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Clumsy Kids

MOVEMENT

Movement and physical activity are essential requirements for children to fulfil each of their developmental milestones and thus reach their full physical, mental and emotional potential.

Through movement children are able to gain an awareness of the world around them, as they explore they develop coordination and an increasingly better spatial awareness. They improve their equilibrium reactions which means they can respond better to changes in their environment and this gives them confidence and more positive self esteem. Being able to move with confidence improves socialisation skills and research now shows a direct correlation between achievement of physical milestones and mental development

Developmental milestones are a series of tasks that we expect a child to be able to complete at a certain age. These include a cross section of fine motor skills or precision movements, such as writing or doing up buttons and gross motor skills that involve large muscle groups such as those used during running and throwing. To do any singular movement requires the coordination of different muscle groups by the brain.. The ability to do certain tasks tells us how well our neurological systems are operating in coordinating the contraction and relaxation of different muscle groups.

 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Often the first signs are that children fail to do certain physical tasks as quickly as their peers. They may be slow to crawl or walk or later on may show difficulty with more precise activities such as doing up their shoe laces

They may be more prone to knocking into things, may fall over a lot more. They tend to drop things a lot or fumble small objects. They find it uncomfortable to run and may avoid doing any kind of physical activity because of this

At times this clumsiness or awkwardness can be falsly misinterpreted as laziness or misbehaviour. Always question your child on their reasons for not participating in certain activities. 

Usually the first person to pick any problems up is the Clinic nurse. Remember she is trained to look for any differences outside what is generally normal. By the same token I have found in my experience that if a parent feels that there is something not right with their child then generally that is the case. Do not be put off with the “neurotic first time mum” rejoiner.

TREATMENT

The first step is to make sure that there is no particular physical reason for the child being clumsy or awkward. For instance if a child has sore feet because of fallen arches they will not like to undertake any activity that involves weight bearing. The same may apply if they have ligamentous laxity ie.”double jointedness” resulting in knock knees or constant shoulder dislocation. Remember that clumsiness or failure to reach developmental milestones can also be symptoms of underlying neurological disease, such as cerebral palsy or autism.

 The second and most important step is to recognise that there is a problem that needs to be addressed and that the difficulty that the child is experiencing is not due to “lack of trying “ or misbehaviour.

Remember when you first drove a car. At the beginning there were so many different actions that had to be coordinated at once. Often when you first learnt you would deal with only one component ie.on the first day you’d only practise steering, the next day changing the clutch and then maybe on the third day you’d try combining the two movements. Eventually these actions become automatic just as first of all a child takes coordinating the end movement it is generally easier to break the activity down into its component movements and practise these first.

Like most things that we learn the earlier we start the easier we assimilate the information. If you find that practising the activities at home id not successful then discuss other possibilities with your GP. There are a number of alternatives available to you depending on the severity of your child's disorder. Think about enroling in the local gym-jam play group or calithesthenics, these are run for all age and skill levels with emphasis on precision and discipline of movement. There are some very good programmes along these lines as long as there is not too much gymnastics involved. Please avoid activities that involve young children doing handstands and backflips as this can cause potential problems for their backs in the future. There are many fine programmes that are run through the local Universities often called Uni-gym or clumsy kid programmes. Programmes in rural areas are usually undertaken by the family and volunteers under the guidance of the Community Physiotherapist or Occupational therapist. These programmes involve constant repetition including visualisation of a movement and practical application.

Prognosis for these conditions are very good if the child is treated from an early age , the earlier the better. What a parent can do to make this transition easier is to remember that a successful child is a child who believes he/she has succeeded. Do not place your own expectations onto your child and endeavour to find hobbies and sports which they enjoy and feel that they contribute.