What is DMI and how can it help your child?
If you’ve been on social media lately, you have probably seen some videos of kids standing on a floating beam and asked yourself "what are those therapists doing?"
They are using a method called Dynamic Movement Intervention, or DMI which was created by physical therapists with the goal of promoting acquisition of gross motor milestones in children. DMI uses an understanding of neurodevelopment to impact neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to reorganize, and change based on our internal and external environment. If your therapist is using a DMI technique for treatment of your child, they will be using specific hand placement and orientation to your child’s joints as well as gravity to improve automatic responses and help your child strengthen brain pathways that will lead to achievement of gross motor milestones. Exercises involve active movement by your child against gravity that will progressively become more challenging by altering location or direction of support as well as altering the direction of gravitational forces.
DMI can be used to treat a wide variety of children from specific diagnoses like down syndrome and cerebral palsy, but it can also be used to treat children who are delayed in milestone acquisition due to prematurity, birth complications or for no reason at all.
DMI at Bumblebee?
Bumblebee is proud to announce that we have two DMI level A certified therapists, offering DMI services in both physical and occupational therapy! Here at Bumblebee, your therapist may use DMI in conjunction with other methods to build the framework for your daily treatment. Using a combination of therapies will allow your therapist to modify your child’s treatment to best meet their individual needs and promote more favorable outcomes.