~ Ask a physiotherapist ~
Joan Chinsen has been working as a physiotherapist for over 20 years, and presently is working with children who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind at a Provincial residential school.
Question:
Can you suggest anything to work on balance with my 4 year old child with CHARGE?
Answer:
Balance is a common question and concern for children who have CHARGE syndrome, because of the possibility of missing or malformed semi-curricular canals in the ear as a clinical finding.
Have the child straddle the right sized "peanut" shaped physiotherapy ball to encourage them to find their balance. Start with the peanut while stationary and as their balance skills improve, gently roll the peanut side to side, then eventually try to rock it back and forth. These movements strengthen the core muscles essential for good balance in all upright activities. These movements also mimic horse back riding, which is a great leisure activity promoting these essential balance skills.
The child can also be encouraged to lay over the ball to work on shoulder girdle and upper trunk strengthening. Children with CHARGE have been reported to have missing or underdeveloped shoulder girdle muscles, so early on this area of the body often needs strengthening.
Here is a picture of a variety of sizes of balls.
There is a website which lists a variety of locations in Canada where physiotherapy equipment can be purchased: http://www.canadianbusinessdirectory.ca/category.php?cat=2207