Did you crawl as a baby? | ADHD Information
[QUOTE=bcgirl1978]I don't think crawling or lack thereof would really affect ADHD anyway. I learned in an Anthropology class that there are cultures in the world who wrap newborn babies to boards in tight bandages and blankets, in order to make them grow "straight". They are kept that way I believe until they are old enough to walk. Wouldn't they ALL have ADD?
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Yes, I took an anthropology class and learned about crawling/not crawling in different cultures too. Although the main reason seemed to be to protect kids from germs or other environmental surroundings. In fact there was a study by Tufts University conducted on babies in Bangladesh and it found that crawling was the number one cause of infant diarrhea. I posted a link to an article. I think it's on the second page of this thread.
If you want to find out more about the Miriam Bender theories of how crawling exercises relieve the symptoms of ADD or ADHD, you can read about it in the book Stopping ADHD. This book is what got me to post this message and take this poll. I wanted to find out if what they are saying is true. In this book they list all the exercises to do with complete details. It may be worth our time to try them out. It can't hurt. It could only waste our time I suppose. But how much time have we wasted already on daydreaming, etc.?
I find it interesting to think about the cart before the hose thing. Which came first, the ADHD or ADD, or the not crawling? (It seems like many of us here did not crawl as infants for the 6 months and in the proper way like described in the book.)
I am a teacher and, personally, I have found in many of my classes that the very intelligent children are the ones that have problems with ADD or ADHD. They score very high on tests if they can focus on the questions. If not crawling IS the reason why they are affected by ADHD or ADD perhaps they were more intelligent than, say their siblings, or their counterparts born at the same time, and they figured out how to walk early! Because they figured that out, they did not get the connections made in their brains, and they are incomfortable because of the reflex. To me this makes sense, but of course, it could be more complicated than that.
I find all the responses so interesting. Thanks for all your time you have taken to respond. Keep those answers coming!
One more thing, sorry to post again. But I would like it if someone with ADD or ADHD were to get a brain scan (see amenclinic.com) and then do these exercises for the 8 months the book recommends, then get another brain scan. This would prove if it really works or not.
[QUOTE=annidagostini] One more thing, sorry to post again. But I would like it if someone with ADD or ADHD were to get a brain scan (see amenclinic.com) and then do these exercises for the 8 months the book recommends, then get another brain scan. This would prove if it really works or not.[/QUOTE]
I would be more than glad to volunteer, if someone would be willing to pay for it for me. I fell out of a moving car when I was two (as fast as you could go in 1951 in a city ha ha). But I wouldn't mind knowing if I had any brain damage from the trauma. No doctor has ever paid much attention when I've told them about it. Although I have been diagnosed with ADHD.
In response to a comment about children being kept from crawling on the ground due to germs (and I'm not at all questioning their approach to keeping their children healthier). However, as a child my mother would let us eat things when they fell on the floor or ground, even if not at home, like at a restaurant. She believed it would help me build up an immunity to germs. I have had an extremely physicallyl healthy life (55 yrs old) ... very few colds, only had the flu once, etc., never used sick days at jobs. Well, when suburbs first began to be very popular, and people kept their homes "excessively" clean, there was an outbreak of Multiple Sclorosis (MS), and it was a theory (and still is one theory) that MS was/is due to the death of certain cells of the immune system to the Central Nervous System. Food for thought?
I know I must have crawled for at least six months, if not longer, because I remember my mother telling me in later years how I wore the knees out of my pants as fast as she could buy them!
[QUOTE=Taag Man]Well the Motor Cortex isn't developed properly if we do not stimulate the development of it. Perhaps we have an instinctive need to learn how to crawl, like other mammals... because we need to be able to flee if we are prayed upon.
Perhaps if that need is not filled, we get agitated.... on the edge... unsafe, and hyperactive... perhaps by higher adrenalin levels... which also makes us unable to focus properly... and sit still on a chair...
That might explain the predominantly hyperactive/ impulsive types... but bcgirl1978, you are correct to point out that it might not be the cause of the ADHD.
....[/quote]
I like that explanation, it's has plausibility.
I am not too sure when I crawled and for how long, but I do know throughout younger childhood all the games I played were on hands & knees. I played games like horsie a lot, etc.
I thought Commando Crawling was pulling/pushing with your arms and legs while still flat on your stomach 
I don't remember if my mother ever said when I started crawling... or didn't, or whatever. However I had a serious heart condition when I was a baby that required surgery at 20 months of age, therefore I didn't really have much stamina anyway. Therefore my personal experience wouldn't be valid anyway, since I had an extenuating circumstance.
