From the body to integrating body and mind !

I took time during this week to revisit photographs of children, whose walking efforts were captured to study the dynamic and static functions while attempting to walk. I recall how this child when shown the bulletin board with photographs in the corner of the room showed an interest to move steadily, which reduced the muscle spasm that seemed to inhibit him initially! It was the sight of the bulletin board with photos that made a difference in his movement stride. That visual stimulus gave him motivation to move because of an interest to explore what was on the bulletin board. 

It was after watching some children in similar situations, the approach shifted from 'making a child to walk' to  'allowing a child to pursue visual or auditory cues' to facilitate movement. The effort to make a child walk might not get a child's full attention or interest. Instead if he or she has something interesting ahead to explore a few steps ahead, the movement gets initiated in the child's conscious thinking, in which case the motor synchronisation of movements takes place volitionally, which is more physiological. 

I recall the philosophy of conductive education which was a popular model introduced by Dr Andras Peto in the 1940's, designed to help children and adults with neurological disorders to learn independent daily living skills through 'active learning'. A visit to one of the centres in London in 1986 left a lasting impression in my mind. The 'conductor' who is a facilitator co-ordinated a small group of children or adults to participate in activities of daily living in  a setting where modified furniture and devices are used. It was a self motivated  learning process to adapt and learn newer ways to overcome limitations to  function in a way that was practical for each child. 

Another form of movement practice that Anna and I came across was 'Awareness through movement' introduced by Dr Moshe Feldenkrais, a Ukranian-Israeli engineer who focussed on 'learning how to learn' by overriding habitual and inefficient movement patterns. He suggested that by moving each part of the body with awareness and feeling the comfort and wellness,  the movements bring integration between the mind and the body. When body is moved in a slow manner by turning the attention of the mind to the movement, the new learning is initiated. This remains as a popular exercise regimen in neuro-rehabilitation as well as in improving co-ordinated body movements to bring relaxation to the body. 

One turning point in my consciousness was this new awareness in the early nineties, when the attention shifted to integrating the mind and body in helping  children to move. It is the attraction of a play activity, a visual, auditory, sensory or kinaesthetic experience awaiting the child, which invites a child to move. 

Looking back over the last forty years of involvement in child development and rehabilitation, I realise how such an approach yielded good results and found acceptance with parents. The recent book, published by ASHIRVAD,  Engage your child summarised our experiences on exploring play as a process to help a developmentally challenged child at home by parental initiatives. 

When a child voluntarily moves and finds that as fulfilling, he or she is in a new level of self directed learning, which is what we ought to aim for all children, who need enablement developmentally!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

 

The fraternal sense !

 

During the mid day yesterday, when the the clouds cleared for a while, a pair of Bulbuls arrived at the feeding station and were engaged in their routines. I noticed an unusual attentiveness and focussed attention  which made me look in the direction of their focus. 

A Sunbird was perched in the branch of the Rambutan tree which was spreading out towards the feeding station. The stillness and interest with which the Bulbuls watched the Sunbird and the alertness with which the Sunbird exchanged greetings was a fascinating sight for me. 

The avian world is a communicating world. 

I sometimes wonder if humans exist in a hostile world, where heart level communications do not seem to be a norm. 

The IRAN-ISRAEL-MIDDLE EAST-USA tensions do not seem to settle down. I suspect that the compulsive behaviour of Israel and the USA to dominate and subdue nations that do not fall in line with their territorial aspirations, get attacked and damaged! Whom does the war benefit? 

I wish the current crisis does nor escalate further. 

It is the fifth time the petrol price has gone up in the last one year in India. An economist suggested that we are encountering only the tip of the iceberg of economic distress that we shall soon face! 

How refreshing and comforting it was to watch the Bulbuls and the Sunbird reach out to each other in silent communication! They honour each other with behavioural sanity!

The king Charles during his recent visit to the USA pointed out in a humorous way how peace and harmony are the normal human aspirations! That message awakened the conscience of many, but did not make a difference in the attitude of leaders of that nation!

As I listen to the bird calls in the garden, while writing this, I feel encouraged by the message of goodwill they bring each day to us! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A child's efforts and parenting presence!

