If your child with low muscle tone seems to constantly tired, leaning, slouching, and asking you to slow down or to carry them….It is time for you to learn more the global effects of hypotonia.
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You will understand them better.
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You will feel better about your parenting.
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You will be a better advocate for your child.
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You will be the hero your child needs.
The problem isn’t simply the neurology and physiology of low tone. That would be too simplistic.
The bottom line is that having hypotonia affects how kids think and feel. It affects how other people (including parents, siblings, teachers, and therapists) treat them. It affects their entire lives. Being tired all the time is only the beginning.
But once they get going, they tend to have poor endurance, even when they are hugely motivated. They want to play. They want to swim. They want to run. But they… just…can’t…keep…going. This is not being lazy. Taking a breath or encouraging them doesn’t work well. Sometimes, you can lighten their physical demands and get a minute or two more, but it won’t last very long. And it is difficult to change.
True fatigue is a real “thing” with hypotonia. Children cannot tell us what is going on with them in the same ways that an adult can describe it. We have to be good observers of a child’s performance and ask them very carefully crafted questions in order to be sure that they are fatigued instead of bored, disinterested, or just plain unmotivated. Sure, they can be manipulative. They could be looking for attention or someone to take over something they don’t want to keep doing.
But when a child is all-in and clearly fatigued, good therapists know what is happening: it is highly likely that the inefficiencies in movement that occur with hypotonia, combined with the ambient heat, plus the heat generated from muscle contraction, have taken hold.
Hypotonic kids have to use a greater degree of muscle contraction, and recruit more muscles, to get up and get going. They tend to need more activity of core stabilizers, and they tend to overshoot or undershoot the mark with their efforts at reach and placement. Think “hot air balloon on a windy day”. A lot of work to stay the course. Often they will have to perform a movement twice (or more!)in order to accomplish an action like taking something and placing it on a shelf, or putting their arm through a sleeve. Just like going around the block more than once will use up gas in a gas tank, repeating motions will drain a child dry.
What can you do to help a child lengthen their endurance?
- Show them how to stand and move to conserve energy.
- Prevent them from wasting energy on something unnecessary.
- Lighten up their backpack or their toy bag.
- Teach them to rest periodically to bank up that energy for later activities.
- NEVER let them get dehydrated: low on fluids = low on energy.
- Encourage strategic use of chairs and support surfaces.
- Offer a wide range of fun with different energy demands, so that they can practice choosing well.
Need more information?
I wrote 3 books for you!!
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The JointSmart Child” series is your guide to everyday life with your hypotonic child. Hypermobility is the natural cousin to low tone. It can be managed. You learn what equipment works and how to teach skills. You learn how to teach babysitters and family members what to do and why. You even learn how to talk to healthcare providers to get the best results! Grab a copy today on Amazon !!!
