Common questions I receive as a paediatric Exercise Physiologist

• My child is nearly 18 months and still not walking, what should I do?
• My child knows the alphabet and can count to 10 but we have been told that they are struggling at kindergarten, what do I do now?
• How do I get my child to turn of their device without a meltdown?
• How do I convince my child to play without me needing to nag them?
• Should I be worried that my child is still w-sitting at the age of 3 years?
• How do I help my child who is refusing to practice drawing and holding a pencil?
• My child is nervous to play on play equipment and is falling over frequently, what do I do?

You may feel overwhelmed with all of the information that you receive from maternal health visits, training workshops, and therapy recommendations, to the point that you struggle knowing what to do next.

You may see that your child is developing differently to other children of similar age, or may have been told by a family member of kindergarten teacher that your child needs more support or practice in a particular developmental area.

I give hands on mentoring that leaves you feeling empowered with a simple action plan, not flustered and overwhelmed.

Mapping out a child's current development

My first session involves me providing you with a document that asks you about the fine details of the child's motor development, focus, play skills, and behaviour in the home and/or classroom.

For example:

• Is your child struggling to sit still and maintain focus for more than 2 minutes?
• Is your child easily distracted by the sensory input of the classroom and/or home?
• Is your child finding it difficult to follow 3 step instructions
• Is your child hypervigilant or stressed in the classroom and/or home environment?
• Is your child struggling to complete gross motor and fine motor activities that are typical for their age
• Is your child finding it challenging to regulate their emotions?
• Is your child often moving their body too fast, too slow, with too much force, not enough force?

With my Exercise Physiology hat on, I am looking at how the children are moving their body. For example, can their sit up tall without leaning on their lap or their peer sitting next to them; can they stand up from the floor without needing to use their hands (core strength); can they open their own lunch box and unzip their own jacket; can they climb across all components of the obstacle course without showing fear or poor coordination; can they copy simple body movements during music and movement sessions.

With my Developmental Educator hat on, I am looking at whether children can communicate their needs to their teachers, educators, and peers. For example, can children ask for help; ask to join in play activities; invite a friend to join them in play. I am also looking at children's emotional and social development, including the ability to choose a play activity independently; follow the flow of the classroom (transitions, routines) independently; maintain focus on an activity for more than 4 - 5 minutes; complete non-preferred and preferred activities.

Supporting children with developmental delay

Currently our research in Australia is showing that 4 to 5 children in each classroom do not have their physical development that they need to be 'school ready'. 4 to 5 children in each classroom are struggling with skills such as:

• Difficulty getting dressed and undressed independently
• Difficulty climbing and playing on play equipment
• Poor energy levels and fitness (lethargic and tired at kinder)
• Difficulty maintaining a strong sitting posture during mat time and for fine motor tasks
• Difficulty opening and closing their own bag, lunch box, etc.
• Difficulty copying body movements of teacher during music and movement activities (poor spatial awareness and body awareness)

Where to from here?

Sign up to my chat with Robyn program. I will then send you a quick questionnaire to learn about you and your child's goals. We then work together from there to go through the developmental areas listed above.