{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/63cb57e88fa4280010b12ca8/6a7af88f616564bf00dd8355?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"35. Where Movement Begins: Bilateral Integration and the Vestibular System.","description":"<p>If a child is relying heavily on their visual system to drive movement, the missing piece might not be where you think.</p><p><br></p><p>This one started the way our best conversations usually do, with Michelle bringing a genuine clinical wondering. A five and a half year old, a diadochokinesis task, and a quality of movement that looked robotic no matter how much practise was offered. We took that single clinical moment and mapped it through the SPIRIT model, and landed somewhere we did not expect: the vestibular system as the foundational source of bilateral coordination, rhythm and midline reference.</p><p><br></p><p>Tracy did what Tracy does and made the neuroscience not just accessible but genuinely exciting, and by the end of it we were all doing bicep curls at home. This is one of those episodes where we kept saying we would keep it simple, and then absolutely did not, in the best possible way.</p><p><br></p><p>WHAT WE COVER</p><ul><li>Bilaterality as a distinct sensory integrative function. Dr Ayres identified bilaterality as its own cluster within sensory discrimination, not just a motor output. That changes how we reason about coordination tasks that look straightforward on the surface.</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>The vestibular system as the foundation for bilateral movement. Before a child can coordinate two limbs in an antiphase pattern they need a stable midline reference, and that reference is vestibularly mediated. If the foundation is shaky, children may compensate by watching you the entire time rather than generating movement from within.</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>In phase versus antiphase movement patterns. The difference between homologous bilateral movement and the more demanding antiphase patterns, and why grading back to the simpler pattern tells you so much about where the breakdown actually sits.</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Rhythm, the saccule, and why gravity is always working. How the saccule functions as a background rhythm detector, and what the vestibular system's constant relationship with gravity means for rhythm generation and for multisensory supports in treatment.</li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li>Top down versus bottom up coordination. When a child is manufacturing movement through visual monitoring and cognitive effort rather than generating it from an embodied sense, that is clinically significant and observable.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>FREE CPD WORKSHEET</p><p>Five reflective practice prompts, free to download and ready for your CPD record. Grab it with the full show notes and transcript at spiritedconversationspodcast.com</p><p><br></p><p>Want to build your clinical reasoning further? Check out DFX Learning Journeys: https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/</p><p><br></p><p>FIND US</p><p>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/</p><p>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT</p><p>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT</p><p>Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Loved this episode and want an easy cost-free way to support us? Subscribe to our YouTube channel.</p>","author_name":"Tracy Stackhouse, Cory Dundon, Michelle Maunder"}