Blog
What is Bear Crawling?
1- There is no crawl - This is not a typical type of crawling. Although it is a form of locomotion, it's about your child pushing its body off the floor.
2- Vision - Your child cannot set up their vision to see through a four-point crawl.
3- Missed MilestonesĀ - Your child cannot come into sitting, then go into all-fours.Ā Managing transition skills continues to be a struggle.
4- Midline - A forced midline is much harder to work around and can stop or limit a child's crossing midline.
Getting your child to the next level needs movement!
Learn more about Movement Lesson HERE!
Rotation is theĀ Primary DevelopmentalĀ Function
Before strength, before balance, before walking:
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rolling
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spiraling
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midline crossing
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asymmetry ā symmetry
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energy accumulates (reflexes and sensory)
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tone increases (needing more effort - hypertonia or unable to respond - hypotonia)
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compensations appear (missed or incomplete milestones and language gaps)
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cognition gets noisy (trying to function movement over cognition makes any form of development or diagnosis difficult. The more rotational responses are stressed, the more severe are the developmental concerns)
Why Primitive Reflexes need Gravity?
Because gravity is a reflex.
Severe Allergic Reaction
I've had this cough for the past two months. I finally decided to go in to see if it was serious. They gave me an IV steroid, and I had a severe allergic reaction. It affected my entire body. I was losing heart function; I couldn't move my legs or parts of my face.
I knew I had to get on my skeletal buoyancy and midlines.
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threat
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loss of airway confidence
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facial/cranial swelling
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autonomic instability
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re-established midline
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restored skeletal buoyancy
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used external load forĀ organized opposition
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rebuilt internal reference before adding intensity
Itās not exercise.Ā ItāsĀ system recovery.
ClickĀ HEREĀ to see a video of how, after a severe allergic reaction that disrupted my system, I deliberately re-establishedĀ midline,Ā skeletal buoyancy, andĀ controlled load.
Parent Plan Workshop
Early Intervention & M.O.V.E.M.E.N.T. Plan Workbook
Ā Are you looking to understand better your childās developmental pathway and how early intervention can support long-term success?
This specialized workshop is designed to give parents the clarity, tools, and confidence they need to take meaningful action at home.
Hosted by Michelle M. Turner
Leading Expert in Optimal Movement Development
In this workshop, you will learn:
How early intervention shapes the foundation of growth
What the M.O.V.E.M.E.N.T. Plan reveals about your childās development
Practical steps you can apply immediately
How to identify and support gaps before they turn into delays
The session includes access to the M.O.V.E.M.E.N.T. Plan Workbook, which guides you step-by-step.
Seats are limited. If youāre committed to understanding your childās development on a deeper level, this workshop is for you.Ā
Click HERE to get started!
Early Movement & Development of Cerebral Palsy
Understanding CP is a complete, month-by-month video course designed to help parents:
Whatās included:
Ā Month-by-month video lessonsĀ Deviation videos (whatās typical, what varies, and when to pay attention)Ā Clear warnings explained calmly and clinicallyĀ Development questionnaires for every milestoneĀ Webinar PDFs for every stage of developmentĀ Visual posters to support learning and observationMIDLINES, STANDING, and GAIT
Weāre deep in the architecture phase of the Midline book.
Not writing exercises.
Not listing milestones.
Not fixing movement.
Weāre mapping theĀ structure that movement depends on.
Right now, the work is focused on visualizing and defining:
ā¢ gravity
ā¢ buoyancy
ā¢ rotation
ā¢ and how these forces establish midline before skill ever shows up
Because if that architecture isnāt there, no amount of strengthening, bracing, cueing, or gait analysis will create functional movement.
This book isnāt about teaching bodies what to do. Itās about understandingĀ when a body is available to do anything at all.
Weāre building this from the ground up:
ā¢ prenatal ā birth ā horizontal ā vertical ā transitional ā locomotion
ā¢ not as milestones to chase
ā¢ but as organizational stages that repeat across a lifetime
Midline isnāt a line.Ā Itās a return. Itās reversibility under force. Itās how gravity stops being something the body braces against and becomes something the body negotiates.
This is the part mo...
Understanding CP and Development
The 5 Organization Stages of Movement
Each stage organizes the body to manage a new level of force, complexity, and intention.
1. Horizontal Organization
2. Vertical Organization
3. Transitional Organizat...
Plagiocephaly, Tummy Time, and Physical Therapy
PlagiocephalyĀ - what are some of the deviations you would see if a child was not helmeted, but plagiocephaly was improved with tummy time and PTĀ
Improved head shape doesĀ not automaticallyĀ mean improved movement organization.
The question is whether theĀ midline structures for movementĀ were restored or worked around.
1. Midline Organization (the most significant indicator)
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a preference to rotate or initiate movement to one side,
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difficulty crossing midline with the head, arms, or legs,
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or a āfrozenā center where the child movesĀ aroundĀ the midline instead ofĀ throughĀ it.
Why You Should Start Movement Lessonā¢ Now ā Not Later
Ā The holidays are coming ā and for many families, that means therapy interruptions.
Here are 3 reasons why starting now matters:
Because the brain learns everywhere ā especially at home.
Because every delay costs a stage of growth.
Because you are your childās best therapist.