The relationship between ability & choice (cont.)...

 

      Normally, a child with the physical abilities to actively participate in games, will naturally choose to join in sports play.  Like humans, animals spend their time involved sensory-motor experiences.  If we look for instance at a domestic pet, like a kitten, we can easily see that it is constantly engaged in games, (such as moving objects and chasing them, climbing, rolling, jumping, etc.).  The innate purpose of these games is to equip the cat with motor and perceptual skills that are critical for its development and survival, (hunting, for instance, requires speed, quick and accurate timing and good eye-limb coordination).

   Humans are born with a small number of primitive reflexes.  As a result of our perceptual-motor experiences, we build up a mature body scheme, learning to “know” our  bodies, and constantly enhancing our movements.  The feedback from these motor experiences enriches us physically, perceptually and cognitively, which in turn affect us emotionally and socially.

   Therefore, active physical games and movement during childhood are extremely important evolutionary components for proper motor-perception, cognitive, social and emotional development.

   In the case of the “avoiding child”, because the child senses that he/she doesn’t have the motor ability to perform the necessary skills involved in playing an outdoor game, he/she chooses not to play and instead chooses the TV or computer.  Typically, even a single failure at physical play can stop a child.

   In the paradox of a high verbal IQ/low performance IQ, high intelligence was acting against the child.  The child created his own various scenarios of, “what could happen if…?”, (‘If I pass inaccurately, if I miss a shot’, etc). This puts off any chance of being motivated to take part in a ball game.

   For a highly intelligent child, even one negative experience is often enough to decide that playing sports with friends is out of the question.  It only takes one stumble while trying to score, or an insult for having missed an easy shot, to convince a child to seek refuge in front of a computer screen.  It makes no difference how much time has passed since the blunder; a child’s episodic memory concerning such disappointments is quite resistant.

  

   Parents can help their children to acquire coordination and sports skills.  When children have the necessary physical skills to participate in games, they will have the freedom to choose which games to play.  The child will no longer feel the need to avoid joining in a game.  That ability gives the child freedom to make a choice, and it is the parent's obligation to enable their child to acquire various sports skills, improve their coordination, etc.  The child can then choose between playing basketball, soccer, tennis or any other team game.  The choice will be made among many defaults, avoidance not being one of them.  If the child prefers to stay home and watch television, it's a legitimate choice (maybe he's tired at that moment and doesn't wish to play outside...).

 

About our unique ‘Adaptive-Load’ treatment method:

   Eyal Tzioni began to develop his novel and creative treatment method after discovering a lack of existing appropriate treatment tools available to physical and occupational therapists.

   Eyal’s treatment method is based on scientific principles in anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, biomechanics and physics.  He was determined to create the finest tools for giving some hope to so many children and adolescents who feel or are labeled clumsy, weak, or even disabled.  These children often suffer from low self-esteem and poor body image because they are rejected by their peer group.

 

The ‘Adaptive-Load’ treatment method is composed of four main elements:

1. Novel exercises for muscular strength and endurance (without using weights!) for gross/ fine motor disorders due to muscle weakness and Hypotonia (low muscle tone), building muscles (every muscles group), supporting posture (body alignment), and raising B.M.R (basal metabolic rate), in obese children. The exercises are safe and use manual resistance applied by the therapist. Your child will work hard but have fun, seeing results after just a few treatment sessions! (Demonstrations are provided for parents before commencing work with the child…).

2. As a clinical practitioner, Eyal has developed more than 2,500 new and exciting exercises to improve every component of motor function, including; coordination (see next title for details..), balance, motor planning, spatial organization, sensory-motor integration, tactile (touch) and movement sensation, movement isolation, crossing midline and many others.  Dozens of them were designed for children who can't hop or jump (due to various reasons, such as hypotonia and pronated feet*, poor balance or poor coordination).  Hopping and jumping according to our philosophy, are considered a Critical key for acquiring some fundamental motor skills, such as galloping, skipping, running, jump rope and others (skills that have a huge contribution to emotional, social, cognitive and motor development, and an overall sense of well being...).

