Immaturities in the sense of balance often underlie difficulties with learning to read and write. While your child may appear to have good balance when moving, riding a bicycles etc, it is their static balance, or the ability to sit still and concentrate that is important for learning in the classroom.
Children with immaturities in their sense of balance often also struggle with learning skills like reading and writing. This is often linked to diagnoses such as ADHD or Dyslexia. The good news is that delays in early sensory and motor development can be addressed with a simple movement program, freeing your child for lifelong learning.
What is the Sense of Balance
Our sense of balance helps us to remain upright and steady – it tells us where we are in relation to gravity. The organs of balance are semi-circular canals, located in our inner ear.
Balance starts to develop before birth, providing babies with a sense of direction and orientation inside the womb. It continues to develop throughout infancy and early childhood, particularly through floor play and tummy time, which are the building blocks for learning.
Developing Balance Naturally
The good news is that balance develops naturally through play. Children intuitively know what they need and given a safe space, they will naturally gravitate towards this. What looks like play to us is actually children’s work.
If you watch a toddler pulling themselves up against furniture you are seeing their sense of balance in action, as they pull themselves up against gravity. It will continue to develop as they start to walk, fall down, then right themselves again. Not only are they building their sense of balance, but they are developing muscle tone as well.
At the same time their sense of balance is connecting with other senses, such as vision, hearing and touch. They are acquiring not only a sense of themselves, but also where they are in space, and who they are in relation to others. What may look like simple movements, are actually building complex structures in their brain, getting them ready for a life of learning.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play really is the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Sense of Balance and Links to ADD/ADHD and Dyslexia
Skills of reading and writing require the ability to sit still, and maintain balance while thinking at the same time. We also need to be able to move our eyes together to track smoothly across a page of writing.
Since 2005 I have been offering a neurodevelopment program, known as The Extra Lesson to identify and address underlying developmental immaturities in children who are struggling in the classroom. The children often come with diagnoses such as ADHD and dyslexia.
I often look for signs of maturity in their sense of balance, by asking them to stand on one foot and count to 15. Then I ask them to repeat this task with their eyes closed. Most will struggle to maintain balance and count with their eyes open. It gets even more challenging when I ask them to repeat the procedure with their eyes closed.
The Ability to Think and Balance at the Same Time
Many start to wobble almost immediately. This indicates they find it difficult to maintain their balance and think at the same time, skills that are essential for effective classroom learning. It appears that their “thinking” brain is being used to maintain an upright stance against gravity.
Children with immaturities in their sense of balance will often use their sense of vision to help them remain upright by focussing on the horizon. As a result they may feel dizzy when asked to sit still and move their eyes together across a page of print, interpret the symbols and make meaning from them all at the same time. Their difficulty is apparent with letter reversals, loss of place, and struggles crossing the midline.
Some say the print seems like it is moving, or swimming. Children don’t realise that this is not the same for everyone, and may assume that there is something wrong with them. They know they are not dumb, are are but can’t understand why others are achieving better than them, without even trying, while they are putting in 110% effort.
As a result, they get tired easily, losing focus. They often naturally do something to stimulate their sense of balance, like moving, talking, wriggling, fidgety and generally losing concentration. The effort to maintain focus can be exhausting.
Difficulties with Sense of Balance Might Look Like…
Do any of these describe your child? If so, then immaturities in their sense of balance may be contributing to their behaviour:
- Meltdowns, anger, tantrums, frustration,
- Constant wriggling, unable to sit still
- Struggles to focus and pay attention
- Symptoms of ADHD, dyslexia
- Thrillseeker, loves climbing, no fear of heights
- Uncoordinated, clumsy, knocks into things
- Travel and sea sickness
- Behind in reading, writing, spelling, maths
- Falls off their chair in class when trying to concentrate
- Stress, tension, anxiety
- Difficulty riding a bicycle
- Delays in learning to swim, climb trees
- Balance when moving but unable to sit still
- Poor organisational skills, scatterbrained behaviour
These behaviours tell us that your child may find it difficult to focus in a busy environment. When their thinking brain is monitoring their sense of balance it is not available for higher order thinking and processing tasks such as reading and written expression. Their behaviour gives us a clue to the reason for their struggle.
Play and the Sense of Balance
Any activity that involves moving their head in space will help to develop your child’s sense of balance. The best way to do this is through play. When engaged in free play, your child’s sensory system is more open to learning. They are also coordinating their sensory system and motor skills. There is no such thing as “just playing” for a child!
“Make a little time for play every day if you can… Just a few minutes each day will … help your child develop the skills they need to thrive in this world.” – Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent
Children intuitively know what their bodies need to do. All they really need is a safe place to play and develop their imagination, use their bodies, and someone to watch over them, to ensure safety, and to pick them up when they fall.
