|
|
||
|
|
Developing the Infant’s Brain By Richard Kieninger The term “neurological
organization” means that the brain can take in and store information in an
orderly and “organized” fashion. This information can be recalled when
needed. Not possessing neurological organization is usually caused by
environmental conditions as opposed to the organic dysorganizations found in
brain injury cases. The first step in
evaluating neurological dysorganization is to measure the child against the developmental
profile and to have him tested to rule out the possibility of an organic
problem. Pons
Functioning
Begin by determining the
organization at the brain level of the pons. This is ascertained while
viewing the child’s ability to crawl on his stomach. The child should be able
to crawl on his stomach in what is termed a “cross pattern” without receiving
specific instruction. Cross-pattern crawling is forward movement where the
child extends his right arm and pulls up his left leg, pushing and pulling
with the right arm and left leg. He then alternates his movement so that he
is pushing and pulling with the left arm and right leg. If the child crawls
in what is called a homolateral pattern (which is pushing and pulling with
the right arm and right leg, and then the left arm and left leg) he is
exhibiting a degree of dysorganization at that level. If the child crawls
without a pattern or in a manner where he is extending both arms forward and
pulling both legs up, he is also reflecting dysorganization in the pons area
of the brain. Mid-Brain
Advancing to the mid-brain,
organization or dysorganization can be assessed by examining the child’s
ability to creep on his hands and knees. Remember, you crawl before you
creep. Crawling is on the stomach, and creeping is on the hands and knees.
The child should also creep in a cross pattern. Properly, the child’s hands
should be extended flat on the floor with fingers pointing forward. Ideally,
the child should be looking forward at the extended hand. Again, if the child
creeps in a homologous (bunny hop) or a homolateral pattern (right arm and
right leg) he is exhibiting a degree of dysorganization. In assessing your
child’s ability to creep, it is necessary that you have him creep at various
speeds, with varied amounts of starting and stopping. A child properly
organized at this level should never go into the homolateral pattern or
homologous pattern. Cortex
Progressing up into the
lower cortex area of the brain, you may evaluate organization by viewing the child’s
ability to walk. Instruct the child to walk across the room while he points
at his feet, and assess whether he is walking in a homolateral pattern or a
cross pattern. You may wish to demonstrate to the child what you intend him
to do, then have him mimic your actions. Have the child follow your
instructions while starting and stopping his movement several times. Any
hesitation he displays about which hand to point is an indication of
dysorganization. He should be pointing opposite hand to opposite foot, and
should not walk in a homolateral pattern. There are many children who lack
this cross-pattern function, and they reflect coordination problems to a
certain extent. Coordinated gross motor action culminates in a cross pattern
whether it’s bowling, doing a basketball lay-up, or throwing a baseball
pitch. A child who lacks complete organization will display a loss of
coordination to some degree. Interestingly, there is the rare child who is
neurologically dysorganized but has good coordination. Such children
generally have other inefficiencies, particularly mixed dominance. Cortical-Hemisphere
Dominance
Neurological organization
culminates at the top cortical level of the brain. This organization is the
establishment of cortical-hemispheric dominance. This is the establishment of
a dominant hemisphere, or side. A completely organized child should be
right-handed, right-footed, right-eared, and right-eyed, or left-handed,
left-footed, and so on. Hand/Feet
To assess your child’s
dominance, begin by evaluating the function of his hands. You can find out if
he has a dominant hand, as this will be the hand he writes with, throws a
ball with, etc. These functions should all be done with the same hand. If a
child writes with one hand and throws a ball with the opposite hand, he
obviously is displaying mixed dominance. Assessment of foot dominance is
essentially done by using the same method, observing which foot the child
kicks with, hops with, etc. Ear
To assess auditory
dominance, have the child put his ear next to the door and attempt to listen
to conversation that is emanating from the other side. Speak very softly so
that the child leans toward you. The child will turn his head to either the
right or left so that the dominant ear is closest to the source of the sound. Eye
Assessment of visual
dominance is accomplished at what is called near point and far point, using
vision as close as three feet and at a further distance. To assess the child
at a distance, have him point his finger toward your finger while you extend
your arm and point your finger toward the child. If you sight along your
finger to his finger, you can find out which eye he is using. You may wish to
have him alternate his extended arm from right to left to double check your
findings. Also have the child look into a telescope or kaleidoscope, as he
will invariably use the dominant eye. At near point place a
one-eighth inch dot on a piece of paper and put another paper with a one-eighth
inch hole in the center on top. Line up the hole with the dot so that the
child can see the dot by looking through the hole on the top piece of paper.
Have the child grasp the paper with the hole in both hands and slowly move
the paper up to his eye, watching the dot the entire time. Again, watch which
eye the child brings the paper to, as it will invariably be the dominant eye.
A completely organized
child will have a dominant hand, foot, ear, and eye, which will be all on the
same side. If the child lacks complete dominance in any area or does not
exhibit dominance on the same side, it’s a reflection of a degree of
neurological disorganization. If the child lacks a
controlling hemisphere of the brain, organization is lacking because the influx
of information to the brain is not being stored correctly. For instance, a
child may take visual information through his right eye and store it in his
left hemisphere. No child is capable of receiving information from one side
and placing it in the correct hemisphere if the correct pathways do not
exist. The child cannot efficiently process that information. You might view the
dysorganization as a room filled with filing cabinets. If he is properly
organized all of the files are in alphabetical order and he can place a piece
of information in and extract it efficiently. A dysorganized child’s files
are not alphabetized, and he may absorb the information but when he attempts
to retrieve it he may be unable to do so. These children are classically the ones
who study for a test one night, only to fail when they go in to take it. They
took in the information but lost it when they attempted to retrieve it. When
you place these children under any type of stress, the system immediately
begins falling apart, and their function diminishes. Often these children
neglect to remember a homework assignment from the previous night, yet they
can remember what color dress mother wore on Christmas two years previously.
These individuals are not lacking innate intelligence. They just cannot
properly take in information, assimilate it, process it, and bring it back
out again. |
|
|
|
|
|
