Neurodevelopmental Therapy
Neurodevelopmental Therapy for Children
How our therapy can help you
Does your child struggle with co-ordination, which can stop them enjoying sport or having trouble with handwriting? Are they having difficulty during reading, phonics, concentrating, spelling or listening to instructions? School can be a difficult journey for all children; but for children with neurodevelopmental issues school can have a detrimental impact on their happiness and wellbeing.
Our team understands how difficult it can be to navigate these challenges as a parent or caregiver. Our neuro developmental therapy intervention is part of Harley Row’s holistic and comprehensive approach, falling under the functional medicine pathway. Neurodevelopmental treatment can help bridge the gap between home, the therapy rooms, and school.
What to expect
The program begins with you completing a detailed questionnaire about your child’s developmental milestones and educational history, which can be completed via email or telephone.
This is followed by two initial in-person assessments at Harley Row Clinics in London, Sussex and Surrey. The first is a neurodevelopmental assessment, and the second is a nutritional evaluation. We split these into two sessions to minimise any stress for your child.
The neurodevelopment assessment is intended to identify potential neurological dysfunction that may contribute to learning and academic performance at school. It involves a combination of sound and body movement therapy.
Treatment
Treatment sessions will include physical therapy such as swinging, spinning and testing coordination are a good indication of brain development as well as stimulating the nervous system. The physical exercises chosen during these sessions can improve your child’s brain plasticity and motor control. In time, improved motor performance could allow them to join in activities with peers and develop practical skills. Therefore, movement therapy can enhance a child’s cognitive, physical, social, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Sound therapy is known to gently change and organise auditory processing in the central nervous system by stimulating the nerve pathways into and within the brain. This aims to improve listening, learning and communication. Sound therapy benefits the language centres in your child’s brain, allowing them to speed up and making the processing of language more efficient. Concentration and understanding improves as information is dealt with more quickly, in turn increasing the volume of information that can be processed at a time.
There is evidence to show that making simple changes to your child’s diet can help to improve their ability to focus. It also has a positive impact on their mood and memory. Our team of nutritionists work with you and your child to understand what changes could be made to your child’s nutrition. The impact of this can help them to feel calmer and more confident, concentrate, socialise, and interact with their friends – all changes that will make their school experience a more positive one.
Further sessions last for one hour per week, and then move to fortnightly as your child progresses. The timeframe for this varies depending on your child’s progress and commitment to practise at home. You will also receive a weekly report on your child’s progress through the programme and remain in open communication with our specialists to discuss any issues or concerns.
Meet our team of experts
The team at Harley Row Clinic all come from diverse backgrounds and specialties, yet we have a shared belief in a holistic approach to mental health.
What our patients say
Frequently asked questions
Do you offer neurodevelopmental diagnosis?
Do occupational therapists carry out the assessment?
What happens in the neurodevelopmental assessment?
During the neurodevelopmental assessment, we will discuss any concerns about neurodevelopmental treatment, your child’s education and the issues they face that are impacting their learning or behaviour. Your child will be asked to perform a set of physical movement exercises that may involve swinging, spinning and testing co-ordination. These exercises will provide an indication of their brain maturity.
By the end of the session, you will have a tailored set of exercises for your child to practise at home. You will also receive a short report that expands on your child’s performance and how the exercises are related to their learning.
Sound therapy is ‘exercise for the ear’ and involves the patient listening to selected music and stories and carrying out a series of auditory exercises.