A Note from Cara
What a wonderful spring this year! We hope you are actively enjoying the outdoors.
A quick update on some unusual ways improved stability is making differences in lives this spring:
• New Drivers having the ability to sign their name on their new driver’s licenses.
• Preschoolers not needing to wear ankle braces with their newly stable feet
• Grade schoolers with stability to ride their two wheel bikes, and now enjoying riding with friends.
• Golfers able to play without strain as their stable core rotates better reducing stress on lower back, hips or knees.
Events: Taking the Frustration Out of Parenting Your Gifted Child May 22nd from 7-9pm
Cara Lindell and Kim Corless present ways to rethink the challenges of parenting to enable new solutions.
See below for complete information.
New Chicago Office Update
We are all settled into the new office in a very old, yet very cool building. (I think they call it historic ) New hours are Mon/Tues/Thurs from 2-6pm. Ingris and Becki are there to restore your stability to transform performance in school, on the field or in life.
Music for the Core
Core stability is generally agreed to be a good thing. From school focus to sports performance to flexibility, almost everyone recognizes that core strength is key ingredient. We find that stability is what unlocks it all—strength, flexibility and endurance. And not just stability of the core, it’s the connection of the legs and arms to the core so it all works easily together. Read more below about a musical way we’ve found to fire up your core in just two sessions (any ages!)
Summer is right around the corner and we are already scheduling into June, July and August. We look forward to adding some new stability to prepare your family for fall sports or the next grades’ demands.
In health-
Cara Lindell
Founder of Kinetic Konnections®, and Kinetic Bridging®
Kinetic Konnections Resources Presents “Taking the Frustration Out of Parenting Your Gifted Child” from 7-9pm on Tuesday May 22nd.
Parents and the professional community serving gifted, 2e and the Asperger’s community will benefit from this workshop. Cara Lindell and Kim Corless will challenge you to understand your student differently and provide examples of new strategies to use at home.
Learn a Three-Step Model to Transform Parenting Your Gifted Child
1. Understand the developmental and neurological basis for common frustrations
2. Indentify links between ineffective strategies and escalating emotions/stress
3. Formulate new parenting strategies recognizing developmental gaps and related neuroscience
Cara Lindell is the founder of Kinetic Konnections, and Kinetic Bridging. In this role she has worked with hundreds of gifted families to improve physical stability resulting in improvements in sensory processing, coordination, emotional and cognitive processing. She is also a mother of two 2e children.
Kim Corless is a gifted education consultant and advocate working from her own experiences as a 2e child and those as a mother of four 2e children. She is a certified SENG Parent Group facilitator and has presented at the IL Association for Gifted Children conference and numerous school districts.
The program will be held at the Kinetic Konnection’s Park Ridge office. The charge is $20 when pre-registered. Same day Registration is $25. You may register by calling 847-390-8348 or via Eventbrite at http://giftedparenting052012.eventbrite.com
Music for the Core
Core stability is generally agreed to be a good thing. From school focus to sports performance to flexibility, almost everyone recognizes that core strength is key ingredient. We find that stability is what unlocks it all—strength, flexibility and endurance. And not just stability of the core, it’s the connection of the legs and arms to the core so it all works easily together.
The most amazing thing happened when we began to use developmentally based music—we started finding straighter and stronger core function. And we found a new layer of connections at the shoulders and hips to stabilize which led to better functioning feet and hands. And we only suspected we’d get improvements in auditory processing. So much more!
We are using the vibrational headset and developmentally based music developed for use the with iLs (Integrated Listening System, http://www.iLs.com) program. Leslie Teng and Ingris Paredes have completed training in iLs learning the background information on auditory processing and infant development integral to the program. We do not administer the iLs program, we merely use its equipment and music while doing Kinetic Bridging®.
The music activates two tiny muscles in the ear and Kinetic Bridging facilitates how these muscles connect to others. Pretty soon there are all sorts of new muscles fired up along the spine. The interesting thing about this chain reaction is that most of the change occurs in a one to two week period following our session. There is a developmental aspect to the iLs program; headset frequencies correlate to frequencies associated with first trimester embryonic development. Using Kinetic Bridging to connect stability with early, early nervous system function is producing profound changes!
And it lasts! We began selectively integrating the music to our work last fall, carefully tracking changes. The changes to core stability are retained more than a month later, and we find there are new stability improvements surfacing in the interim. Not only does the core change, head forward posture has minimized, back curvatures have improved, ankles have become more flexible and speech has changed. It is the most amazing degree of change I have ever seen!
We are now integrating the music to the initial sequence of work with all children, and find it useful with many adults. We do recommend the music session be followed by a session to balance and integrate the new stability activated in the period following the music. We look forward to letting you listen to some the special music to see what it can do for your core!
A Note from Cara
Happy New Year!
So much work we’ve been doing over the winter break with such a variety of clients—so much fun! The winter brings different situations we are able to help.
• Youth and HS athletes performing better after injuries
• Writing and concentration help for our younger students
• Skills to enable shoe tying handy for basketball or hockey foot wear changes
• Skiing readiness for parents who want to get back on the slopes
Lots of Exciting Events! I look forward to seeing many of you at one or more of them.
• “I’ve got an iPad….Now What?” Sunday January 22nd at 1:30pm presented by Jordan Sadler, SLP, and Tamara Kaldor, Developmental Therapist, at the Park Ridge office. Apps to help parents of children ages 3-10 with communication and organization. Additional information and registration can be found at: http://kineticresourcesjan22.eventbrite.com
• “Defying Labels! New Ways to View and Help Your Gifted Student who may also be 2e or Asperger’s” Saturday March 10th from 1-5pm facilitated by Cara Lindell, founder of Kinetic Konnections, and Kim Corless, gifted education consultant and advocate, at the Park Ridge office. Additional information and registration can be found at: http://defyinglabelsmar10.eventbrite.com
• Intrinsic Stability Course Schedule for 2012 Fitness and health professional—add stability assessment and enhancement to your skill set. The spring set of courses is scheduled for March 3-5 and April 13-15, and again in the on September 28-30 and November 9-11. CEU’s are available through the American Council on Exercise and the IL Physical Therapy Association. http://kkintrinsicstability.eventbrite.com
On behalf of Ingris, Becki and Leslie, I wish you the best in making 2012 a healthy year filled with hope and the celebration of possibility!
In health-
A Note from Cara
How fast the fall has flown, and we are nearly at year’s end. We are enjoying seeing clients for both sports and academic related skills this fall. We have much to share with and hope you will be able to take advantage of some of the opportunities.
• Staff Announcements: A big welcome to Leslie Teng, Physical Therapist and Kinetic Bridging specialist. She is seeing clients in Park Ridge on Tuesday afternoons. Becki Logan is now seeing clients in Chicago on Tuesday afternoons, and Ingris Paredes is now seeing clients in Northfield on Mondays in addition to Park Ridge on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
• What do the iPad and Lollipops have in common? These are both two items we have found to be instrumental in our work with children and adults. Find out why and how we use them by reading more below…
• Cara Speaking at the Science and Arts Academy December 12th. “Defying Labels: Gifted and ADHD, Anxiety, Sensory Processing Disorder and Asperger’s” will look at typical traits associated with the gifted and an alternative way for understanding and accommodating your child. Details are below and on the Kinetic Konnections Facebook page.
• “I’ve got an iPad….Now What?” Sunday January 25th at 1:30pm presented by Jordan Sadler, SLP, and Tamara Kaldor, Developmental Therapist, at the Park Ridge office. See below for more info.
• Continuing Education Update: The Illinois Physical Therapy Association approved the Intrinsic Stability Courses for continuing education credits. The next set of courses kicks off in early February.
Above all, have a healthy and safe holiday season with our sincere thanks and appreciation for the opportunity to work together!
