Children

I am dedicated to making positive changes in the lives of Children!

The Anat Baniel Method for Childrensm is an educational method derived from the Feldenkrais® method and has expanded on the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais since his death in 1984.

Children who have disabilities learn to explore many variations of movement. Even small changes in learning movement variations can enhance global changes in children's functional abilities.

As a certified Feldenkrais® practitioner and Anat Baniel Method for Children(sm) practitioner, I provide learning experiences for each child which activate and enhance their own natural curiosity giving them opportunities for development beyond their previous limitations. Using gentle innovative techniques to access the brain's ability to learn and differentiate movement, thought, and feeling, infants and children often progress beyond medical expectations.

Click here for an article on my work with children

Articles by Anat Baniel:

Click here for an article on Foot Orthotics

Click here for an article on Scoliosis

Click here for an article on Brachial Plexus Injuries

Click here for New Possibilities Article

Click here for Parents' Stories

 

Helping Infants to Preschool Children with Special Needs

Having taught the Feldenkrais(R) and Anat Baniel(sm) Methods since 1995, I remain inspired by the possibilities that neurologically based movement lessons can elicit in people of all ages. I am especially delighted by the changes that I have witnessed in very young children who are too young to believe in their diagnosis. The children that I have had the honor of knowing and teaching, amaze me with their presence and joy in learning.  

Clare - An 8 month old child with down's syndrome who was so atonal that she was always floppy, learned to sit up on her own using her low back and needing no props at all in just a few lessons over a two-month period.

Benedetta - An 18 month old, was first brought to me because she did not use her Left arm. After one lesson she began to use that arm. She had  been in a lower body cast the first four months of life and did not bend her knees or use her feet, and learned to roll both directions in one series of lessons (a few days) and learned the rudiments of army  crawling in a few months. She learned to use either hand for playing with objects.

Michael - A three year old missing his mid-brain learned to use his back to come to side sitting on his own and to army crawl fast through the house within a year of working with me.

Children's eyes often straighten during lessons. They make up new sounds.  They get interested in themselves, in cause and effect games, and in interacting with others.

Children who have been helped by the Anat Baniel Method have had the following conditions as well as others:

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Brachial Plexus Injury
  • Downs Syndrome
  • Fragile X
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Periventricular Leukomalacia
  • Scoliosis
  • Premature Birth
  • Stroke
  • Autism
  • Cerebral Atrophy
  • Failure to Thrive

Through a variety of experiences, children gain an opportunity to upgrade their nervous systems with increasing awareness of feeling what they are doing.
"When we know what we do, we can do what we want." Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
Many parents report that the first changes they see include:

  • Improved mood
  • Better sleep
  • Greater comfort
  • Increased alertness and awareness of their surroundings

As children "wake up" to themselves, their experiences in and outside of the lessons provide a variety of information that their brain organizes.
Functional changes that have been seen as children continue the work include:

  • More effortless movements
  • Better balance
  • Improved ability to move; crawl, walk, run, jump, reach
  • Greater problem solving skills
  • Improved speech

Please visit my Anat Baniel Method(sm) web page http://www.presencemoves.com/