Here are some playful activities your child might enjoy:
- Rolling – down grassy slopes, on the floor at home,
- Dancing, somersaults, hopping, skipping
- Jumping, bouncing, trampolining, bouncy castle,
- Animal poses – frog jumps, bear crawl, kangaroo hops, crab crawl
- Climbing – trees, playground equipment, slippery dip
- Swings at the playground – gentle – BUT never force a child to swing
- Rhythmic rocking – face down over a hammock, sit in a rocking chair
- At the park – slippery dip, see-saw, climbing equipment
- Riding – bikes, scooters
- Balancing – low walls, logs, balance beam, stand on one foot
- Walking on rough and uneven surfaces – sand, bush tracks, climbing over rocks at the beach
- Jumping – both feet together – over a rope, a line on the ground, skipping rope
- Target games – catching and throwing a ball, throw into a basket
- Wobble or balance board
- Sit on a gym ball
Note: Always be guided by your child’s responses, to gauge which activities are most appropriate, and when to stop to avoid over-stimulation. Always stop immediately if your child is distressed.
Supporting a Sense of Balance in the Classroom
Learning difficulties, in conjunction with immaturities in the sense of balance indicate that many children need more time to develop their bodies in preparation for starting school.
“All learning takes place in the brain, but it is the body that that acts as the vehicle through which knowledge is acquired” – Sally Goddard Blythe
Children who have trouble sitting still often have immature control of static balance, and struggle with learning in a classroom. They may find is difficult to focus and pay attention in a busy or noisy classroom. Movement is their natural re-balancing resource.
Children need to feel safe in order to learn. When they feel safe their nervous system helps them to stay focussed and open to learning. When they don’t feel safe, their fight/flight reaction will kick in. Learning becomes difficult as, feeling overwhelmed, they naturally attune to sounds of threat in their environment, tuning out the teacher’s voice.
Many children find it hard to focus in a classroom when there are so many background sensations – sounds, movements, touch, smells, sights. Add to this pressure to perform and it can easily feel overwhelming. Children intuitively know what their bodies need to bring their nervous system back into balance to support learning.
Movement is their natural re-balancing resource, with many finding that movement helps them to focus. If they can’t move, children may simply shutdown and disengage. This can set off a cycle of school avoidance, poor performance, underachieving, and poor self esteem as their confidence is undermined.
Strategies that can Help in the Classroom
- Avoid surprises
- Maintain a regular rhythm and routine
- Minimise background noise
- Maintain a sense of safety
- Avoid sudden loud noises
- Incorporate movement breaks to help “bring them back into their bodies”, supporting sensory and motor awareness
School-based Neurodevelopment Programs can Help
Learning difficulties, in conjunction with immaturities in the sense of balance are often an indication for many children that they need more time to develop their bodies in preparation for starting school.
Remediation for delays in learning to read and write, is often aimed at treating the symptom. That is, asking a child to try harder, with more intense reading and writing programs. This will help if the problem is the result of poor teaching skills, but will never address the underlying sensory and motor development that supports higher order learning.
Research shows the effectiveness of school-based neurodevelopment programs to address immaturities in early sensory and motor development. These programs work by putting the children back on the floor to recapitulate the early movements such as rolling, creeping and crawling. These movement programs help to develop their sensory and motor development, as well as body and spatial awareness, the foundations for lifelong learning.
What Next
Fortunately our brains are plastic. This means we are able to build new pathways for learning throughout life. Talking with a trained therapist, or your counsellor can help if you are concerned about your child’s learning and/or behaviour.
If your child is struggling at school and you would like help with addressing possible gaps in their early development, why not talk to their school about programs to address immaturities in their sense of balance and retained primitive reflexes?
Related Articles
- We Need to Feel Safe to Learn
- Visual Processing and links to Dyslexia and ADHD
- Links Between Listening, Dyslexia and ADHD
- Does Your Child Really Need a Diagnosis of Dyslexia, ADHD?
References
- Goddard Blythe, S. (2012). Assessing Neuromotor Readiness for Learning – the INPP Screening Test and School Intervention Programme. Wiley-Blackwell. UK.
- Goddard, S. (2023). Reflexes, Learning and Behaviour – Analysing and unblocking neuro-motor immaturity. Hawthorn Press. UK.
- Goddard Blythe, S. (2004). The Well Balanced Child – Movement and early learning. Hawthorn Press. UK.
- Payne Bryson, T. and G. Wisen- Vincent. (2025). The Way of Play. Rodale. New York.
- Phelung, B. (2006). School Floors – Effective Perceptual Movement Programs for your Classrooms. Iceform Pty Ltd. Australia
- Phelung, B. (2003). Help Your Child to Learn – A Practical Guide for Children with Learning Difficulties. Transworld Publishers. Sydney, Australia.
- Phelung, B. (1997). Help Your Class to Learn – Effective Perceptual Movement Programs for your Classroom. Griffin Press. Australia.
