TARYN LEVY

Tasha Ball of the Willowell Foundation talks with Taryn Levy, who has been a physical therapist for 22 years, working in pediatrics for 20 years. She currently provides physical therapy services within the school system in and around Addison County.

Q: What brought you to this work?

A: I enjoy working with children because every day is different and they bring such joy into my life and the lives of those around them.

Q: Can you speak to the current trends in child development from your perspective as a physical therapist?

A: Times have changed. I believe that our children are missing essential parts of their development due to the excessive use of “containers” and screens for our babies. Many children are no longer following the typical sequence of sensory motor development. Kids are propped up in bouncy chairs, bumbo seats and Exersaucers and are visually overstimulated by colorful, loud and flashing toys and screens. Children no longer spend large amounts of time on the floor, learning how their bodies move without gadgets to “entertain” them. We are disembodying our infants and young children, teaching them that the external world deserves more attention than how their body moves and feels. I believe this leads to increased states of dysregulation.

Our kids haven’t integrated their primary reflexes well, haven’t developed good core strength and have a limited base for postural stability. A limited foundation all around, really! Top that with the fact that as they get older, kids no longer do chores/shovel snow/walk a long distance/climb a tree … all before school.

Our children are now arriving to school in bodies that are not prepared for seated learning.

However, all hope is not lost! We can create environments and opportunities both inside and out of school that can fill in their foundations, help them integrate these primary reflexes and develop core strength. Giving more opportunity for movement and more time outside in unstructured play naturally encourages the building of foundational sensory motor skills and regulation.

In the meantime, while we are helping our children to fill in missing parts of their foundation, some children may need additional support during seated activities in order to hold their bodies up against gravity, pay attention and learn all at the same time. Their postural control is not yet automatic. If they are required to hold their body up in space as well as perform or engage in a cognitive task, something has to give! This may manifest as “behavior,” moving around and frequently changing positions, distraction, falling out of the chair or inability to pay attention.

Q: Tell us the difference between gross motor, fine motor, and sensory awareness? In what ways can caregivers assist or become more attuned to these?

A: Gross motor skills are the big movements you make with your large muscles such as rolling, crawling, running, jumping, etc. Fine motor skills follow the development of large motor skills. They are more refined using smaller muscles, requiring core strength and control to make small movements with your hands like grasping, picking up objects, manipulating small toys, drawing and writing. Sensory regulation is taking information in through the senses, interpreting that information and responding without over or under reacting. Caregivers can support the sequence of sensory motor development by creating or providing environments that encourage movement, exploration and various ways to interact within the space. Natural, outdoor environments organically provide these opportunities; however, indoor environments with large motor spaces and open-ended play can also encourage this type of developmentally appropriate play.

Q: How can caregivers help shift how we view and respond to young children in terms of development and body awareness?

A: Children need to move to learn. Quiet, alert time without distractions facilitates physical embodiment. Babies and young children that spend time on their tummies benefit from not only building core strength but the pairing of tactile, visual and proprioceptive sensory information to develop where their body is in space. Building upon that foundation, young children further develop their body and spatial awareness by moving their bodies in a large variety of ways, on lots of different surfaces and obstacles; crawling or climbing up, down over, under, around and through. And falling.

Q: I know you’re a big advocate of caregivers not using “tools” or props for young children? Can you speak to why this is and what you suggest instead?

A: Often the use of containers, gadgets, toys or “tools” to entertain your child and make your life easier impedes typical development and could be considered “non-developmental time.” We all need a safe place for our children to be while we attend to other tasks. But balancing that with time on the floor, engaging in developmentally appropriate play and movement, is essential. A doctor once told me, your baby can’t fall off the floor. Creating a safe place on the floor where your baby can discover their hands, roll, airplane, push up on their hands, belly crawl, get on their hands and knees and then learn to sit builds the foundation they will need to develop higher level gross and fine motor skills. When your child is older, curious kids will find myriad ways to move their bodies using couch cushions, pillows, blankets, beds, trees, logs, sticks, hills and more.

Q: How does this work “pay off” in the long term? Are there ways the body development connects to learning or the mind later in life?

A: Following the typical sequence of sensory motor development and focusing on inchstones (all the very important steps in between the milestones) not just milestones, builds a strong foundation for the attainment of higher level skills. Children that follow the typical sequence of development and engage in developmentally appropriate play will more likely have stronger core muscles and a stronger, more automatic postural control system that allows them to engage in higher level fine motor and cognitive tasks. Improved postural control is related to improved focus and attention during cognitive tasks.

Q: Can you explain “risky play” and elaborate on the benefits or risks associated?

A: Best said by Angela Hanscom, occupational therapist: “We need to allow children to move in ways that make adults gasp. They need to swing daringly high. They need to go upside down. They need to spin in circles and fall on the ground.” Risky play builds the areas of the brain associated with decision making and impulse control and may enhance that area of the brain for better decision making in adolescence. Allowing risky play helps children to trust themselves. On the other hand, forbidding risky play (telling children, “That’s not safe,” when in fact it may be) undermines children’s trust in themselves and negatively impacts their decision-making skills.

Q: What are some action steps parents and caregivers can take in their own homes and lives to support age-appropriate sensory motor development?

A: Don’t push higher level skills (for example, if your baby is not yet sitting, rather than practicing sitting, allow your child to engage in all the lower-level skills that lead to independent sitting).

Q: Allow your child to move in ways that put you on the nervous list. You can support them by asking questions like, “Do you feel safe? What would happen if you fell? What’s your plan for getting down?”

A: Get outside. Explore. Move. Play.