Emerging ideas are being used to treat developmental and functional problems, including problems at birth, disorders and traumatic injuries. However, physical therapists who try these ideas can be difficult to find. The increasingly popular method is known as neurodevelopmental therapy, or NDT.
At its core, NDT is a way to look at impairments on a targeted, individual level. Physical therapists use hands-on methods and high-tech equipment to teach activities. For instance, think of a girl who can't manipulate a fork might set a goal to do it. The therapist might guide the kid through lifting the hand, reaching for the object and recognizing its sensation and then picking up its weight. It's one step at a time, and involves touch from start to finish.
NDT is patient-driven, because they have to set goals. In the case of children, families play a role. For grown-ups dealing with problems such as TBI and stroke, the goal could involve walking, standing and more. Elite physical therapists who ise these methods say that each patient's view of their own treatment makes a huge difference in their healing processes.
In addition to the intuitive sense that it works, NDT truly gets real, powerful results. Professionals in the field report that need less help and fewer devices and improve at proper positioning. Goals can be set, and reached, in eating, speech, movement and much more.
For kids with disabilities, physical therapists can use NDT to help with things that will make these individuals less dependent on others for care. This can include learning to support oneself, maneuver stairs, or even crawl or stand. Practitioners of this method believe that at least a little improvement is within reach of almost all people, even if they have been diagnosed with lifelong conditions.
The body of research on NDT isn't very thorough, but the subject isn't controversial. Many of the research papers were about just a few patients, so aren't widely generalizable. But it all makes sense and a growing number of physical therapists for kids with special needs and other specialists have adopted its techniques.
If you or a family member struggle with function and mobility, consider finding a autism spectrum disorder San Diego, CA expert to help.
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