Stimulation in children with disabilities

Children, between the ages of 2 and 5, become great discoverers, eager to investigate, touch, smell, bite ... in search of new sensations; coinciding with the stage of greater neuronal plasticity where connections recover more easily, thus emerging new capabilities. A stimulation is essential for th

A stimulation is essential for the development of children with disabilities. Some parents, faced with their child's physical disability, may think that there is no way to develop this stimulation that other children get through movement and play. In Guiainfantil.com we show you that it is possible.

How to stimulate children with disabilities

It is important for children, with and without disabilities, to explore the environment. An exploration that sometimes is slowed by two reasons: Las - The physical conditions resulting from a disability
- The precaution of the parents for fear of possible harm, which promotes, in some cases, excessive care with the child.
However,

the stimulation of the child with disability will encourage, the increase of motor and intellectual capacity as well as the normalization of the disability through its own stimulation. In this aspect, a child, for example with cerebral palsy, at 3 years old may not have started the crawling, but possibly if they put him on the floor with a toy that attracts him at a certain distance, the child will look for the way to reach that toy, either by crawling or bending over itself.

Without realizing it, the child will be exploring the environment, discovering new ways of moving, new textures, postures, movements ... as a child, since we must give him time and resources at the same time, which will increase his self-esteem, as well as the possibility of generalizing these movements towards other things.

A movement that of course should only be stimulated in a controlled and known environment

, where parents reduce their fears but, at the same time, the child can let go of their desire to explore. For example, if we go to the park we should not fear that it gets dirty if it sits on the sand like another child, we should think that the fear of getting dirty should not go against the stimulation for the little one. His contact with the sand makes manipulation work while also favoring the creative capacity through the game with the elements he uses in that space, without forgetting the communication established with the rest of the children.The game stimulates the abilities of children with disabilitiesA simple game can represent a chain of actions in favor of the growth of intellectual and physical abilities

. My experience as a person with cerebral palsy has shown me that, from the game, you can develop motor skills that are slowed down by brain injury.

I have felt how through a simple ball you can go from crawling to start walking on your knees, through the desire that involves dunking the ball in a basket increasingly high, an unconscious action that can facilitate the process of movement towards the kneeling posture starting from crawling.With this anecdote, I wanted to reflect the importance of stimulation in evolution, the ability to discover based on the most innate. That curiosity and the desire to go a little further promote experiences and growth, given that the fact of having difficulties doing things should not prevent us from doing them.