Principal Julie Sterner's injury impaired her ability to read and multitask after falling in a bounce house. She said therapy helped her become herself again.
York, PA - Last summer, Julie Sterner broke down in the ice-cream aisle at a grocery store. She couldn't remember what she wanted to buy. The bright lights, people and choices were too much for her mind to handle. She felt overwhelmed and panicked.
"I didn't know how to get out," Sterner said.
In April, the 33-year-old fell in an inflatable bounce house during a Dover Area Senior High School event.
Sterner -- principal at Dover Intermediate School -- hooked up to an elastic cord to race a student. She lay on the inflated floor after she slipped and the band snapped her body backward to the ground. She felt groggy as pain circled her head. She thought she was OK, so she went home and slept. She awoke the next day with a headache and felt fatigued.
IM Provider April Christopherson OTR/L guest stars in the “Focus Point” Voice America National Radio program.
She discuses “The Shandy Clinic” in Colorado Springs, CO, Interactive Metronome, other programs that she has worked with, and the use of modalities to treat pediatrics (SPD, ADHD, Autism), TBI, and Stroke Rehab. The show also discusses the importance of rhythm and timing in the brain, and how it affects our everyday lives. You can listen to the interview at this link: VoiceAmerica
And the Beat Goes On – How Timing Affects Learning By Beth Ardell, MPT
The tick-tock of a metronome has long been used by pianists while practicing their craft. Research now suggests that students with learning differences who “stay on beat” can increase their focus, mental processing and cognitive abilities. Rhythm and research?As infants, we very quickly develop a sense of rhythm. In the games we play and the songs we sing, rhythm is a way for children to learn about their bodies and their environment. For children with learning differences, activities using rhythm are increasingly being used as a tool to increase mental fluency, thereby improving the effectiveness of many brain and body functions. Growing evidence suggests a link between mental timekeeping and cognition and learning. Children diagnosed with dyslexia may have deficiencies in their timing and rhythm abilities, and some researchers believe the connection between time/rhythm and learning may be so significant that a student’s response time to a metronome beat may predict performance on standardized reading tests. Students have demonstrated significant improvements in broad reading and reading fluency, language processing, and even golf performance after participation in a program to improve timing. In addition, studies have indicated improvements in children with ADHD in the areas of attention, motor control, language processing, reading and ability to regulate aggression...
The Tustin Chronic Condition Center has incorporated a new software program called the Interactive Metronome. The software helps children who have ADD or ADHD, autism, dyslexia and learning disabilities. The equipment helps children with working memory, attention, processing information, sequencing information in order and motor coordination.
“Our new Interactive Metronome®helps us work with and improve the function of the frontal cortex. The fontal cortex controls things like impulsiveness and attention span, and it’s where the personality “lives”. It’s also where things like depression and anxiety are created, and for these children it’s the region in the brain that’s not working as well as it could be.”
When it comes to the treatment of autism, early intervention is key—yet African-American children are typically diagnosed two years later than Caucasian children. Now here’s some better news: Interactive Metronome is a health program shown to improve the brain functions of people with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, According to a 2011 study published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
ABC News recently posted an article by Carrie Gann, that talks about how some fonts could help people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities like APD and NVLD, better intake printed information. Christian Boer, the Dutch graphic artist who designed the font is dyslexic himself and fully understands the struggle that people go through when reading. Read the full article.
Ann is 14 and diagnosed with Dyslexia, she also was a sub-performing athlete, lacking some basic stamina skills of other kids in her team. After IM therapy Ann not only improved significantly with her reading scores, she also improved considerably as an athlete and performed better in both her lacrosse and cheerleading team. Read the full story.
"Gary" is a 39 year old male with a diagnosis of C4 quadriplegia, onset 12/04 when he was struck in the back. His initial symptoms included mid back pain which quickly progressed to right foot numbness, then loss of sensation to both legs up to the chest level. "Gary" underwent decompression and fusion. At discharge "Gary" was independent with all self-care activities, including showering and dressing, all wheelchair transfers, meal preparation, laundry, dishes, and house cleaning. He gets in and out of his home independently, which requires three steps to enter with bilateral hand rails. Read his amazing story!
Pat could independently complete Wii Fitness activities, she had increased attention span, improved thought process and concentration, the ability to multi-task, improved reading comprehension and improved balance. Because Pat made significant gains and her functional status improved dramatically she was discharged from therapy.
Bob is now able to use his right arm to feed himself, write his name legibly, make a sandwich, dial the phone and tie his shoes. Bob’s therapist recently ran into him at a high school swim meet. He gestured to her to climb up high in the bleachers to join him where they “caught up” on all of his latest activities!
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Principal Julie Sterner's injury impaired her ability to read and multitask after falling in a bounce house. She said therapy helped her become herself again.
ABC News recently posted an article by Carrie Gann, that talks about how some fonts could help people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities like APD and NVLD, better intake printed information. Christian Boer, the Dutch graphic artist who designed the font is dyslexic himself and fully understands the struggle that people go through when reading. 
Ann is 14 and diagnosed with Dyslexia, she also was a sub-performing athlete, lacking some basic stamina skills of other kids in her team. After IM therapy Ann not only improved significantly with her reading scores, she also improved considerably as an athlete and performed better in both her lacrosse and cheerleading team. Read the full story.
"Gary" is a 39 year old male with a diagnosis of C4 quadriplegia, onset 12/04 when he was struck in the back. His initial symptoms included mid back pain which quickly progressed to right foot numbness, then loss of sensation to both legs up to the chest level. "Gary" underwent decompression and fusion. At discharge "Gary" was independent with all self-care activities, including showering and dressing, all wheelchair transfers, meal preparation, laundry, dishes, and house cleaning. He gets in and out of his home independently, which requires three steps to enter with bilateral hand rails. Read his amazing story!
Pat could independently complete Wii Fitness activities, she had increased attention span, improved thought process and concentration, the ability to multi-task, improved reading comprehension and improved balance. Because Pat made significant gains and her functional status improved dramatically she was discharged from therapy.
Bob is now able to use his right arm to feed himself, write his name legibly, make a sandwich, dial the phone and tie his shoes. Bob’s therapist recently ran into him at a high school swim meet. He gestured to her to climb up high in the bleachers to join him where they “caught up” on all of his latest activities!