In health-
Cara Lindell
Founder of Kinetic Konnections®, and Kinetic Bridging®
Upcoming Events
• Science and Arts Academy hosts Cara Lindell speaking on “Defy Labels! Defying Labels such as Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, Anxiety and Asperger’s Syndrome” Monday December 12th from 8:30 to 10am.
Gifted are often defined their habits be they cute and defining, or quirky and debilitating. Understanding why these quirks enable the gifted student to function will allow you to develop better accommodative strategies. Cara Lindell will share her unique approach called Kinetic Bridging, which focuses on improving social, emotional, cognitive and physical performance by improving muscle stability and balance. Cara will offer insights gleaned from her work with many gifted students over the past 10 years as well as the latest research in brain-body links. Call the school at 847-827.7880 or check their website at http://www.scienceandartsacademy.org for more information. There is no fee.
• Kinetic Konnections Resources will feature “I’ve Got and iPad…Now What?” on Sunday January 25th from 1:30-3:00pm at the Kinetic Konnections headquarters in Park Ridge. The development on Flummox and Friends, a project of Jordan Sadler and Christa Dahlstrom. Call 847-390-8348 to reserve your space.
Jordan Sadler, MS, CCC/SLP of Communication Therapy will demonstrate a range of high quality apps that can be used at home with kids who have challenges with articulation, expressive language, language comprehension, following routines, making transitions, and processing/expressing their emotions.
Tamara Kaldor, MS, MS, Developmental Therapist and Advocate of Chicago PLAY Project will discuss the iPad’s role in supporting children with learning challenges and developing their executive functioning skills.
• Intrinsic Stability Courses: Learn new assessment techniques to evaluate performance of your clients and patients. This four-part series of courses covers the science behind Intrinsic Stability, a four tier assessment protocol and application of Kinetic Bridging® to quickly improve stability. The course begins February. Contact Cara Lindell at 847.390.8348 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to receive a complete course brochure.
What do the iPad and Lollipops have in Common? By Cara Lindell, Founder
Two of the newest tools at Kinetic Konnections seem to have nothing in common—one is an old-fashioned treat and the other the latest in technology. We use them each with clients of all ages. Why? Read on….
The iPad is more than entertaining. It is a way for us to observe how a person best uses their body position and visual-motor system to play. Whether the focus is on achieving the next level in Angry Birds, dressing Barbie in Barbie Fashionistas, playing piano tunes in Play It Yourself or simply doodling in Doodle Buddy, we find our clients reveal the unique ways their bodies stabilize a visual-motor task.
In the process some very interesting things surface…feet and toes getting a workout with the eyes, kids postured in some very interesting sitting, standing or lying down contortions, and hand/finger use that is down-right awkward. These very real postures and interactions are how the body best supports the visual system function and unfortunately, the positions don’t work well in many work or school environments.
We are able to stabilize the inefficient components to this visual-motor function in real time, and are able to see improvements in real time. For all who have watched it is an amazing process!
Lollipop, Lollipop…. Other than as a treat for a wonderfully cooperative session, how do lollipops help us? Many of the children we see have unusual oral-motor function and/or habits. We find using the lollipops elicits stabilizing patterns where oral-motor function is optimum. However, most of the positions we find are not logistically conducive to eating. Might this explain why some of our younger clients never seem to sit down to eat? A good chance.
We use the lollipops to find additional positions revealing stability patterns in need of being connected. The developmental aspect to the licking is also significant. We are able to access pre-natal stability patterns that did not develop completely or are not isolated in function. When the stability of the oral-motor function improves we are hearing improvement in articulation developing during the session. Parents also report lessening of oral stim habits and increased willingness to eat textured foods.
Now if we could only land on the stability patterns which make us not want to eat….!
If you haven’t seen us in a while and you think the visual/oral stability linkages may pertain to you/your family member feel free to call to discuss. We find the changes are amazing and fast!