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Balance and Coordination in ECE

This document discusses balance and coordination in children and recommends consulting an occupational therapist or physiotherapist for difficulties in these areas. It outlines signs that a child may have poor balance or coordination, including falling easily and avoiding physical activity. Suggested activities to improve balance include walking on unstable surfaces, wheelbarrow walking, and swimming. The benefits of improved balance and coordination include increased confidence, self-esteem, sporting ability, and reduced risk of injury.

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Francis kevin Parre�o
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421 views16 pages

Balance and Coordination in ECE

This document discusses balance and coordination in children and recommends consulting an occupational therapist or physiotherapist for difficulties in these areas. It outlines signs that a child may have poor balance or coordination, including falling easily and avoiding physical activity. Suggested activities to improve balance include walking on unstable surfaces, wheelbarrow walking, and swimming. The benefits of improved balance and coordination include increased confidence, self-esteem, sporting ability, and reduced risk of injury.

Uploaded by

Francis kevin Parre�o
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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•It helps children develop and maintain appropriate

controlled body movement during task performance


which, when effective, limits the energy required thus
minimising fatigue.

•Age appropriate balance and coordination allows the child


to be involved in the sports participation with a reasonable
degree of success as it aids fluid body movement for
physical skill performance 
•With good balance and coordination there is less
likelihood of injury as the child is likely to have
appropriate postural responses when needed
•Attention and •Muscular Strength
Concentration •Muscular Endurance
•Body Awareness •Self regulation
•Bilateral Integration •Postural Control
•Crossing Mid-line •Body awareness
•Hand eye coordination (proprioception)
•Hand Dominance •Sensory Processing
•Isolated Movement
•Fall easily, trip often or can’t ‘recover’ quickly from being
off balance.

•Move stiffly and lack fluid body movement.


(e.g. run like a ‘robot’).

•Avoid physical activity.


(e.g. playground use, sports participation).

•Be late to reach developmental milestones.


(e.g. crawling and walking)

•Be slower than their peers to master physical skills .


(e.g. bike riding, swimming or tree climbing).

•Be less skilful than their peers in refined sports participation.


(e.g. team sports)
•Push harder, move faster or invade the personal space of
others more than they intend to.

•Be fearful of new physical games (e.g. swings) or scared of


heights that do not faze their peers.

•Have difficulty getting dressed standing up (e.g. they need


to sit down to get put pants as as they lose their balance
standing on one leg).
•Have trouble navigating some environments
(e.g. steps, kerbs, uneven ground).

•Tire more quickly then their peers or need to take regular


short rest periods during physical activity.
•Motor (muscle) planning
•“floppy” or “rigid” muscle
tone
•Spatial awareness
•Low endurance •Pencil control
•Pre-writing skill •Left right discrimination

development •Hand dominance


•Pencil grasp •Articulation
•Self care
•Sensory Processing
•Improve attention to task and alertness
To support a rapid response when they lose their
balance.
•Explicit teaching of mechanics
Correct alignment of the body in order to maintain
balance (e.g. aiming at and facing the body towards the
target when throwing)

•Strengthen the ‘core’


Namely the central muscles of the body to provide
greater body (especially trunk) stability
•Simplify tasks
Concentrate on only one movement at a time, until
the child is ready to integrate several at once
•Improve muscle strength
to allow for better muscle control for speed and
direction of movement.
•Improve muscular endurance
to increase the length of time with which the child can
maintain balance and coordination.
•Improve sensory processing
to ensure the body is receiving and interpreting the
correct messages from the muscles in terms of their
position, their relationship to each other, the speed at
which they move and how much force they are using.
•Social motivators
 If a child has a friend or family member involved in a
sport, they may be more persistent in participating and
practicing those specific skills.
•Unstable surfaces:
Walking over unstable surfaces (e.g.
pillows, bean bags or blankets on the floor)
that make the trunk work hard to maintain
an upright position.

•Unstable swings and moving


games
including suspended climbing ladders
and jungle gyms. When swings move in
unexpected ways it forces the trunk
muscles to work harder.
•Wheelbarrow walking
The child ‘walking’ on their hands while
an adult holds their legs off the floor.

•Swimming
  Involves the body having to work
against resistance of the water, thus
providing better awareness of where the
body is in space..
•Kneeling
(with no hands touching the floor) to
tap a balloon back to another person.

•Hopscotch
  Requires the child to switch
movement patterns frequently and
rapidly.
•Stepping stone
(with no hands touching the floor) to
tap a balloon back to another person.

•Bike and scooter


  Both activities require the child to
continually make postural adjustments to
maintain balance.
If a child has difficulties with balance
and coordination, it is recommended they
consult an Occupational Therapist. It may also
be appropriate to consult a Physiotherapist
for these gross motor skills. It is important to
acknowledge however that in many (but not
all) paediatric cases, there is a large overlap in
the skills addressed by Physiotherapy and
Occupational Therapy.
Occupational Therapy
A form of therapy for those recuperating
from physical or mental illness that encourages
rehabilitation through the performance of
activities required in daily life.

Physiotherapy
Help people affected by injury, illness or
disability through movement and exercise,
manual therapy, education and advice. They
maintain health for people of all ages,
helping patients to manage pain and
prevent disease.
•Increase the child’s confidence in gross motor
activities
•Enhance their self-esteem
•Increase sporting ability and confidence to engage
in sports.
•Having the balance and coordination to
successfully carry out gross motor skills reduces the
likelihood of injury and thus increases the longevity
of the child’s ability to be involved in sporting
pursuits

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