The Vestibular System and AD/HD (and those with reading difficulties)

Note: The information in the following section is from the work of Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., a biologist and an internationally recognized educator. She is the author of Smart Moves – Why Learning is not all in your head, a very thoroughly researched and helpful book, which illuminates and elucidates how movement and sensory experiences are the fertile soil for continual brain development and growth for a lifetime, and how these experiences cause the brain to transform itself – a very relevant AD/HD topic!

Did you know that practically all learning in the first fifteen months of life is centered on vestibular system development?

You might be wondering what vestibular system is? The word “vestibular” means “entryway.” Vestibular is the entry way into the conscious brain. All of our fundamental abilities, which we learn early and rely on all our lives, such as balance, locomotion, coordination of vision with movement, discrimination of speech and language, etc., depend upon the proper functioning of the vestibular system. Further, the vestibular system maintains the all important arousal state necessary for one to be conscious, alert and responsive ( see also reticular activating system or RAS)

Disturbance or damage to the vestibular system causes major learning difficulties. As an example, researchers have found that more than 90% of children with dyslexia and learning disabilities showed two or more abnormal neurological parameters indicating a cerebellar/vestibular system dysfunction. Disturbance or damage can occur via trauma to the cerebellar/vestibular system in the form of ear infections, allergies, or having been shaken as infants.

Here’s Dr. Hannaford’s powerful explanation on the relationship between the vestibular system and AD/HD in her book Smart Move:

(As you read this section, ask “could this be my child?”)

In children identified as ADD, Hyperactive, or ADHD, stress and lack of vestibular system development cause low or erratic RAS [reticular activating system] function. These children may flicker in and out of wakefulness, especially if there is no movement stimulation, which leads to hypo- or hyper-vigilance with difficulty in maintaining attention, concentration or focus. They tend to lose their balance easily and have more playground accidents. They often invade other people’s space without knowing it, exhibiting an incomplete understanding of spatial relationship in their environment. They can’t stand still, but they can run, since running is more like a propelled fall and doesn’t demand as much balance as standing still, standing or hopping on one foot, skipping, jumping or dong the slow, cross-lateral movements that stimulate new cell growth in the hippocampus. They “noodle” in their desks because the back and neck muscles haven’t been adequately trained to hold their bodies upright against gravity. If these children are not given full freedom and encouragement to move and practice balance when they are little, there may be too little vestibular activation to assist proper growth and development.

(Here’s critical information that parents need to consider)

Children truly want to be “good.” In order to “stay alert” where there has been inadequate vestibular development, they must move, wiggle and constantly turn their heads. Often this is precisely how they first get tagged with the ADD, Hyperactive or ADHD labels. Teachers become frustrated with their constant movement and tell them to “sit still.” Wanting to stay alert, the children’s next strategy is to activate their balance centers by tilting their chairs so that only the back two legs of the chair are supporting them. The teacher’s response is to demand that they “sit up right and pay attention.” But this is a contradiction for these children. If their heads and bodies are still, there will be reduced activation of their brains. These children are also the ones asked to stay in during recess to complete work – when the best thing for them would be to go outside and move.”
Dr. Hannaford went on to state that when children engage in movements, especially the integrated cross lateral activities requiring maximum cerebellar/vestibular system, they sharply reduced their rates of academic failure. She also stated that movement and stimulation of balance greatly assist attentional disorders and improve reading.

(This is what Dr. Hannaford stated about reading difficulties and dyslexia)

“At least one in five U.S. grade-schoolers with average or above-average intelligence encounters severe difficulties in learning to read. Dyslexia has been considered a visual problem because it shows up and by definition is associated with reading difficulties. Interestingly, the central deficit with dyslexia, which is universal in all languages, is related to the meta-linguistic ability to decompose words into sounds, link the sounds (phonemes) to symbols and to make these skills automatic. The development of that phonemic understanding is thought to begin in utero, possibly as early as 9 weeks, as the semicircular canals develop and the embryo responds to sound with movement. At that time, the Moro reflex develops which allows the embryo/fetus/child to respond to danger with a protective action. If there is much maternal stress, the fetus will often be in the Moro reflex and the other reflexes important for vestibular development will be delayed. Without this development, the fetus and child will have difficulty hearing the patterns of language, the phonemes, and later linking them to symbols to read.

Regarding the eyes, lack of cerebellar/vestibular development shows up in the muscles that control the movement of the eyes (extra-ocular muscle dysmetria) causing them to overshoot or undershoot their position of optimal effectiveness when reading – again a symptom of an underdeveloped vestibular system. The dyslexic must concentrate so much on moving his eyes that cerebral input for comprehension or retention is limited. Lack of movement and keeping the head still for long periods of time (as with watching TV, or having to sit still and be quiet in school) has also been implicated in acquired dyslexic symptomology. Movement, music and much interactive communication in the child’s early environment promote the development of hearing discrimination whereby the child is able to say the phonemes and actively voice the language, and then associate the sounds with symbols later on, in order to read.”

Integrated movements, done in coherent and purposeful way, such as those implemented at SmartCoach classes, activate the entire vestibular system.