Down Syndrome Guild of Southeast Michigan and Belightful Yoga Present...

Six Reasons Special Needs Kids Gotta Have Art

A picture is worth a thousand words.  To a non-verbal, special needs child, the benefits of pictures and art go far beyond words:  
Art provides special needs kids the chance to creatively communicate thoughts and feelings when they don't have the words to express them.  For example, Valentine's Day is a great time for special needs children and their families to use art for loving self expression.  Read More...

Flip2BFit®: Building Relationships while Building Muscle

Flip2BFit^® is the newest fitness craze for differently-abled kids!  The game combines nutrition trivia, yoga, stretching, and aerobic exercises in a fast and fun workout appropriate for the whole family.  Players compete individually or in teams in a race through the park to meet “Springer” the dinosaur in the playground.  Crab crawl, lunge, toe touch, and do the downward dog to move your piece around the park.  Make a poor nutrition choice and you’re going to have to move back a few spaces!

Early and ongoing exercise helps differently-abled children make significant strides toward purposeful movement and increased cognitive and social development.

Gross motor skill development refers to a child’s ability to effectively use the large muscle groups that control arm, leg, and core body movement.  These muscles support their body’s ability to walk, reach, lift, throw, sit upright, and maintain balance and coordination.  Many differently-abled children experience developmental delays in their ability to use their bodies’ large muscle groups.

Motor planning also presents differently-abled children with enhanced challenges.  To understand motor planning, think about trying to cross a stream by stepping on rocks.  You need to evaluate which rocks will best help you cross the stream without falling in, right?  Then, you step, hop and jump from one to the next using your arms to create momentum and maintain balance.  You may also have to adjust course during the trip.  Differently-abled children need extra practice to develop these mental and physical skills.

Further, being overweight creates an additional layer of difficulty for differently-abled children who already work harder than their typically developing peers to accomplish activities of daily living:

·         Bathing and toileting become more difficult for the child as well as their caregiver.

·         Movement becomes more difficult thus curtailing a child’s ability to participate in playground activities, for example. 

·         It increases the potential for bullying for children who may be already be experiencing it because of their different-ability. 

·         In the long term, being overweight makes children, adolescents, and adults more susceptible to diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, cancer, and osteoarthritis.

Flip2BFit^® innovatively promotes the development of gross motor skills and motor planning.  “Spiderman Crawls”, for example, get the heart pumping and the big muscle groups working!  The “Praying Mantis” builds strength and balance.  “Windmills” stretch the arms’ large muscle groups.  Simple instruction and picture cards facilitate players’ success.  Success builds self confidence. 

Flip2BFit^® builds bridges between differently-abled children and their typically developing siblings and peers as they together develop coordination, strength and personal relationships.  More broadly, the family that plays together bonds together!

Heather Parisi is the CEO/Founder of Flip2BFit® and Fitness for Africa.  Her passion for children; recognition of the rapidly rising childhood obesity rates in this country; and, acknowledgement of the large numbers of starving children around the world inspired her to create Flip2BFit^® and Bakari^® .  Her goal is to promote healthy lifestyles for children and families by putting the FUN in fitness and nutrition!

                                   

Lollacups

Lollacups are in!  Please visit our store to order!

Five Reasons to Teach Your Child American Sign Language

Temper tantrums were common during our daughter's transition from pre-verbal to verbal.  Her word acquisition did not keep pace with her quickly growing wants and desires.  Through the frustration and tears (sometimes hers, sometimes ours), we would remind her, "Use your words!"  Eventually, we developed a somewhat  effective way of communicating with each other using words and gestures.  The problem was that no one beyond our immediate family "spoke the language".  How I wish that we had known about baby American Sign Language (ASL) back then!!

Although there are more than a few benefits to teaching your child ASL, here are my top five:

1. It's a real language.  In fact, it is the 4th most common language in the US!
2. It will facilitate your pre-verbal or non-verbal child's communication and, therefore, help them build connections with you and others.
3. This additional tool in their communication-toolbox means less dependence on temper tantrums for self expression.
4. Watching others sign stimulates visual attention and joint attention skills.
5. Signing develops motor skills.

If you are looking for a resource, we were fortunate to meet Jennifer Cranston, M.Ed. at a recent gathering.  She is a nationally certified sign language interpreter with over a decade of experience in interpreting and deaf education.  She can be contacted at Jennifer.L.Cranston@gmail.com or (703) 725-8289.
More in future posts!

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