Building Bright Futures: Neuro Therapy Toolkit

First published by Busybird Publishing 2020

Copyright © 2020 Jenny Cluning

ISBN: 978-1-922465-37-5 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-922465-40-5 (e-book)

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Jenny Cluning.

Cover Image: Sandra Garvey

Layout and typesetting: Busybird Publishing

Busybird Publishing

2/118 Para Road

Montmorency, Victoria

Australia 3094

Dedication

The encouragement and inspiration I have constantly received from my devoted husband Anthony has ensured that I have continued to develop professionally.

To my precious children, Mark, Nick and Adam, for being great role models in their own right, for persistence and for resilience.

To Estie Bav, author of the book Growing Beautiful Teeth, for inspiring me and giving me the courage and confidence to write this book.

Lastly, to my dear friends Pamela Ashby, Cranial Sacral and Movement Therapist, Glynis Brummer from Smart Learning Solutions in Auckland NZ, and Ian McGowan from the Movement and Learning Centre in Scotland, for their friendship, learning and ongoing support along the journey.

BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES

Neuro Therapy Toolkit

Contents

Foreword

Special Note

Introduction

1. The Journey

Foundation: 0 – 12 Months

2. Understanding Early Development

3. Understanding Primitive Reflexes

Frame: 1 – 3.5 years old / 3.5 to 5 years old

4. Understanding Postural Reflexes

5. Wired Through Movement

6. Discover the Senses

Roof: 5 – 7 years old

7. The Plastic Brain

8. School Readiness Framework

Neuro Therapy Tool Kit

9. Ultimate Neuro Therapies

10. Additional Neurological Support

Bright Future Testimonials

Stories and Testimonials

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Ifirst met Jenny Cluning in 2013 whilst delivering a training course on Bilateral Integration Movement in Melbourne, Victoria. Over subsequent years, I got to know her as a friend and a loving mother to her family, including her two youngest sons, Adam and Nick, who have required on-going support from a young age and interventions to release their potential and help them be the best they can be.

I have over 40 years of professional experience in physical education, psychology, neuro-developmental and movement therapy, and child development in a range of settings. Since 2004 I have worked in private practice in Scotland with children and adolescents with learning and behavioural difficulties. Parents whose children I have worked with have generally shown great commitment to helping their children, none more so than Jenny supported by her husband Anthony.

Hers is a remarkable story of love, devotion, determination and perseverance to find solutions to her boys’ difficulties. Like many parents, Jenny accessed available medical and educational support from public sector professionals, but then went on a quest to find other support and interventions which could add further value for her boys. Over years of unswerving and on-going support for her boys (including eldest son Mark), Jenny has acquired a significant body of knowledge, experience, and wisdom from her studies and training and from working with her own children and those of other families.

The interventions chosen for her children were selected on the basis of what might work to improve their status. These programmes may not be evidence based from a strict scientific point of view but from experiences of other practitioners have been shown to have positive outcomes. They were all non-invasive, home-based programmes and highly unlikely to do any harm.

If you are a parent, carer, teacher or practitioner working with children or adolescents who need additional support you should read this book. Jenny’s story will provide hope that there is more we can do to help our children and adolescents achieve more than may be thought possible. This book is a useful starting point for further exploration, study and training.

Since the first Bilateral Integration Movement Training Course in Melbourne in 2013, I have been fortunate to personally witness the development of Adam and Nick over the next five years through subsequent training courses and continued contact with Jenny. The progress the boys have made in that time is remarkable, with each making great advances in life skills, sports and academics. This is on-going at the time of writing and their story is not yet complete. I have no hesitation in saying this has been life changing for them — if their initial developmental status had been accepted as a given, there would have been potentially significantly poorer life outcomes than is now the case. Isn’t that something worth shouting about and sharing with others? From the testimonials from parents included in the book (and from those I have worked with over the last 16 years) the answer to that question is a resounding YES!

This book provides personal insights from the author and opens doors to possibilities and opportunities that many who read this may not have been aware of. As such I highly recommend it to you, and trust that you will be both uplifted by the story and much enlightened by the experience of reading it.

– Ian McGowan

Special Note

OAM for service to education as a teacher and administrator of specialist schools.

As an experienced educator of children with special needs, I have found parents benefit in many ways from sharing their concerns with others. We all like to find solutions to our challenges. We ask friends for advice, professionals for guidance, and often spend sleepless nights searching for ideas.

Jenny Cluning has gathered, collected, organised, researched and carefully written this book to help, guide, inspire and help every one of us who has ever had that sleepless night.

Thank-you, Jenny, for embarking on the challenge of writing a book to help others by sharing your experiences and knowledge with others.

– Helen Hatherly

Introduction

For many years, a goal of mine has been to write a book that shares and passes on my knowledge and experience in childhood development to teachers and parents/carers in the community. I have acquired this wisdom through attending many training courses and presenting workshops to both parents/carers and educators in the Move to Learn program and various information sessions.

Over the years I have worked with both my own children and with other parents and their children. This has provided me with a unique insight into the needs of children, their parents, and the support they both require to achieve a high level of life skills and release potential.

This book outlines the journey I have been through, gives a brief overview of early childhood development, major milestones from birth to five years, and some factors that may affect or interfere with development. Also included is an overview of the connections between the brain and movement, followed by primitive and postural reflexes, the vestibular system and the five senses. A description of neuroplasticity is outlined, and information is provided on neuro-therapies that may assist with improving motor control, learning, behaviour, focus and concentration, even sports performance.

Finally, there are additional neurological supports, followed by several stories and testimonials giving a brief account of success and progress some of my clients have achieved.

1

The Journey

In 2008, my husband and I embarked on a pathway to find solutions to help our five-year-old son, who was diagnosed with a severe language disorder, mild autism and an intellectual impairment.

After seeing positive results through hard