Lack of balance can make your child fidget and have poor attention attention. Not only is a sense of balance via a child’s vestibular system critical to learning, but it also affects their sense of self-esteem and confidence–as they need to know where they are in space for a quick gateway primitively. And if they don’t have control of their body, what else can they have control off? If balance is underdeveloped or has glitches, a child may have difficulty in the classroom with reading, writing, attention and focus, behaviour, and retaining information.
The vestibular system is the guide that sends messages to your brain, which sends signals to all the different areas in your body (motor planning, proprioception, vision, auditory, hand-eye coordination, muscles, joints) and tells it what to do. For example, if a child’s brain is sending signals to copy from the board, a child must have the balance coordination, muscle tone, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination to complete this one simple task. This is the same for most tasks performed in school, especially when it comes to attention and focus.
If a child’s vestibular system hasn’t developed properly, the child may constantly fidget in their chair, find it hard to sit still, to get focused and concentrate, and find it difficult to copy notes from the board. If their internal guidance system is not working, they have to work even harder than other children to control their movements and body in order to focus, retain information, problem solve, stay organised, write their letters correctly, and track words on the page. What is automatic for most children in the classroom is not for those who have an underdeveloped vestibular system.
If a child’s vestibular system isn’t working correctly, here are some of the signs you may notice:
- Dizziness or nausea
- Spinning sensation or vertigo
- Balance and coordination issues
- Clumsy, uncoordinated
- Difficulty with sports
Because a child’s vestibular system, visual system, and proprioceptive system are all connected, Here are some other signs you may notice that could prevent a child from learning:
- Trouble focusing or tracking objects with the eyes
- Words seem to jump, bounce or float
- Doesn’t like traffic, crowds or stores
- Difficulty with bright light, computer monitors, and digital TVs
- Poor depth perception
- Trouble with throwing a ball
- Find reading difficult
- Difficulty copying notes from the board
The vestibular system detects gravity, movement, and other sensations to help the body with balance. Unlike the other senses, the vestibular system is constantly bombarding the brain with messages. These messages include things like how fast the body is accelerating if the head is rotating, how much pressure is on the pads of your feet, and it provides visual cues to an upcoming object (for example, how close your child is to the chalkboard). These messages cannot be turned off even when motionless.
How Balance is Achieved
Every day, a child is also exposed to conflicting sensory information. They may become disoriented or lose their balance if the data coming in conflicts with other sensory systems. For example, at the roadside, a child may feel that the child rather than the bus is moving. This creates a situation where the brain must process the conflicting information quickly to avoid complete loss of balance.
As sensory integration takes place, the brainstem transmits impulses to muscles that control movements of the legs, arms, head, neck, eyes, and joints, hence allowing your child to maintain balance and orientation. It takes repetition of movement for a child to learn how to walk, run and climb while maintaining balance. The vestibular system also sends nerve impulses to the eyes that control their motor movement. This is why the vestibular is so important when a child is learning hand-eye coordination for reading, writing, pencil grip and spelling. The difference in the impulses that are sent from the vestibular organs from either side of the head controls eye movements and stabilises gaze, especially during activities such as watching a game or running.
The vestibular is responsible for the development of balance, coordination, eye control, help with attention, and being secure with movement in your child’s environment.