 

 5.5 years old hypotonic child, with Pronated feet (noticeable), and consequent difficulty to jump, hop etc. (alignment of Achilles tendon is marked. normal alignment is vertical)

 

 

 

 Example for a comprehensive exercise in 'AL' method, which serves many psycho-motor interests such as: Balance, leg-eye (double) coordination, movement isolation (one hand is mobile while the other remains fixed), arm-leg (the one wearing the stilt) coordination , motor planning, spatial organization, movement sensation in holding the 'ice-cream' without letting the ball fall down, as well as the need to lift each foot to a different height (because only one foot is wearing the stilt..), muscle co-contraction and others... (we've marked the stick in the lower photo, just to make it more visible to you).    

3. Children will quickly acquire skills using a unique, multidimensional approach.  Exercises incorporate a variety of activities used in daily life (such as shoe tying) as well as sports skills such as: bouncing a ball, jumping rope, teaching children bicycle riding (click to watch a video clip), rollerblading, as well as, improving fundamental motor skills like running, galloping, hopping, skipping and many others.

 

 

Teaching jump rop: 5 years old Amit (the boy) and Tamar (the girl) show a remarkable performance after acquisition of jump rope in the most professional and enjoyable way!

 

4. Acquiring new unfamiliar posture habits (using novel exercises), especially for computer kids, who spend hours each day slouching in front of a computer or TV.
 

Treating 12 years old girl, who suffers from kyphosis (hunchback) and very poor body awareness (using 'Adaptive-Load' tools). Treatment focuses on both thoracic spine and cervical spine (chest and neck) alignment.

 

 

  Left photo: 14 years old boy with poor posture\ kyphosis  
Right photo: Same boy, after a short treatment period (just few months) at Motorikal, demonstratting a new pattern of body alignment while standing. This boy is now able to maintain an upright posture easily and naturally for a long period of time.

 

 

 Left photo: a 36 years old high-tech patient, with structural kyphosis (chest and neck) and asymmetrical standing, accompanied by degenerative changes in the vertebral column and intervertebral discs (lumbar disk herniation) and leg numbness.  These all made it difficult to perform basic and essential functions such as standing , walking, sitting and even sleeping (paraesthesia during sleep). The clear asymmetrical postural alignment in this photo (center of gravity and weight loading shift to the left side) accompanied her for a long time and was forced on her mainly due to a significant back pain when trying to maintain an upright posture.
 
 Right photo: Same patient, during treatment period (just five months from the begining) at Motorikal, demonstratting a new, IMPROVED pattern of body alignment while standing. all symptoms mentionned above where gone.

 

An Importantl note: The woman described above, like many of our patients, had been previously treated with Physical Therapy and Acupuncture (treatment by these disciplines focused primarily on symptoms\ pain and did not achieve significant postural change).
 

 

  

► In addition to a huge variety of  the finest treatment tools, Adaptive Load method development has contributed some significant insights, based on scientific research combined with rich clinical experience, to physical therapy/ occupational therapy. Some of the findings were presented in Eyal's article published in the Israeli Journal of Pediatrics.   Among our new findings: 1. New rationale for treatment of DCD in children and the window of opportunity which remains open to a relatively older age group.     2. Direct relationship between the presence of Pronated feet and consequently the difficulty in getting off the ground (e.g. to hop, skip etc.) and sometimes even balance disorders.  critical importance in enable the child acquiring these fundamental skills in early childhood, and a variety of innovative, remarkable treatment tools developed for children with severe Pronated feet!     3. Still about Pronated feet, we found a strong relation between the extent of difficulty in maintaining balance, and the level of difficulty to hop. Therefore, when we improve the ability to hop (using a proper movement patterns) we also reach a significant improvement in balance (double profit). According to our scientific perception, when a child with pronated feet who hop or run or skip using a proper movement patterns, recruits and strengthen important muscle groups such as Tibialis posterior, muscles that will play an important biomechanical role in maintaining balance.     4. Integrative approach (a real breakthrough) in treatment of Obesity in children and adolescents (Physiological, Postural & Motor aspects, all combined in treatment).     5. New, systematic approach for treatment of Hypotonia in children (Benign Congenital Hypotonia).     6. New rationale for effective motor learning: Learning in a hierarchical, multi-dimensional approach, using advanced tools which give the therapist the capacity to teach a wide variety of skills within treatment of children with severe clumsiness, combined with ADHD.     7. New perception regarding Muscle strengthening. We offer innovative and finest tools for strengthening each muscle or muscle group, in the fastest and safest way.     8. Innovative treatment for ADHD children: New, practical meaning for 'Motor Working Memory' concept, in children and adolescents. Treatment uses hundreds of exercises that are fun and challenging, which develop in addition to Working Memory, a set of Executive Functions (planning and organizing in space, self monitoring, problem solving and more...).     9. New, practical meaning for 'Postural coordination' concept in children and adolescents with poor posture/ faulty posture. Eyal has developed dozens of exercises to improve Postural coordination and allow better understanding of what ideal posture really means. We also found a strong relation between a poor motor coordination in children and a poor postural coordination.  That is to say, that DCD children may find it harder to organize for (planning) or achieve correct posture.    More new finding will be published soon (The full list is available in Hebrew). Please use Google Translate to view the full list at This page (click to view).

