Vestibular System

(Retrieved from: http://www.scottbradley.name/elevator-pitch/)

Imagine...you step into an elevator, the doors close and you descend, but how do you know you are descending? You cant see anything moving down, you just know. This is an example of your vistibular system in action.

When working with a child to calm a hyper-responsive vestibular system or providing activities for a child who is avoiding vestibular input, therapeutic activities should include:

Slow, predictable linear movement in either horizontal or vertical planes.

Specific activity ideas:
Slow rocking
Slow swinging
Moving on a waterbed
Sitting in a car seat of a moving car

When arousing a hypo-responsive system or providing activities for a child seeking vestibular input therapeutic activities should include:
Moderate or fast speed unpredictable movement in any plane of movement (Case-Smith, 1998)

Specific activity ideas:
Jumping on a trampoline
Helicopter swinging
Hanging on a trapeze bar
A ‘storm’ on a bolster swing
Roughhousing activities
Wheelbarrow walks
Singing action songs such as the Hokey Tokey

Case-Smith, J. (1998). Pediatric occupational therapy and early intervention (2nd ed.). Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kranowitz, C. S. (2003). The out-of-sync child has fun. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc.