In my early days as a speech and language therapist, I had a deep desire to work creatively with children with special needs but became disillusioned with systems and methods of working that failed to address the child’s underlying emotions. In the past, I had made hasty judgements which may have interfered with the child’s ability to progress. Professional assessment whilst providing a diagnosis , also indicates a list of assumptions about what the child is or is not capable of and this limits and veils our perception of the child’s potential.
Having tried and tested numerous working methods with children struggling in the school system, I eventually came to the conclusion that focusing on a child’s impairment and endeavouring to encourage them to do what they find most difficult, is a debilitating exercise for both child and teacher. I was inspired by the dawning realisation that children are able to heal themselves surprisingly quickly when offered positive creative choices. These choices should be based on what the child enjoys doing within a structured framework of familiarity, routine and clear boundaries. This approach caused me to shift my focus from the logical and rational left brain, the seat of impairment, to the creative intuitive aspects of the right brain.
All too often we ‘shine a torch’ on a child’s difficulty in the hope that any new learning will be integrated into their daily life. Instead we need to refocus their minds away from their own difficulty and involve them in an enjoyable creative activity of their choosing. This will relax the child and restore their confidence and begin to melt away self-doubt. A relaxed child will learn more easily. The positive energy of enjoyment will change the child’s perception of their own difficulty which will be diminished as a result.
Children benefit from interacting with the elements of nature, earth, water plants, trees and all life forms. This activity engages those parts of the central nervous system that are unimpaired. There is now much evidence to show that plants, flowers and trees respond to our emotional state and harmonise our energy flow. We feel better if we smell the roses.
My search for answers led to post graduate training in metaphysics and alternative therapeutic approaches and I focused my therapy on creative play, incorporating vocal toning and energy field alignment. Toning is an ancient and powerful method of healing with the voice. It provides a means of creative expression through simple vocal techniques to create specific sounds. Focused toning can alter the molecular structure of our bodies and the vibration of the space around us, triggering our own self-healing mechanism. Each tone within the Rainbow Chakra toning system corresponds to a specific chakra (energy centre) and a specific colour, creating a rainbow of colour and sound to strengthen and balance the auric field.
My work with children convinced me that a child’s enjoyment of a creative activity, increases the flow of positive light energy into impaired areas of their brain which improves neurological functioning, just as sunshine and water droplets stimulate plant growth through photosynthesis.
Relationship with other people, to the earth and to animals is how we become connected to each other and it’s how we learn. I have been lucky enough to visit central Australia more than once and in my oveland trips across the desert to central Australia, I discovered that relationship was of paramount importance to Aboriginal society. Exploration of the environment is encouraged and within the family groups, all generations learn together, sharing knowledge and socialising. The children learn at their own level, sharing resources, ideas, thoughts and feelings. Through observation and interaction they learn to gauge each other’s emotions, behaviours and style.
Hyperactive children who in their vulnerability, reflect the anxiety of those around them, are more likely to become calmer and settled in the presence of an adult who predictably responds to them with a calm voice and demeanour i.e. an adult who is aligned.
It is my hope that my passion and love of this work will inspire you too. Check out my manuals, Sensory Rainbow and Happy Talk I have provided some guidelines to encourage you to follow your own intuition when playing creatively with the children you may be lucky enough to meet.
In my early days as a speech and language therapist, I had a deep desire to work creatively with children with special needs but became disillusioned with systems and methods of working that failed to address the child’s underlying emotions. In the past, I had made hasty judgements which may have interfered with the child’s ability to progress. Professional assessment whilst providing a diagnosis , also indicates a list of assumptions about what the child is or is not capable of and this limits and veils our perception of the child’s potential.
to visit central Australia more than once and in my oveland trips across the desert to central Australia, I discovered that relationship was of paramount importance to Aboriginal society. Exploration of the environment is encouraged and within the family groups, all generations learn together, sharing knowledge and socialising. The children learn at their own level, sharing resources, ideas, thoughts and feelings. Through observation and interaction they learn to gauge each other’s emotions, behaviours and style.