Magic Tricks to Treat Children with Locomotor Disabilities

 
Magic helps to motivate
youngsters with physical
disabilities; © SXC

New approach bridges the worlds of behavior and science to help kids with paralysis and motor dysfunction improve their physical skills and inner confidence – using a trick up her sleeve called "magic."

Dido Green of Tel Aviv University's School of Health Professionals developed a series of therapeutic exercises for children and young adults based on sleight-of-hand tricks used by professional magicians. Green and her magicians used sponge balls, elastics and paper clips to teach the children how to perform the challenging, fun and engaging exercises.

"Children with motor disorders like hemiplegia – or paralysis on one side of the body – perform routine exercises with their hands and wrists to be able to carry out basic functions such as opening a door, doing up their zipper, or closing buttons," explains Green. "Not only did the kids get a kick out of the magic tricks, they loved doing the exercises every day."

Green hopes to create summer "magic camps" for disabled children in both the U.K. and Israel, and will further investigate the benefits of magic for improving motor development of children with disabilities.

Her initial research looked at a sample of nine children. The children practiced ten minutes a day over four to six weeks, resulting in a significant and measurable change in motor skills. In the next part of the study, Green will bridge the worlds of behavioral therapy with science. She plans not only to give a large group of U.K. and Israeli kids intensive magic training to help improve their motor skills, but also to look into their brains to see if there is a neurological effect.

"We'll be using functional MRIs to see how extensive practice affects centers in the brain. Having information from the MRI can help us see what works, and for how long a treatment regime will need to be carried out to have sustained changes," says Green. One of the things she will measuring is the "plasticity" of the brain to see if activity of different brain areas changes over time as a result of the exercises.

REHACARE.de; Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University

- More about the American Friends of Tel Aviv University at www.aftau.org

( Source: REHACARE.de )

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