 

  

  

 Do you want to acquire advanced knowledge of our methods? Click here to learn more..

 

Coordination is the name of the game.

   Physical coordination is indeed, a part of almost every function of our daily lives, and one that most of us take as for granted.  For example, slamming the car door without getting your other hand caught, climbing up the stairs while glancing at your watch or reading a text message on your cell phone without losing balance, etc.

   Let us surprise your children, (and you), and challenge them with hundreds of unique coordination exercises, developed and chosen just for them, to improve all aspects of their coordination, while having fun.

The coordination exercises we offer have many advantages:

·      Exercises are very challenging. Kids enjoy practicing.

·       Exercises are novel. Your child has never tried them before...

·       Variety of tasks with a gradual increase in the level of difficulty gives your children a constant sense of success, keeping them motivated and focused. Each exercise is constructed so that even kids with severe motor disorders can benefit.

·       Exercises serve all aspects of coordination, including bilateral integration, hand-eye coordination, timing, dexterity etc.

·       Exercises are oriented towards ball games, so that children will not only improve their coordination, but gradually perform better in basketball, soccer etc.

·       The equipment used in the clinic is readily available (balls, ropes etc.). Children are encouraged to practice at home also.

 

 

 We offer a wide variety of high quality exercises, that enable us to give your child uncompromised professional treatment, at the highest level.

 

Six years old Assaf, shows an excellent balance, leg-eye coordination, hand-eye coordination, bouncing control, movement isolation, muscle co-contraction: a well tuned orchestra!!

 

 

 

Major fields of intervention in Motori-Kal:

Muscle weakness (including Hypotonia/ BCH) in any body part or any muscle group (including shoulder girdle, back muscles, thighs, abdominals etc.).

Low endurance while performing simple tasks requiring some effort, (heavy breathing or suffering from muscle soreness after short runs or climbing stairs).

Poor motor planning: performing tasks slowly, difficulty with object manipulation, monotonous and ineffective body usage in movement tasks and constant need of intervention...

Clumsiness (DCD- Developmental Coordination Disorder): being accident prone, poor performance of daily tasks (gross/ fine motor), poor movement isolation, avoid crossing midline, balance difficulty and others...

Poor spatial orientation & organization (directions in space, laterality, motor planning regarding the surrounding space...)

Avoidance of using playground structures and preferring to watch from the sidelines.

Fear of a ball and/or choosing to be a goalie (goal keeper) or referee (as a constant default), or avoiding participation in ball games at school and after school, because of poor bilateral integration (hands coordination), hand-eye coordination, motor timing etc.

Preference to find a secure shelter in front of the computer/ television etc., rather than 'taking the risk' of playing outdoors with friends.

Poor body image and low self esteem, feeling inferior compared to peer group...

Fine motor disorders: poor handwriting, pencil grip, cutting, threading beads...

Bad posture  such as kyphosis, (hunchback), Lordosis and swayback.

