It's a good investment if you think this might pertain to your child.

[catatonic]

When I read the risk factors for immature STNR, I knew my son fit the picture. Since he's the 3rd child, he spent his babyhood in a house with 2 older brothers and a swimming pool. We weren't crazy about the prospect of him drowning, so he spent a fair amount of time in a playpen and walker. He also never crawled correctly but instead crawled like a bulldozer, with his head down. Then he learned to walk early. All of those things can contribute to STNR problems. (At least the baby shouldn't face this issue. When she came along, she refused to be confined by anything, so we fenced the pool instead.)

[Kimmers]

My son crawled and walked on schedule but I do remember him crawling like yours Cat. He would crawl with his face pointed towards the floor. The only way he would look up is if he stopped crawling. He also has a very hard time sitting straight on a chair-he always has one leg draped over the side or one foot wrapped around the leg of the chair. I remember a thread on this issue before and I think you had posted a website about it, Cat. Do you still have that to post? Also, some other things I have noticed is that his handwriting improves dramatically when he is standing next to the table rather than sitting in a chair. He also crashes into walls all of the time and he used to chew on his shirt sleeves. Are these all related to Sensory Integration, STNR or both? If it is more STNR, I really think we need to try this. Unfortunately Cat, we have a household run alot like yours. Strict routine for a few days and then all of a sudden we're all running around the house like unorganized crazy people! Although since it is only 15 minutes a day, I might be able to follow through.

Kimmers

[lllex]

I'd say he crawled for about 2 months, maybe 3. I was asking him last night how he sits at his desk at school, and he says he wraps his legs around the chair legs. He also doesn't sit during dinner, he stands with one leg on his chair. I guess I ought to buy this book and give it a shot.

[catatonic]

Here's a link to some fairly detailed information about the book:
www.stophyper.com/

For more information about infant reflexes including STNR, there's some general stuff here:
www.indtireland.com/reflexes.htm

For study results on dyslexic children and the high prevalence of immature reflexes, read this:
www.bdainternationalconference.org/presentations/sat_s1_a_1.htm

15 minutes a day is harder than it sounds!

[AustinsMom]

Kimmers, The head position during crawling is important too. The main emphasis in this first 6 weeks of exercises is keeping the head upright. Also having an easier time writing while standing is an example she uses to illustrate an immature STNR. (Easier to work with elbows bent if legs are straight.) Sounds like something worth exploring for your child.

[Kimmers]

Austinsmom-

I think you are right, we should look into this. I was going to way back when this was first brought up but like Cat said, sometimes finding time is impossible.

Would this cause my son to have pain in his neck and back? He has been complaining lately that he has been getting headaches and that his neck and back hurt alot. I have thought about bringing him in to see the chiropractor but didn't know if he was faking or not (he does this sometimes to get attention or to try and stay home from school!)

If this is an issue that is causing him pain, then I will make it a priority to do this. Since he is only 6 I would hate to see him go through a lifetime of pain and suffering!

Thanks for the insight!
Kimmers

[Kimmers]

Thought I would post this link that details other reflex problems that may be present in children. It is a website based in Europe but the info. is still relevant and it also highlights some books and a questionnaire that you can fill out to see if you may have an existing problem with your child. We scored pretty high!

www.inpp.org.uk/index.htm

Has anyone read any of the books and if so, what did you think of them? I was also wondering if the Stopping Hyperactivity book also deals with these other types of immature reflexes. I am particulary interested in the others because they can create problems even in things such as bed-wetting!

Just an FYI!
Kimmers