I don't think crawling or lack thereof would really affect ADHD anyway. I learned in an Anthropology class that there are cultures in the world who wrap newborn babies to boards in tight bandages and blankets, in order to make them grow "straight". They are kept that way I believe until they are old enough to walk. Wouldn't they ALL have ADD?
bcgirl197838420.5013888889
Well the Motor Cortex isn't developed properly if we do not stimulate the development of it. Perhaps we have an instinctive need to learn how to crawl, like other mammals... because we need to be able to flee if we are prayed upon. Perhaps if that need is not filled, we get agitated.... on the edge... unsafe, and hyperactive... perhaps by higher adrenalin levels... which also makes us unable to focus properly... and sit still on a chair...
That might explain the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive types... but bcgirl1978, you are correct to point out that it might not be the cause of the ADHD.
For an example, I am not hyperactive, or perhaps at being lazy... but then, I did crawl when I was a baby, and started walking when i was 13 month old. Pretty normal.
I think that, perhaps the crawling theory might explain why there are two extremes of ADHD. Predominantly Inattentive and Impulsive/Hyperactive.... I do not think that it is the cause of the ADHD.... but it might be an influence in how ADHD develop.
I took a psychology course in high school. I read about one experiment where kittens were raised in a big circular container, which had the walls painted in either vertical or horizontal stripes. The kittens were made to wear lampshade collars so that they could not see their own bodies. All they could ever see were these stripes.Ahem... all cruelty issues aside, when the kittens were so many weeks or months of age (after their brains had stopped developing), they were removed from the containers. They were unable to perceive ANY shapes besides vertical or horizontal ones (whichever was in their container). Those raised with vertical stripes walked off the edge of boxes because they couldn't perceive a horizontal boundary. Those raised with horizontal stripes couldn't fiind doorways because they couldn't perceive vertical shapes.
In conclusion - if your brain isin't exposed to EVERYTHING during these crucial development stages, the proper neural pathways don't connect.
Not crawling/walking at proper developmental stages may affect later motor movements, but I fail to see how it can have anything to do with attention.
Yes, you were pretty advanced then hehe :) I walked when I was 13 month old, and crawled normally. I have very good motor-eye coordination, also... but doesn't use it that much. I'v very lazy by nature hehe...
Well Taag Man..YOU WERE RIGHT...just found this on the web then called my Mom:
Primal Movement Therapy is used to help children with dyslexia/add/adhd and others. they do things like get down on all fours and teach child how to crawl properly, if baby never crawled or only crawled for a short time before walking or didnt crawl properly.
i think its something to do with certain links in the brain not being formed if the baby doesn't learn basic/primal instincts like crawling. (but don't quote me on this!!)
these children can be clumsy, have short attention spans and other behavour and development problems.
Eskimo is being used by a few of the people involved in this therapy.
I called my Mom and she said at about 2nd grade I had to go to eye therapy where they taught my eyes to work by looking at an image with one eye and drwing it with another...and some other drills....she said I did this for about 6 months....I remeber this, but thought it was for nearsightedness...she said no...it was for eye hand cordination....Wow you should be a dr. LOL
Well I occasionally run down the stairs and not pay attention and I fall ....and once as a teenager I was riding my bike and ran into a parked car because I was watching a news caster interview my neighbor. So I guess my hand eye motor cordination is selective. LOL
This is probably a stupid question, but if I was walking at an age where most babies are crawling or not even crawling...and I at 8 months go straight to walking then wouldn't my moter skills be considered advanced?
I am not actually sure why. That would be my conclussion to. But perhaps it has something to do with, that it is a faliure not to find out that you can get around on all four at an early stage. It is more easy to crawl, than to walk. I do not know when normal babies walk, or crawl for that matter. But if you walked around the same time normal babies have just started to crawl, than I believe you must have better motor skills.
This is what a normal baby does at 12 months: sit without support pull to a standing position crawl drink from a cup play peek-a-boo and patty cake wave bye-bye hold out their arms and legs while being dressed put objects in a container stack two blocks know five or six wordsSo I was walking at 8 months so this is pretty advanced!
Walking: Gross Motor DevelopmentLearning to walk is a tremendous developmental milestone for the whole family and usually occurs between 10 months of age to 18 months of age.
FROM ANOTHER SOURCE
I skipped regular crawling and started commando crawling when I was 5 months.
Commando Crawling is hands and feet instead of hands and knees.
As far as the relationship between crawling and ADHD there seems to be a corralation but what came first.
example- firefighter and building on fire. Is the building on fire because the firefighters are there, or are the firefighters there because the building is on fire.
You just can't build a good house on a bad fundament...
It actually surpriced me that you had a good motor-eye cordination... but of course you have that, when the damage have been undone :)
I don't know If i should be a doctor... I might be good at drawing conclusions... but I'm also quick to do so... and that isn't always a good thing. And either way, I just couldn't focus enough to become one hehe... but thank you :)
My son also commando crawled. Interesting topic.Here is a question I would like to know. Did you crawl for 6 months as a baby? Ask your parents if you don't know. I would like to take a poll and find out how many ADD and ADHD people did not crawl properly and for 6+ months.
I read a book called Stopping ADHD. It claims that symptoms of ADD and ADHD are cause by an immature reflex. The reflex gives you the desire to spring forward into the crawling motion when your arms and legs are bent at the same time. (Hence you are uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time, you hate the front crawl swim stroke and would rather back or butterfly stroke, handwriting is difficult for you, your mind does whatever it can to distract you from your discomfort) If you don't crawl for six months or more properly, the reflex remains and makes you very uncomfortable, resulting in ADD symptoms. The book claims that you can do exercises that will mature the reflex and take away your symptoms.
I never crawled when I was a baby because I had casts on my legs and then a bar between them for pigeon toes.
I am trying to prove or disprove this theory for myself. If it is true, it is probably the biggest breatkthrough of ADD treatments so far. If it is false, we should know, so we can warn others not to waste their time on it.
I read the book and it makes too much sense to me to let it go without finding out all I can about it.
thanks!
My ADHD son never crawled! he went from sitting up to holding on to furniture than to walking.
My daughter 'commando' crawled then walked - this on the knees and hands business was not her cup of tea!
I would like you to read my post to DanielG in the ADHD Medications forum posted March 5th.
I'm not sure about your guys theory but the one I have been introduced to through a hell of alot of research seems to fit the bill for me. Maybe the book by Dr. Gabor Mate' may help you I don't know. It was one of several sources for me but I liked his frankness in telling the book and I understood so deeply what he was saying.
This might be hard to believe but the idea of universal crawling is amyth. For most of human existence it has actually been normal to not
crawl. Crawling didn't really start until a few centuries ago, when
houses started to have cleaner, built in floors. Before that, parents
would just carry their babies around until they learned to walk.
Crawling increases contact with bacteria and parasites because your
hands are on the floor all the time. Some people in developing
countries have pointed out that kids don't really crawl there because
if they did they would just end up eating a lot of germs and getting
sick. But they learn to walk just fine.
So if you didn't crawl don't worry, that didn't cause you to have
ADHD. You were just being a normal baby. I know that we as ADHD
people share a lot of common issues and general personality traits but
it's important to remember that we are all different and unique too.
You don't have to connect every little thing in your life to ADHD. "Oh
I didn't crawl as a baby. It must be related to ADHD. I like pottery.
It must have something to do with ADHD. I have a big toe. It must be
related to ADHD." Just appreciate your unique personality traits and
don't automatically assume it has some to do with ADHD. We are not
just a homogenous group of people who act exactly the same.
And yes, I crawled as a baby but I have ADHD. Think outside the box.
You do not have to crawl. We of all people should know that every kid
develops and learns differently. This applies to crawling/not crawling
too. Some babies crawl. Some don't. It's not a big deal.
Here is an article about the myth of crawling.
http://www.howcomyoucom.com/selfnews/arc6-2002.html It's not written
by some quack doctor, I assure you. One of the people quote in the
article was a professor who taught me when I was a university student.
I took two classes taught by her and she's great. But I didn't do as
well as I could have in her classes though. D*** that ADHD! I learned at a work shop kids whom don't crawl are at greater risk for learning problems. My daughter crawled, pulled up, and walked around furniture at same time. walked alone at 9 months. She is my athlete and education well doer.our son quite opposite. Crawled with 1 leg hehind at 9 months. Walking16 months. I herd boys are usually slower than girls any ways.
I don't know if one doctor saying that it doesn't matter if you crawl or not holds a lot of proof for me. There are others out there who say it does. I want to see some proof. Are there any scientific studies out there that say crawling doesn't matter. Who says that in societies where mothers strapped babies to their backs that babies didn't crawl? As a mother myself I can't imagine letting my baby struggle in a pack like that when it was time for him to be mobile. I bet you they crawled when the time came, even in the dirt or the grass. And if they didn't crawl, how do we know that they didn't have the same symptoms we have today? Also, in our society we now put babies in johnny jump ups, high chairs, walkers, and play pens. It makes a lot of sense to me that ADD symptoms would increase as we do this.
In this book, Stopping ADHD, these women took 80 children from a school in Illinois who were diagnosed with these symptoms and put them through 8 months of exercises. They had another 80 children with the same symptoms that did not do the exercises. The tests showed great improvement in focusing for the exercising group after the 8 months of crawling exercises. The teachers in the school wanted the rest of the kids in the non-exercise group to also get the exercises after the experiment. To me that speaks volumns. I think it is worth looking into and studying. It is not something that you can just discredit with one doctor's opinion. I won't just sit back and say, Oh well. I want to prove it or disprove it.
It seems to me that many people I talk to who have these ADD symptoms didn't crawl. The Miriam Bender Center in Illinois is treating people for it at this time. They are also training people to run clinics for them. I want to know for sure. If this could relieve my symptoms then it is worth my time and effort to find out. Thanks for all your replies. I do want all sides of the issue.
One more thing, sorry to make another post, but I have one son who shows ADD symptoms. I even had him treated for depression at one time with disastrous results! When I learned that I was ADD I recognized it in him. I figured that is must run in the family. But now I am wondering about the crawling issue. He crawled but not for the full 6 months that this book claims you should. He pulled himself up to things at 9 months and inched along. He was walking by ten months. We all thought it was so cute to see a baby walking that early. He has the most symptoms of ADD of all my kids. I have 5. So to me this study seems too real.
Thanks for your comments. (I think I'm hyperfocusing on this, but maybe it is a good thing this time )
My daughter 'commando' crawled then walked - this on the knees and hands business was not her cup of tea!
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What's commando crawling?
Just because I don't have time to post the name of every doctor who believes that crawling doesn't matter doesn't mean that there is only one doctor who believes it. That would be like me assuming that only one doctor believes that crawling matters just because you only posted one study. You only posted the opinion of one doctor, so I could just as easily say, "Well I need more than just one doctor's study to prove that crawling matters." There lots of doctors and experts on both sides of the issue. Some believe crawling doesn't matter, others believe it does.
I am very resistant to the idea of strangers telling us how each baby should behave. I really don't think crawling is a big deal. I crawled for 3 months and walked at 9 months. I don't think I developed ADHD because I didn't crawl for 6 months. Why would walking early cause ADHD? If anything, isn't walking early a good thing? It seems to me that it would indicate that the baby is developing faster than his/her peers which would make him/her less likely to develop disabilities.
If the exercises really do help that's good. But to me, it doesn't prove that crawling is linked to ADHD. Correct me if I'm wrong but the doctors in that study didn't actually have the babies crawl, right? They just had to do exercises but not any actual crawling. It was the exercises that relieved their symptoms, not crawling.
Just because I don't have time to post the name of every doctor who believes that crawling doesn't matter doesn't mean that there is only one doctor who believes it. That would be like me assuming that only one doctor believes that crawling matters just because you only posted one study. You only posted the opinion of one doctor, so I could just as easily say, "Well I need more than just one doctor's study to prove that crawling matters." There lots of doctors and experts on both sides of the issue. Some believe crawling doesn't matter, others believe it does.
I am very resistant to the idea of strangers telling us how each baby should behave. I really don't think crawling is a big deal. I crawled for 3 months and walked at 9 months. I don't think I developed ADHD because I didn't crawl for 6 months. Why would walking early cause ADHD? If anything, isn't walking early a good thing? It seems to me that it would indicate that the baby is developing faster than his/her peers which would make him/her less likely to develop disabilities.
If the exercises really do help that's good. But to me, it doesn't prove that crawling is linked to ADHD. Correct me if I'm wrong but the doctors in that study didn't actually have the babies crawl, right? They just had to do exercises but not any actual crawling. It was the exercises that relieved their symptoms, not crawling.
I don't feel like you are disrespecting me. I'm glad you are posting. I feel it is healthy for us all to talk like this. I can see a lot of logic to what you are saying. I was able to sit still for a long time in class also, but I wasn't comfortable doing it. I also was not diagnosed with ADD (not ADHD) by the way until I was 40! I got straight A's in school and in college. I graduated magna cum laude! Everyone assumed I would be sooo successful. Then I couldn't run my own business! I lost invoices all over the place. My house is such a place of piles of papers etc. But I have the most incredible ideas and they keep coming and coming. I can't turn it off.
Anyway, I am intrigued by the suggestion that the early walking is a sign of ADD already. But I'm not totally convinced that one causes the other or the other way around. It is too bad that more research has not been done on all of this. Us talking about it over some message boards doesn't prove much either way.
I am thinking that the reflex is simple and can be fixed, but the effects on the brain are complex and that is why we have so many different forms of ADD and ADHD and so many different responses to questions like this. In these exercises the book has you do, you have a coach and he or she gives you the command to crawl or to rock back. It is important in the exercises for you to not start the movement until after the command is given. It is developing in the brain the movements or the links that possibly didn't get developed as you crawl. Our brain is left and right and the connections you make when you crawl are left and right. So it makes sense to me that these connections are not made properly when you don't crawl.