 

The beginnings of movements lasting for short spells, lay the foundation for progress and stability for the progress in movements. 

In my experience in child development, such occasions are the inspiring moments for the parents and affirming to children to be consistent in their efforts. 

Parents need patience and hope and children need encouragement and incentives to sustain these efforts. 

Having watched efforts of infants and toddlers to move on in their developmental sequence, I feel within that the instinct of a child to charter his or her developmental progress is conditioned by the opportunities offered to the child. The support of the mother to help this child is evident and facilitatory. 

The nature of the child is to follow the trajectory of development at his or her pace. The nurture needed to make it happen is the parental contribution. 

I recall the stories of parents whom I remember who were sensitive to sense the readiness of a child to move on to the next step in the developmental progression. That anticipatory step often helped a child to move on to the next level of movement, communication, socialisation and exploration. 

The parenting presence is the affirmative environment that infants and toddlers would need in the developmental journey. 

Let me therefore suggest that entertaining a child with cartoons and several other programme on the visual screen in the mobile phone or TV cannot be a substitute during infancy and toddler years. The human interface is what promotes the interactive and communicative ambience upon which the developmental pace is dependent on! 

Let me complement all fathers and mothers who have given utmost attention to promote their child's learning pursuit by their presence and engagement.

When a child is developmentally challenged, the patience of the parents would be tested! Even in such situation, an infant or a toddler would draw encouragement by the augmented efforts of parents! Such an augmented parenting defines the progress a child would make developmentally! 

It is during this week we celebrate the Father's day internationally!

I want to remember all parents who anchor their infants and toddlers into a world of opportunities by their interactive presence! Anna and I greet them in appreciation!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

To let go to find freedom!

 

These photos of a 30 months old child, taken on 13 October 2021 caught my attention, while visiting the photo library in the computer. 

The fifteen photos of how this child decidedly let go of his hold on the chair steadily and slowly to reach the floor and then attempting to crawl appeared full of meaning that I suspect I missed at that time. He cautiously by design and plan progressed to reach the floor to feel free and move about. He longed for freedom which was what he attained by his decision and action. 

Letting go was not an easy decision for this child. His muscles were stiff and slow to respond to his efforts to to move. He was only in the early stage of his attempt to bear weight unsupported to sit. His desire to let go however was decisive and well balanced. 

To let go was a loss of the safety and security of the support he had from the chair. Yet he took the risk because of his desire to find freedom to move! 

I remember a two years old child having a handful of marbles in his fist and struggling to bring out the hand through the narrow neck of the container. His mother suggested to him to let go of the fistful of marbles and pick up one marble at one time. That was not an acceptable proposal to him. He took a while to follow up on his mother's advice. 

This applies to me in my daily life ! The time has come when I am required to give away a good collection of books as I do not use them any more. But I stay attached to them sentimentally. The storage space is limited. I perpetuate this dilemma and feel controlled by my attachment to them. 

To let go of a behaviour or practice is the first step to let in a new optic and behaviour! 

The boy in the picture above reminded me of the move I need to take in some dimensions of my living to let go! There is no movement forward or prospect of new experience till I can let go of what I am used to or attached to!

Since small joints of my hands have arthritic pain, I have been focussing on more movements. It was while playing caroms today I realised that lot more of movements are possible than what I am used to. What I need is is to let go of my hesitation to move for fear of pain!

To let go is difficult; but when one chooses to do it, it lets in the freedom which did not exist before! 

A new world of movement and discovery dawned on this child when he was ready to take faltering steps assisted by his father!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The example of a family!

The 

The above scene of 12 August 2019, of a family demonstrating the needs of their son to sit, stand and walk at 2 years of age left a disturbing thought in my mind. I was engaged in welcoming similar children for clinical appraisal from November 1983. Thirty six years later, something seemed to disturb me at the end of meeting with the family of this child above. The parents were keenly involved to  facilitate the developmental progress of their son. They needed further guidance and support. I was moved by their helplessness and desire to find a way forward. 

