![]() ![]() ![]() "It's important that the ball fits the child," says Henry. To this end, a ball chair can be a great tool for your child, however, it is extremely important that a small child doesn't sit on an adult size ball. Parents like Lewis are utilizing the concept of classroom ball chairs and allowing their child to use one in a home setting. "They feel less fidgety and more relaxed when they sit on a ball and, by their own assessment, are more able to concentrate, whether on homework or dinner conversation with the rest of the family," says Lewis. So rather than squash a child's innate need for movement, ball chairs channel their physical energy in a positive way, allowing them to focus on their work more completely and reach their full potential as learners.ĭarcy Lewis, a mother of two sons with ADHD in Riverside, IL, has started using a ball chair at home. When a child sits on a ball chair, they are able to direct their natural kinesthetic energy and need for movement in a positive way, because the child on a ball chair has to constantly move his body on the chair to maintain his balance. "The chairs were helpful for special needs students in particular, but I also saw a big difference in kids who were just always rocking in their chairs and needed to move." Barrows had such success in her classroom using a ball chair for one special needs child that she pushed for and was awarded a district grant to get ball chairs for her entire class. ![]() "Ball chairs are very good for children who need to move a lot," says Kay Barrows, a retired elementary school teacher from Monument, CO. Parents and teachers put ball chair benefits to the test And that movement, however slight, helps them focus. Constant movement is required in order to stay seated on the ball. In response to the ball's instability and in order to remain balanced while sitting on one, the body instinctively - and continually - engages core muscle groups. Movement actually allows for alertness and attention," says Henry. "There is a neurological pathway that goes from your body's balance and movement system to your alert system in your brain. And for some kids with a sensory processing disorder or ADHD, being in motion allows their brains to be engaged. Some kids need more movement than others. "Those activities are very important for the development of children's central nervous systems, their brain, and their body." "Running and jumping and spinning and twirling and swinging," says Henry. That's why children need recess at school. The littlest kids are even more wiggly because their sensory systems are still developing." "Generally speaking, people don't sit still," says Diana Henry, an occupational therapist who travels the country in an RV to offer school-based and individual occupational therapy services. "Sitting still" isn't always a good thing Paul Star Tribune that he believes this is because kids are able to burn off excess energy by bouncing on a ball. In the Mayo study, which focused on improving learning and reducing obesity by making children more active, researchers found that the ability to move around more while sitting made the students more attentive. Mayo Clinic communications consultant Bob Nellis told the Minneapolis-St. Mayo Clinic in Rochester seconded those findings in 2007 with a study on the benefits of a chairless classroom. In other words, students using ball chairs were able to sit still, focus, and write more words clearly. Then in 2003, a study was published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy concluding that in students with ADHD, sitting on therapy balls improved behavior and legible word productivity. During the 1980s, some occupational therapists began recommending them to educators for classroom use, deeming them particularly helpful for children with special learning needs. ![]() Balance balls might be just what the doctor ordered to help children reach their full potential in the classroom, especially for those with sensory processing disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or just a strong need to fidget.Īround the same time that fitness fans began using balance balls (also called exercise balls, stability balls or therapy balls) in their exercise regimens as a way to strengthen abdominal and back muscles, ball chairs were developed as a way to strengthen core muscles and improve posture while sitting. Balance balls were originally developed in the 1960s for physical therapy purposes who knew that one day they'd be recommended for children who have trouble focusing in school?īut today, that's just what's happening. ![]()
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