Thanks again for all your postings, I do appreciate your comments, on both sides. It is a very important issue to me and I do not find anyone's comments offensive or inappropriate. I think that they are all needed and hope that people keep posting here.
Thanks again.
this was on the children side of this website, how funny. My 5 year old did not crawl she scooched all around the house. Then when she did crawl for a short time she crawled like a bull dog her hands fisted. Then once she walked she earned the nickname of octobaby for she was into everything.Perhaps those baby which does not crawl, or crawl differently, do so because they have a brain disorder... like say low levels of neurotransmitters passed to us by heritage, or birth problems.
Anyways, I crawled perfectly... hehe... and still have ADHD.
Perhaps crawling differences should be seen more as a symptom, than a cause?
Taag Man38417.6238310185i agree with scary green giant...
I don't think something as simple as crawling funny or different can lead to the complex life issues the ad/hd brings...
it may be one of those symptoms of ad/hd, but I don't think it could be classified as a cause of it.....
I would like to explain the reason these doctors think that crawling is linked to ADD or ADHD, then you can make a better judgement. I thought at first that this was a little wacky and wanted to dismiss it myself, but when I read the information, it just makes a lot of sense.
The study claims that there is a reflex that all babies have when they are young. (There are other reflexes also, like the one where the baby turns its head and its arm stretches out.) Anyway, the reflex they claim causes ADHD is one in which the baby is urged to spring forward when its arms and legs are bent at the same time. This urge to spring forward, if not matured by crawling appropriately for 6months, controls us in our lives. We are uncomfortable. I have seen students in my class react this way to sitting. They stand up without even thinking about it. They lean back in their chairs, they stretch their arms out on their desks. They would rather stand to do their work. The authors claim that handwriting can be difficult for those with this immature reflex. They claim it takes 10 times as much energy to write in print and cursive than for those with a matured reflex. They claim also, that our minds move from one thought to another to distract us from the discomfort of the reflex. They claim that this feeling of discomfort is not noticed because since the child was a baby it has always felt that way.
Looking back at my childhood and growing up, I have tried to see clues to know if I was experiencing these claims. I know that I could never do a cartwheel. I feel uncomfortable when I do aerobics and I have to lift my arms straight over my head. It is hard to keep my head straight. I always sat on my legs and my hands to keep myself in my chair. It is very uncomfortable sitting in a chair for very long. I hated wearing any restrictive clothing. I loved loose fitting clothes. My posture was bad. My mother was forever telling me to stand up striaght. To me it is uncomfortable to stand up straight. I suppose these feeling could be contributed to something else, but it does support this theory, since I did not crawl much as a baby with my casts on. To me these all support the claim. I even tried to write (my handwriting is awful) standing up! And it really helped with my writing. (I have many papers to correct being a teacher.)
Someone asked if these doctors do crawling exercises. YES! These doctors of this study and authors of this book do CRAWLING exercises to mature the reflex. You actually have to crawl with some resistance for a recommended 8 months. And it is not like they are trying to scam everybody. The directions are in their book. I'm sure it will be available in libraries soon. It was released in a second edition printing in October of 2004. They had an earlier book called Stopping Hyperactivity. This new one is Stopping ADHD. It cost me around at Barnes and Noble and it has facinated me ever since.
The reason I even posted it here is that if it does work, then we should all know. If it relieved the students from the school in which the study was done, then it could relieve ours too. I'm not saying I believe it is a miracle cure. I'm saying I want to find out if there is anything to it. It takes a lot of time to invest 8 months to exercises. Also, I believe that people should be informed of this idea if it is valid. So that is why I am asking in these postings.
I appreciate all the responses. Thank you so much!
I agree with what Sonya said about trauma and damage. The crawling theory would exclude those people.I am a lot like Sonya and illhtac. I have always been "dreamy", "lazy", etc. Other than being fidgety when I'm supposed to be sitting still I don't really have the symptoms that Annidagostini has. I enjoyed doing cartwheels on my front yard as a child. In fact, I still enjoy doing cartwheels at age 22. I never really had posture problems, I have neat handwriting, I prefer cursive over print because it's easier and quicker for me. You and I have very different symptoms yet we both didn't crawl very much as babies. I think that shows there isn't really a correlation between crawling and ADHD symptoms. As for the posture and restrictive clothing symptoms, a lot of non-ADD people are like that too. I remember when I was a kid in school seeing adults fussing over a lot of kids about their posture. Kids aren't very refined so most of them don't have good posture. And guess what, I have ADHD and the adults never had to tell me to stand up straight. My brother has bad posture and he doesn't have ADHD. And I don't know of anyone who likes restrictive clothing. Some people are willing to endure it for the sake of fashion or if it's a uniform but nobody actually likes it. It sounds like these doctors are just playing on people's stereotypes of ADHD.
