Tummy Crawling

The last several years, I've spent substantial time researching the effects of early stress on a young child's brain. 'Lil Dude, the catalyst to this amazing journey, began his life in a rather tumultuous way, separating from his birth mother and two foster mothers, all before the age of six months old. We now know that early stress can have an immense impact on neurodevelopment, causing the brain to flood with stress hormones and overwire areas dedicated to fight/flight. As we talked with other adoptive parents, we became aware of the widespread frustration that families experience as they seek help for their little ones.

In July 2004, 'LilDude began a program that replicated movements from the developmental sequence that children go through in infancy. When 'LilDude's tummy crawl was first assessed, his right leg was completely useless and immobile. Several parents whose children are just starting the program asked us to post a video of what our son's tummy crawl looks like now. As you can see, things have changed!

For more information on young children and adoption issues, visit: A4everFamily.org

To join a discussion on neurological interventions, visit: NEUROnetwork

[Please note that the intent of this video is NOT to show you how to make your child crawl. A child should not be taught how to crawl. Brain wiring occurs through the sequence of movements that develop as a child experiences the movement inherent with naturally learning how to crawl. It took us 2 1/2 years of tummy crawling--and a lot of other movements--to get to the point where 'LilDude could do this naturally.]

P.S. Someone asked me if 'LilDude is actually going this fast or whether the video is speeded up. Believe it or not, it's in actual time. We don't tell him to go that fast, he just does.