It was at the end of the day, it occurred to me about the need to have some reading materials for parents, well illustrated with drawings to help parents to evolve a home based developmental support for children when children have developmental needs. While discussing this with Anna, she too felt enthused to attempt designing a manual for parents. 

That thought led us to design and publish, two manuals for parents in the last two years. The first, Enable Your Child is a parent friendly appraisal of different developmental needs of a pre-school child in fifteen domains. The second one, Engage Your Child is a manual of  ideas with line drawings of different activities, that parents can do to promote the developmental efforts of the child by using toys and play based activities. 

I recall this journey, to acknowledge how parents have been our pathfinders in our involvement in child development and rehabilitations. It was their questions and needs which prompted us to find the next step to move on. 

With our retirement in the last three years, we have been engaged in preparing some ore reading materials for parents and professionals by summarising our experiences. 

We feel grateful to parents and professionals for having been the resource for us to summarise our observations and learning in child development by preparing a few more reading materials for publication! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

The monsoon effect !

The monsoon having set in, the garden around our cottage has an enlivened look with richer colours and an exuberance special for this season. 

I watched this Myna in the lawn looking for its feed ! During that short time, this bird was active in its search.

An awareness about the way life is sustained on earth through what we receive from the giving earth, dawned on me and brought a flash on the abundance in the garden! 

For our gardener deseeding is a big challenge. The  overgrowth between trees can go upto knee level, making it difficult to gather the fallen nutmeg fruits. The overgrowth is not weeds, but plants of all sorts, most of them giving different benefits and some with medical value. That is the home and bed for insects, garden lizards and reptiles. 

What seems ugly or redundant for humans might be of value for others species who live n the garden. The earth is hospitable to all. 

That brought a fresh sense about  hospitality within me. It is easy to offer hospitality to those from whom we benefit. I realise, to be hospitable to those who are different from us or distant to us, is not an easy experience. 

That initiated me into a personal journey!

The giving earth! 

And the call to be giving hospitably!

I still have a long journey on this pursuit!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Learning to grow old !

The windy evenings along with rains are common in the pre-monsoon period in our area. The casualty yesterday was the breaking away of one branch of a Rambutan tree in our front garden. 

The tree had many fruits and were in the ripening stage. 

A careful examination of the reason for the weakening of the branch helped me to suspect that the plastic cable  tied around it restrained the growth of the stem. The plastic cable was for birds to rest before and after feeding from the feeding station. 

The plastic cable restrained the growth of the stem circumferentially weakening it to bear the weight of the foliage and fruits. With a strong wind blowing and swaying the branch and foliage, the branch succumbed at its vulnerable site! 

 

I realise that the cable had gone deeper inside the bark thereby chronically stressing the branch from growing !

I feel sorry that we did not keep a watch over the effect of such  an act of tying a cable around the branch rather tightly! The copper wire inside the cable was solid and not elastic. An ordinary plastic wire or nylon or cotton thread would not have had a similar impact. 

I took time to reflect on this after seeing this site in the garden!

The tree remained vulnerable at a braking point for weeks. It was not noticed. 

That is how some people crumble emotionally and behaviourally when faced with long standing stress, not well attended to. As I grow older, I realise there are more vulnerable situations because of the process of ageing, affecting  me physically, behaviourally and cognitively. 

A self audit is therefore a desirable practice as a protective and preventive step to remain safer ! The trigger events are too many to tilt the delicately balanced comfort level! 

Living well while growing older is a worthwhile focus of attention. I picked up a book from our book shelf at home yesterday, written in 1985 by Dr Paul Turner, a Swiz medical practitioner, Learning to Grow Old. At 72 years while he wrote this book while he was reflecting on several stories of older people loosing their wellness emotionally and socially. He referred to two turning points in life- becoming a youth and later an older person. The elderly have to grow up well, coping with the losses that would occur gradually. And yet it is also a time of celebration of life and grateful recollection of experiences in the family, at work place and social ambience.

I felt enthused by the aspirational view that Dr Tournier had for himself at 72 years of age. 

The branch of the tree was full of fruits. It is broken, but it leaves  behind fruits !

That is the call for fruitfulness, when one learns to grow older!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)