Why is the "spring forward" reflex necessary? How many of us actually use this reflex in real life? I would be willing to believe a baby who already has ADHD might be less likely to crawl but I don't think something as complex ADHD is caused by not crawling. It's a possible symptom but not a cause. That's my opinion.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm picking on you. I don't mean any disrespect. I'm just intrigued by the topic.
scarygreengiant38417.9341550926
[QUOTE=illhtac]This sounds like another attempt to link ADD to something other than brain chemistry like people who try to say that ADD is just kids watching too much TV or whatever.[/QUOTE]
I agree with you, and this can't be done, because, as I mentioned earlier, their are some people who have AD/HD after having some kind of head trauma or some kind of damage to the brain. What about them? This "crawling reflex" thing would not apply to them, because before their accident, they may have not have had any AD/HD symptoms at all...
Here are a few known causes of AD/HD acquired after birth (other than through heredity): meningitis, encephalitis, seizures from fever, head injury and lead toxicity.
sonya_h38417.8322569444sonya, I am exactly the same way! dreamy, "lazy", etc. and I wasn't diagnosed until I was 13 and then only because my mom had recently been diagnosed and had me get tested.
I do shift around a lot when I'm forced to sit still, like in class. I can tell almost exactly when an hour has passed in my longer classes because I start to shift around a lot then, but usually I'm fine sitting.
This sounds like another attempt to link ADD to something other than brain chemistry like people who try to say that ADD is just kids watching too much TV or whatever.
edit: I just called my dad and he said that I didn't really crawl much, just pulled myself up on furniture and started walking but my non-add sister crawled a lot before she learned to walk, but we both started walking early. wierd, eh?
illhtac38417.8086574074What about those who have Attention Deficit Disorder WITHOUT the hyperactivity? That's what I have. I had no problems crawling as a child, I crawled until I was 13 months old. I never had problems sitting down in class. I have no problems with my posture. I was not hyperactive and uncomfortable sitting in my chair for long periods, and I did not "fidget". I am just very "spacey" and my mother says my sister and I constantly daydreamed, and were very disorganized and impulsive with doing the things I wanted to do, amonst having other obvious ADD symptoms... But my problems went unnoticed when I was in grade school BECAUSE I was not hyperactive, and I had no problems behaving and sitting down in class, so no one ever noticed for a long time until my grades started slipping...
On the contrary, I have always been HYPOACTIVE, which is the opposite of being hypERactive...And there are plenty of ADDers out there who are the same way, these ones being the ones constantly being called "lazy" and "procrastinators"....
I think that part of the problem with AD/HD is that too many times, there is a child fidgeting and not sitting still in class and he/she is promptly "diagnosed" with ADHD. But there are lots of other problems that can make a child have ADHD-like symptoms. What you are refering to as that crawling reflex may cause children to have ADHD-like symptoms, or indeed actually cause them to have ADHD...But I don't think that is the primary cause of ADHD. I mean, there are people who have had head trauma, or an oxygen deficiency during an accident at some point in their life and this causes them to subsequently have ADHD when they did not have it before.
I don't think there is any one "cause" of ADHD and that can be "fixed" or "stopped" any more than dislexia, or autism or Tourette syndrome can be "stopped"...And while certain excersices can show improvement in some people, I don't think it will necessarily help EVERYONE who has ADHD.....
sonya_h38417.9053587963Ok I finally remembered to ask my Mom today...she said I never crawled. She said that she and I were sitting in the living room corner and I saw my dad comming home from work up the walkway and when he came into the door (I was standing but holding on to her) I let go of her hands and ran to the front door..she said about 14-20 feet...from then on I walked...this was at 8 months old....she said before then I would hang on to stuff to aide in walking...but never crawled. Walked from then on.Damn, CreativeCrazy, don't you have VERY bad motor-eye coordination?[QUOTE=Taag Man]Damn, CreativeCrazy, don't you have VERY bad motor-eye coordination? [/QUOTE]
Actually I did not have any motor-eye problems. I played basketball all through school...I was on first string...don't know if you know what that is but it is the first team to go out to play. I also played softball for along time. I danced 14 years...tap, jazz, and ballet...with a mix of gymnastics and baton twirling.
