Five Things every clinician and teacher should know for success in Vestibulotherapy

 #1 Vestibular dysfunction often remains unidentified and untreated.

To address the challenge of pediatric vestibular dysfunction often remaining unidentified and untreated (Li et al., 2014), measures of balance (Oyewumi et al. 2016); the examination of specific reflex responses linking inner ear (vestibular) function and eye movements such as post rotary nystagmus (Mulligan, 2011), and the subjective Bucket Test offer insight into vestibular functioning without the need for specialized equipment. Vestibular processing problems are commonly reported in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as developmental coordination disorder, autism, attention disorders, and learning disorders (Mulligan, 2011). The Vestibular Profile – Pediatric (VP-P) (Wall, 2022a) outlines this screening process and offers additional scaled scoring of learning attributes associated with vestibular functioning (Wall, 2022) that can track outcomes over time. The VP-P is available through a free download at vestibulotherapy.org

Fact # 2. Vestibulotherapy is founded on evidence from contemporary neuroscience.

For children who demonstrate delayed vestibular maturation or vestibular dysfunction, universal classroom-based interventions may positively impact their this sensory system so that learning and communication are supported through the promotion of myelination and neuroplasticity to areas involved in memory, sequencing, attention, and areas of executive functioning (Besnard, et al., 2016; Hitier et al., 2014; Kashfi et al., 2019; Lopez et al., 2020; Mast et al., 2014; Lotfi et al., 2017; Melo et al., 2019; Christy, 2019; Moossavi & Jafari, 2019).

In data collected from school-based research employing vestibulotherapy and the Vestibular Profile-Pediatric, students who demonstrated congenital vestibular dysfunction increased positive learning attributes at an increased frequency of 20-60% over baseline after an eight-week intervention of 20 minutes / day of each prescribed rotational activities and balance tasks (Wall, in process).

Fact # 3 The vestibular system supports learning by way of establishing spatial cognition through its modulation of information being processed to represent information in a specific spatial order, providing mental imagery, numeracy, and sequencing (Mast et al., 2014; Besnard, et al., 2016; Hitier et al., 2014).

Through this vestibular mediation of thought processes, it is theorized that outcomes of the intervention will include increased organization, sequencing, and ordinance that will positively impact the development of academic and communication skills in children ages 3-10 years who demonstrate delayed vestibular maturation .

FACT #4 The vestibular system’s role in perceptual and cognitive functions impacts learning, perceptual reasoning, and mental health (Hitier et al., 2014, Besnard, et al., 2016; Lotfi et al., 2017; Lopez, et al., 2020).

Despite efficient gains observed through motor learning theory, researchers found motor skills lacked opportunities for advancement due to deficits in body scheme, working memory, inhibition, spatial navigation, ideation, and poor timing and sequencing for more complex actions (Smits-Engelsman et al., 2018). Posture, movement experiences, and perception, collectively referred to as “embodiment” (Lopez et al., 2020) are supported by the vestibular system and provide foundations for complex movement, cognition, and social- emotional development through a sense of self (Besnard, et al., 2016; Lopez, et al., 2020; Mast et al., 2014). This self-perception provides orientation and navigation which consolidate into cognitive maps for future planning, sequencing, and complex behaviors.

Fact #5 Vestibular sensations mediate cognition.

 Vestibular sensations mediate cognitive performance by forming overlapping pathways between main memory centers (hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, frontal cortex, and cerebellum) and vestibulo-cortical tracts for object recognition, inner speech, numerical cognition, spatial navigation, sequencing, attention, impulse control, future planning, ordinance, and a variety of mental activities including attributes of a theory of mind and executive function (Moossavi & Jafari, 2019; Hitier et al., 2014; Lane et al., 2019; Koziol, 2014; Besnard, et al., 2016; Lotfi et al., 2017).