One of the greatest blessings of my career in IM is the wide variety of individuals that I have an opportunity to see. People do not need to go to the doctor, have a diagnosis, or even struggle to go through IM with me. As a result, I see many neuro-typical (NT) people, both children and adults, and of all ages.
What do I mean by neuro-typical (NT)? I mean average, typical, having no neuro-developmental delays/disorders, no diagnosis ... just solid, healthy, typically functioning people. Most of the NT individuals that I see are family members of a child I saw for developmental delays. NT students move differently than the children with neuro-developmental delays. This video of one NT student I trained shows typical movement patterns.
NT individuals move smoother, more fluidly, as I ask them too. They do NOT make circle that aret backward or flat. They don't bob their heads, or bend their knees, or tap only their toes. They don't hold their left arm with their right hand to move it, or minimize the movements to almost nothing. They don't fall over, leave their foot down 1/2 the beat or rush the beat on the balance tasks. They can reach their foot backwards easily. They just move their bodies the way I ask them to move, generally speaking. They move typically!
This video is for parents to watch. before your child's initial assessment. Compare your child's movements to the smooth coordinated movements of this young man on the right. Observe how consistently your child makes circles. Does your child have almost non stop control of the movement, attending to every detail of the circle with accuracy, or do they ballistically hit as each beat occurs, making circles that look like jagged edged ovals, or even flat arches?
This neuro-typical boy (a sibling of a child I'd seen this past spring) came this summer, 5 days a week for 3 weeks straight. His beginning LF assessment average was 32 ms, the superior range. Three weeks later his LF assessment average was 14 ms - Elite range for EVERY task!! I've seen upwards of 100 individuals that have reached mid teens in just 15 sessions. This is what neuro-typical looks like after age 10 or so. I have even had 8 yr olds start and end that low on occasion!
PS - This NT boy completed my goals for the 'basic' IM format in about 4 days, the core conditioning format (crossing midline/ bilateral integration/trunk rotation tasks) the next four days and the moved into some visual processing tasks, an area he found more challenging actually! He was a very fast learner! Children with neuro developmental delays (NDD) can take 45 sessions or more to complete what this boy did in just15 sessions, but, with enough IM, most of children with NDD can get here or very close!! Once there, they often have little need for medication anymore and have a much more neuro typical experience with life resulting in MUCH more success and self confidence.