I draw and paint really well now....so I guess I dont have any problems with motor eye cordination.
My Ex didn't crawl as a baby... and she slammed into allot of stuff all the time, and fell from time to time.... but I suppose there must be other reasons for that then.I didn't crawl at all, I remember my mother always saying that and I didn't think anything of it till I read this thread. Maybe we were just so bored with crawling, we skipped right over it?
heh heh
Hmmm, not sure about this little theory, but I will pipe in. I was born with underdeveloped stomach and torso muscles and couldn't walk, but my parents said I was so hellbent on moving that I would roll and 'scoot' myself around the house. When they noticed my odd behavior (and when my younger sister walked before me) they finally took me in to the Dr for physical therapy, within a month my sister 'taught' me to walk upright...and I went straight to running. Hmmm, must've just been happy to finally move easily.
IMac38942.9474421296IMac,
There are other articles out there that claim that crawling is very important. Here is one:
Early infant crawling experience is reflected in later motor skill development.
McEwan MH, Dihoff RE, Brosvic GM.
Newcomb Medical Center, Temple University.
The influences of early crawling experience on motor skill development were examined in children identified by parents as crawlers or noncrawlers during early infancy. Relative to the performance of crawlers, noncrawlers showed lower average and subtest-specific performance on selected measures of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers. These results, interpreted through Ayres' sensory integration theory and applied to current occupational therapy practice, support Farber's hypothesized importance of early crawling experience in the development of sensory and motor systems of the body and general motor skill development.
Here is another one.
http://www.parentcare.org.nz/index.php?option=articles&t ask=viewarticle&artid=13&Itemid=3
Thanks to Trish Wilson at the North Shore Gymbaroo for this developmental stages article.
Crawling
When a baby drags himself along the ground. The age this movement begins will vary considerably with every child (depending on the child and the circumstances of when their life began) and precedes the more mature movement of creeping on hand and knees. It is not so important when these movements start, but that they do.
Why is it important that babies learn to tummy crawl?
As babies drag themselves across the floor or carpet they are:
Creeping
This is the time when our infant lifts his tummy off the floor and sets forth on hand and knees like a tiger or cat. They also sit themselves up and pull to standing. They cruise around furniture as they develop the strength and balance for walking.
Why is creeping so important?
It is important to know that infants will sit themselves when their back muscles are ready. In normal development this occurs about the time of creeping - the infant pivots sideways and sits.
Let your infant sit and walk in her own time - allow nature to dictate the terms of development. Just provide the appropriate opportunities. There is a reason for each stage of development. Do not be in a hurry for your child to walk, for it is not how early she walks, but about how much she learns about herself and her world before she walks that will influence the development of her intelligence.
For more information please feel free to contact Trish Wilson at Kiwi Gymbaroo - Phone 412 6303, Mobile 025 833 883, or write to PO Box 33078, Takapuna.
From my experience, crawling does a lot for you. I am doing it now at 40 years old and it is helping me to be more organized, to remember things better. I can't tell you why, but I am trying to research it out.
One more thing:
In my view point the people that say that crawling is not an important developmental stage and that it can be skipped are referring to the fact that babies who don't crawl much walk just fine.
I agree with that. Developmentally, a baby can walk without six months of crawling. But I do believe that this book has something that we aren't looking at.
There is a reflex in our bodies that urge us forward. This reflex perhaps is stronger in some people than in others. That may be why ADD and ADHD are inherited. This reflex is what remain behind and bothers a person when they do not crawl.
I also read some research that stated that neurons in our brains don't get activated unless we coordinate left and right brain with movement similar to crawling. I think that other exercises might also serve this function.
These are my assessments because I can't explain why I can remember things so much easier now. And why my handwriting is so much nicer now. I've been crawling. I can only guess that the nerons that never got fired up or connected or whatever are now being connected.
That is my non-professional assessment so far. But I am going to keep on researching it out.
IMac38942.9478125Just like any treatment for any disease/disorder, things work differently for different people. When considering any new medication, supplement, or alternative treatment plan, read all you can find out about it, and compare the plan to your own symptoms/problems. If there isn't a close match, it will probably be a waste of your time/money.
Just a reminder.
IMac,
I don't think I have explained it very well.
I don't know if I can "show you the money" or not 
But here is what I understand from the book Stopping ADHD.
What they say is, we all have a primitive reflex in our bodies when we are born. it starts to affect us at around 6 months- (that is a given - you can research it out on the internet even and find it on many other sites.) It is a reflex called the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex. This reflex urges us to crawl or walk. It gives us the message or the reflex urge to move forward. The book states that in order to mature the reflex - or get rid of it - you have to crawl for 6 months and in the proper way - no dragging one leg, no scooting on your bottom.
