The plasticity of a young brain allows early interventions to greatly impact future development. Children with special needs may require additional guidance to reach critical developmental milestones.
Patricia Wollesen is a psychomotor re-educator in Toronto with over 35 years experience tailoring custom intervention programs for infants and young children. Patricia works to unlock your child’s potential, setting the stage for lifelong learning. She specializing in the following types of modalities:
Sensory Integration
Sensory integration refers to the ability to process different information from the environment into an appropriate motor or behavioural response. The ongoing organization of various sensory inputs provides the necessary basis and feedback required to understanding our environment and the possible impacts we may have on it.
A child struggling to process and organize sensory information may face other challenges. The associated awkward movement, clumsiness, and inattention, may sometimes interfere with their learning new skills and result in behavioural problems.
Exercises focused on developing proprioception, balance, and the interpretation of tactile feedback, will help the child better integrate and process sensory stimulation.
Sensory Integration improves:
- Effective environmental responses
- Attention span
- Fluid movements
- Ability and comfort when moving
Psychomotor Re-education
Psychomotor re-education is a pedagogical approach based upon movement. Newborn children first develop cognitive functions through physical movement, the basis of which provides the foundation for all subsequent learning. Through movement, children discover the relationship between thought and action.
Building a strong connection between movement and thought is the cornerstone of psychomotor re-education. The focus is on educating children in the natural and fluid movement of their body so as to promote movement in different situations. This allows the child, for example, to recognize the spatial relationship between his body and surroundings and learn the temporal structure of a movement.
The combination of hands on instruction and verbal instructions serve to provide additional stimulation and further neurological growth. These exercises, as selected by Patricia, take into account individual and emotional needs, with the aim of providing a range of skills that may be depended on to solve various problems.
Psychomotor re-education focuses on progressive skill development and provides:
- Total and segmental body perception
- Better body awareness
- Spatial and temporal perception
- Motor coordination
- Static and dynamic balance
Neuronet
NeuroNet exercises facilitate learning through movement and develop automaticity as a tool for other learning. This approach, which is based on extensive research in neurology along with clinical practice and observation, provides daily structured exercises that may be completed at home, often in under twenty minutes.
Learn more at Neuronet Learning
Client Stories
Autism
Hanna is 13 years old, and has been seeing Patricia for nine years. From being completely unaware of her surroundings, Hanna is now able to self-correct her own exercises, and express her opinions in a conversation.
Prader Willy Syndrome
Jacob is seven years old, and has been seeing Patricia for four years. From being unable to walk, Jacob is running! He’s also starting to control his body movements and beginning to apply this control to his behaviour.
Soto Syndrome
Sofia is six years old, and has been seeing Patricia for three years. From little to no motor skills, Sofia is now walking, jumping and able to point and imitate movements.
Cerebral Palsy
Irena is five years old, and has been seeing Patricia for two years. From little control over her body’s central line, she can now climb stairs independently, creep, crawl and roll.