Developmental Delays in a Pre-teen child

I’ve been an OT for 20 years now and have seen many patients with the diagnosis of Developmental Delay.  As these children age, some of them do “catch up” but others tend to develop at their own pace. Sometimes other syndromes or conditions or influences are impacting these children as well. One day a mother was talking to me after our OT session and she stated – “He is just marching to the beat of his own drummer!” and that has stuck with me for the past 15 or so years.  Well, that statement in itself has a rhythmical reference to it, so I thought why not try IM with some of my patients who had Developmental Delays and see if it would be helpful.

A 12-year-old boy was my first prospect. I had known him and worked with him since he was 18 months old. I reviewed with mom what I had learned, and let her know that I thought this might be a good option for her son who was struggling in school and was very slow and awkward in general. She agreed, knowing that at the very least it would be a good workout for him and that he would have to do some good motor planning during the tasks.  She committed to coming in 2x/week before school to do the sessions and we would see what happened. She decided not to tell teachers at school or any family members so that we could get any feedback unsolicited.

Why I choose to use the Interactive Metronome (IM)

Hi there! My name is Wendy Harron and I am an Occupational Therapist. I have worked at A.I. duPont Hospital in Wilmington, DE for the past 20 years helping kids suffering from Developmental Delay,  Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Learning  Disabilities, ADD/ADHD,  Sensory Processing Disorder, and various other genetic and developmental disabilities.

When heard about the Interactive Metronome words like "Technology", "Computers", "Cowbells", "Clapping" and "Tapping" flooded my ears. How could any of these help a child who has special needs? It seems that there are tons of techniques and modalities out there to help our children. How do you know which one to choose? Therapeutic Listening Programs, Astronaut Training Protocols, Captain’s Log, Brain Gym…. the list goes on and on. Each one different and requiring investigation to see which one will work for your family and your child. I had been reviewing research about a program called Interactive Metronome, seeing its positive impact on not only children with special needs, but adults with special needs, children in school, musicians, football players and even golfers! This was something that I needed to check out!