The authors say - in a clearer way than I've written here - that ADD and ADHD in at least 75% of all cases is not what we have believed it to be. It is our reaction to having this reflex bothering us. That is their claim. They also claim that the reflex can be matured and not bother you anymore.
When I first read the book I was attracted to the idea because I didn't crawl as a baby. I tried to find out more about it, on this board and by searching for it on line. I did find good reviews on Amazon. I decided to try the exercises myself and have had nothing but good improvements.
So, perhaps my explaining of what I think is going on with my ADD and my reduced symptoms is not very scientific. I am not a scientist. I know that there are many claims of quackery out there on line and claims for certain cures of lots of diseases. I guess that unless you just try them yourself, you won't know if they help you or not.
I don't know if that helps you Imac,
But if you want, you can try the exercises. I think that most people don't want to put in the time and effort it requires without having proof of it working. Well, I don't know where to get that proof for you. I know it is helping me. And unless you can somehow change your ADD symptoms with a placebo effect (just believing it will work) than it must be the exercises that are maturing my reflex, because everything in that book has proven to be true in my case. I can't say that it will work in every other case. But if it rings true to you when you read the book, perhaps it can help you too.
Good luck either way!
IMac38942.9461111111
IMac, when I put in "Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex" I get a page full of referneces on Google. When I type in STNR, I only get a couple.
Try the whole name. I've found research being done on this reflex in Australia before. I do think that it is not a well-known reflex or theory, so we all should find out as much as we can. I would hate to think that the good results I am seeing are just a placebo affect.
That would be hard to have with ADD, don't you think?
Well, according to these two women who wrote the book, they have been treating people with ADHD for 30 years. They do have a clinic, but you don't have to go there. If you read the book, you will see how serious they are. I don't think that they are just trying to get money from people. They truly believe they have an answer. You can check the book out of the library and do the exercises and get the same help. They do offer a DVD to help you know how to do the exercises correctly. I guess you could accuse them of trying to make money, but really, I don't see it as a scam, more as a service.
Also, if you read the book, the whole thing is slanted toward the child, toward the person with ADHD. They have a whole section devoted to making accomodations for the child, to be more comfortable and to cope with the effects of the STNR until it is actually helped by the exercises which take 8 months. I remember over and over in the book it says "be as patient and as understanding as possible" or something similar to that.
You can call and talk to them personally on the phone. Just go to the web site.
www.stoppingadhd.com and you will see the number.
They both studied under Miriam Bender who began the exercises. She passed on a couple of years ago. They studied under her at Purdue University. They all have PHDs in learning disabilities. They told me (or I read it in their book) that they allow postural freedom in their classes at the University. They seem very genuine to me. I haven't found any proof that what they are saying if false.
I actually challenged anyone to find that proof for me in the debate thread. If you do find anything that proves their theory wrong, I'd like to see it.
As far as a placebo effect goes, if a placebo effect will cure my ADD and that is what is happening, then I'll gladly keep on crawling. If all it takes is to believe that my ADD will go away, then I will keep crawling.
But that is not what I believe is happening. I really believe the theory that these women have come up with. It makes sense. So many of the parents that I talk to at school, whose children are being treated for ADHD, told me that thier children didn't crawl much, or that they walked early. I find all of this evidence very convincing, that is why I tried it in the first place. The results have been great for me. I can get things done and I don't forget things. I remember what I am supposed to do from one day to the next. I have never been like that. I always forgot things in the past. I actually forgot to bring my friend dinner three nights in a row!!! She had just had a baby and I told her I would bring her dinner. I don't do that kind of stuff anymore since I've been crawling. To me - it's a proven theory. It worked for me.
One more thing - and this is really embarrasing, but oh, well, - I was obsessed with pimples, I would search for them on my face and arms and back. I don't do that anymore. I am not obsessed with that anymore. I have always been like that, my whole life, but now it is different. I don't think a placebo effect could do that when I didn't even know before hand that it would help.
There is something to this theory. I would hope that you will take it a little more seriously, but I can't make you do that. If you can't find out much on line, you are like me. Read the book, see what you think then. I did it and it proved to be an answer for me. It may not help someone else. Perhaps their ADD or ADHD is caused by something else. But I am totally convinced that if your ADD or ADHD is caused by this STNR, it can be fixed by these exercises.
I'm sorry to go on and on for so long.
http://www.internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com/articl es.cfm?y=2004&v=19&n=1
Here is the address of the researc I found on STNR and ADHD from Australia. Perhaps this research was inspired by the Miriam Bender studies. I don't know.
IMac38942.9463773148