Neuro-Developmental Therapy
Neuro-Developmental Therapy is a non-invasive and drug free treatment that can help with Specific Learning Difficulties and anxiety problems.
It is a clinical programme devised at the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) involving the routine performance of a series of developmental exercises carried out for a few minutes each day. The movements are based on physical developmental phases expected to have taken place during the first year of life.
All students accepted into Great Oaks Small School will have been screened for neuro-developmental immaturity as part of the entrance criteria, and as such will be expected to participate in an INPP Neuro-Developmental movement programme. Following acceptance into the Great Oaks community by the School Council, the NDT Therapist carries out a full diagnostic assessment using a set of specified movements designed to give detailed information about immaturities within the nervous system.
Lasting approximately two hours extensive tests are carried out to assess gross and fine muscle co-ordination, balance, patterns of motor development, the presence of aberrant reflexes, laterality, oculo-motor functioning, visual-perceptual ability and visual-motor integration performance.
The therapy takes approximately twelve to eighteen months to complete if carried out daily, approximately twenty-four months if carried out during school term-time only, dependent on individual progress and the inclusion of weekends and holidays.
The individualised movement programmes can only be carried out with the supervision and aid of another person, under the direction of a qualified Practitioner.
The INPP programme helps the nervous system to mature, enabling both movement and thinking to take place more freely. As improved coordination becomes an integrated function rather than a skill that has only been learned as a result of practise, both academic and emotional performance is improved.
About the Therapists
Liz Baker (Physical Education Specialist and Osteopath) and Julie Kelly (General Nurse and Special Educational Needs Advisor) qualified as Neuro-Developmental Therapists in 1999, with the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology. They attend courses at The Institute in Chester, annually, alternating between keeping up to date with INPP practice methods, enabling them to maintain their Licence’s and attending The European Conference of Neuro-Developmental Delay to gain insight into recent research undertaken regarding Specific Learning Difficulties.
Julie has recently undergone additional training and been accepted by INPP to train teachers in the use of the Developmental Test Battery and Exercise Programme for use in schools for children with Additional Needs, and towards the end of this year (2009) she will under go further training to become proficient in the use of frequency and hemisphere specific, musical stimulation at the Johansen Individualised Auditory Stimulation Centre in Edinburgh.