After an initial 2 to 3 hour assessment to see where each child’s strengths and struggles are, we:

1) Have a weekly session for an hour, to go through exercises with play, movement, speech and art.
In this safe environment of a personal relationship with a qualified Extra lesson provider, development is stimulated and at the right time, new, achievable challenges are given. In this way self-confidence can grow and learning can happen. This weekly meeting with the child also gives the practitioner the opportunity to constantly reassess and adjust the programme according to the need at the time. It gives opportunity to build a relationship of trust, both with the child and the parents, in which the steps for growth and change can be made safely.

2) Another very important part of the program is the daily exercises done at home.
These take on average about 10 to 15 minutes, and need to be done daily to get the best outcome. With each repetition the brain gets triggered until the movement becomes automatic and fluid, so we can perform it with the least effort and forms the base on which to build the next level of skills.

– The duration of the program varies a lot from child to child. The two main factors that influence the result of the program are any neurological limits a child may have, and the degree of support the child receives from the parents/caregivers in the daily doing of the homework exercises. Usually we are looking at a minimum of one to one and a half year. This is the time required to recapitulate that early development and make the neurological changes on a physical level and for these changes to become part of the fabric of the body and life, and therefore lasting.
If homework exercises are done daily, progress should start to become clear after six to eight weeks.

Success
The outcome of the programme depends on several factors:

• The existence of any underlying neurological and/or structural conditions, and developmental limitations that may have.
• The support for the child to do the homework exercises daily.
• Addressing of any other accompanying issues that may be present, like for example dietary problems, eye or ear problems.

As the difficulties for each child are very individual, each programme will be individual, as well as the outcome for each child and family. The aim is to help the child develop their capacities, so that they can become more secure in their sense of Self, and so meet their challenges with stronger abilities.

If it is clear that other interventions or assessments might be needed, referrals will be made, for example for digestive difficulties or suspected allergies, visual assessment by a developmental/behavioural optometrist, auditory processing assessment, medical support, cranial sacral osteopathy etc.

See also:www.extralesson.com.au