Myomancy ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism

The Well Balanced Child - Movement and early learning
By Sally Goddard Blythe
ISBN 1-903458-42-0

Sally Goddard Bythe is a director of the Institute of the Neuro-Physiological Psychology which focus on how retained primitive reflexes can be the source many educational problems. Along with her husband Peter Blythe, Sally has been researching child development and based on their findings they developed a diagnostic and treatment programme that has been used to help hundreds of children and adults. In ‘The Well Balanced Child’ the author draws on this experience to explain how children develop and the importance of movement, music and a healthy diet for the healthy growth of a child.

The first third of the book is dedicated to movement and balance, going into detail on how the vestibular (inner ear) develops and its integration with hearing. Chapter four focuses on primitive reflexes, what they are used for and how they can manifest themselves if they are not surpressed as the child grows. This is the most detailed chapter which is not surprising as this is a major part of INPP’s work.

The next two chapters focus the part music plays in learning and the development of the brain. What particularly comes out of this part of the book is how much your hearing is govern by your brain and that your hearing can be improved by training the brain to listen. Through personal anecdotes and references to scientific research the author puts a compelling case for how group singing and recital in a choir or classroom, can be a major boost to a child’s language skills.

Chapter seven looks at how the child’s mind develops from pre-natal to adulthood. The importance of diet is the focus of chapter eight where as chapter nine looks how the child’s environment, in particularly how city’s lack open space for play, can effect childern. Also in chapter nine the author lays out several examples of childern who have been treated by the INPP programme and provides some impressive before and after examples of their work. The last chapter is also the worst chapter in the book as it looks at eduction systems in ancient Greece, in Roman time and the ‘age of chivalry’. Highlighting that much of what she espouses, movement and group singing, are hardly new educational techniques the author gives a potted history of education. Unfortunately it is neither detailed or critical enough and the point that comes across is that in times gone by education used to be perfect.

This book contains much useful information and is in a highly readable style that the time short parent will find easy to absorb. The major weakness of the book is it lack of focus and clear direction to the reader. Parts of the book will interest new parents and parts will interest parents of children in junior school, especially those whose children are struggling at school. Whilst the book gives good quality background information it never gives clear advice. It leaves the reader thinking “that’s really interesting but what can I do about it?”.

For more on INPP see: Institute of the Neuro-Physiological Psychology, INPP One Day Training Course

See Music and IQ for research on how music can increase a child’s IQ.