Diagnostic Assessment



Diagnosing NDD

A full Neuro-Developmental assessment will detect the presence of primitive reflexes and balance problems. Detailed tests assess Central Nervous System maturity. Both types of test aid The Kinesis Consultancy in the diagnosis of NDD or Neuro-Developmental Delay.

Standard neurological tests will reveal the continued presence of aberrant Primitive and Postural Reflexes.

Individual reflexes affect specific areas of functioning: one reflex can interfere with the control of the hand when writing; another can affect balance and control of eye movements so that the eyes ‘play tricks’ on the brain, making the letters appear to move on the page.

Walking or running can be hindered by an aberrant reflex being stimulated by movement of the head causing the automatic straightening of the limbs on that side, upsetting the centre of balance and insisting on homolateral movement. This causes instability in movement and can result in running into objects through inadequate control or falling over.

Walking on tip toes and sitting into the ‘W’ position indicates the possibility of uninhibited primitive reflexes being present.

These are the medical facts which form the basis of our work at The Kinesis Consultancy:

  • During life in the womb a group of reflexes called the primitive reflexes emerge.
  • Primitive reflexes should be present at birth in the baby born at full term.
  • Primitive reflexes are inhibited by the developing brain during the first year of life.
  • Primitive reflexes are gradually replaced by Postural reflexes. Postural reflexes develop in the first 3½ years of life to provide the basis for automatic (unconscious) control of balance, posture and voluntary movement.
  • It is an accepted medical fact that retained primitive reflexes beyond the first 6–12 months of post natal life indicates immaturity in the functioning of the Central Nervous System.

 

The Neuro-Developmental Diagnostic Assessment

A Child or Adult Questionnaire provides us with information to advise you if an Initial Assessment is recommended. There is a one hour assessment that is used to determine if the interventions available at The Kinesis Consultancy are going to be of benefit. Paul is able to complete an individual detailed diagnostic assessment of each person, to identify areas of immaturity or gaps within the development of the central nervous system. Following this, he will compile a personally designed programme to address any issues which may be detrimentally affecting your academic learning, physical and emotional ability, or elite performance.

The tests involve:- The Neuro-Developmental Diagnostic Assessment usually takes the form of a three hour assessment and provides a detailed analysis of current ability levels, helping to identify the starting point for the intervention (s).

  • Gross motor co-ordination and balance
  • Patterns of motor development
  • Cerebellar involvement
  • Dysdiadochokinesia
  • Left –right discrimination problems
  • Orientation problems
  • Spatial problems
  • Aberrant reflexes
  • Laterality tests
  • Foot dominance
  • Hand dominance
  • Eye dominance (far distance)
  • Eye dominance (near distance)
  • Oculo Motor examination
  • Visual Perceptual examination
  • Fixation difficulties
  • Impaired tracking ability
  • Hand-Eye tracking
  • Latent convergence
  • Latent divergence
  • Convergence difficulty – left eye
  • Convergence difficulty – right eye
  • Independent eye closure – left eye
  • Loss of yoking – left eye
  • Loss of yoking – right eye
  • Peripheral vision increase – left eye
  • Peripheral vision increase – right eye
  • Accommodation of binocular vision

Visual-perceptual examination

The subject has to copy exactly 3 figure tests comprising of different shapes and patterns. Four important pieces of information may be detected in these tests:

  1. Visual Discrimination – the ability to differentiate between similar and different shapes, sizes etc.
  2. Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) – hand-eye coordination.
  3. Spatial Skills- what is the spatial layout on the page like? What is the size, orientation, sequence and arrangement of shapes? Is the same as the model?
  4. Stimulus Bound Effect – the ability to ignore irrelevant visual stimuli within a given visual field.