Orthopedic problems/ disorders  such as knocked knees, hyperextended knee, toe in position/ toe out position, short achilles tendon, pronared feet, flatfoot and more...

Obesity (a result of low activity level, low body metabolism, low overall muscle tissue).

ADHD/ ADD children, with difficulties in Executive Functions: self management, decision making, time management, self regulation, ability to ignore irrelevant variables or distracting factors, ability to maintain attention, short attention span.

Coaching children without any (organic) disability, who want to improve in sports and improve their achievements ... 

Teaching various sports skills like: bouncing a ball, jumping rope, bicycle-riding (click to watch a video clip), rollerblading, as well as, improving or teaching fundamental motor skills like running, galloping, hopping, skipping and many others... Teaching ADL skills like how to tie shoes and others...

 

 

 

Additional video-clips:

1. Video clips demonstrating kid's performances at Motorikal.

2. bicycle riding guide (click on one of the following links: teaching bicycle riding teaching children bicycle riding, how to ride a bike, bike riding in tel aviv, how to ride a bicycle, learning how to ride a bike for kids, Israel, teaching bike riding, teaching bike riding without training wheels, teaching bike riding to kids, teaching bike riding children).

 

 

 

 

 

Contact info.

    For further information about our treatment method, fields of intervention or to arrange a lecture (local or abroad) or any other requirement, please do not hesitate to contact Eyal Tzioni at: +972  54  44 66 848 (usually from 13:00 pm, local Israeli time)

You can also email us via: [email protected]

 Our Address: Motori-kal clinic is located in Ra'anana (Israel) at 2 Ha'Tikva st. (kir'yat sharate neighborhood).

 Home visit service is also available in Tel Aviv District (with an additional fee, and depending on availability...)

 

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About Eyal Tzioni:

 

Academic background:

 

·       Eyal is about to begin his Phd. Studies (University of Haifa), based on his treatment method.

·       Master's degree in Learning Disabilities (Graduation cum laude), University of Haifa, Israel.

·       Eyal was awarded a scholarship for his study dealing with Hypotonia (benign congenital hypotonia) in school age children ('Fine motor learning ability of school age children diagnosed in infancy as BCH' ), and presented his findings in two important conferences: 1. (Lecture) The Annual Conference of the Israeli Association for Child Development & Rehabilitation (Haifa, 2004), 2. (Poster session) ISPGR* Conference (*International Society for Postural and Gait Research) (Marseille, France 2005). click here to view the poster presented (using Adobe Acrobat reader)

·       Diploma in Normal Child Development at Infancy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.

·       B.A. with two Specialties: Motor & Posture disorders among children and adolescents. Sports Medicine Department of Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (Wingate) Israel.

·       Diploma in Basketball Coaching, Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (Wingate) Israel.

 

 

 

Eyal's professional experience:

 

·       Development of a novel and exclusive treatment method ('Adaptive-Load') with a clear scientific rationale, for a wide spectrum of motor disorders, posture and obesity among children and adolescents. Pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and others have adopted his method…

·       Treated hundreds of children, and adolescents with motor and developmental disorders, posture disorder and obesity using his exclusive tools.

·       Lectured on his treatment method at the Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (Wingate) Israel.

·      Initiated a program of instruction, especially designed for therapists with related specialties (i.e. occupational therapists, physical therapists etc.), physical education teachers and others.. Read more

·      Lectures on his method and the link between motor disorders and learning disabilities, to pediatricians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, kindergarten teachers and other professionals.

·      Wrote an article (in Hebrew) introducing Adaptive-Load method in the Israeli Journal of Pediatrics, Published in Feb. 2011 (click to read).

 

·      Wrote articles and newspaper columns (in Hebrew, which appear online at this website) about various issues in child development.

 

·       Developed and built the Motori-kal Website, with articles, media files and more…

 

·       Eyal sets a good example for children by being active in sports (including competitive running, bike riding, rollerblading and basketball).  He hopes this will inspire and challenge them to get active too. 

 

 

 

Determination is an important key to success.  Eyal sets a good example for children...

 

 

 

At the Nike Night Run, Tel-aviv 2013

 

 

 

 

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