|
Once the child is able to maintain a straight position underneath the overhead bar for several minutes, it is time to start teaching how to begin stepping whilst still maintaining correct posture.
The concept of overhead support can be continued by means of an overhead ladder. In the early stages the child can be assisted so that they can begin to learn how to do the ladder walking independently. As the hand moves to the next rung, the child is encouraged to step with the opposite foot. Then the other hand is moved, followed by the other foot. In this way the proper coordination of cross pattern walking is introduced from the beginning.
As the child reaches from one rung to the next, the body is kept in a straight position. Therefore, the brain is learning how walking can occur whilst still maintaining the correct centre of gravity. This needs to be repeated over and over to ensure that this information gets programmed into the brain.
|
