Almost every second school child has already had therapy. Does everything really have to be treated that is conspicuous? Using six examples, experts explain what should be treated and what is "normal".
Many children of kindergarten age are in therapy
More than one in four children in Germany has already received speech therapy, almost one in five received occupational therapy, just as many have experienced physiotherapy, and one in ten children has already received psychotherapeutic treatment, according to a Forsa survey. A remarkable number of children are prescribed therapy, especially in late kindergarten age.
Unnecessary therapy can do more harm than good to children
In the meantime, some experts warn against seeking therapy for every deviation. Unnecessary therapy can do more harm than good to a child. What does it trigger in a child when his or her peculiarities are seen as in need of treatment? How can you distinguish whether therapy is needed or just a little more time, understanding or consistency?
Do these children need therapy? Six cases
Jonas doesn't play alone
Three-year-old Jonas rarely spends more than five minutes alone. He prefers when his mother or father play with him. In a playgroup, he watches more than just participating. Parents are already worried about entering kindergarten.
Katrin Sanne, play therapist, speech therapist and integrative child therapist, Schönberg:
At Jonas' age, it is not uncommon for a child to need a "play partner" to keep themselves occupied with a toy for a long time. For example, three-year-olds love role-playing games such as cooking with the children's kitchen, shopping, feeding the dolls with mom or dad, which gives them full attention and attention. So it is not enough to provide a three-year-old child with attractive toys. Only by playing together can the child develop their own ideas and enjoy their imagination. Jonas will then build up so much self-confidence that he will actively participate in the playgroup.
Lukas tenses up while painting
Lukas, 5, still holds the pen with his fist rather than three fingers. This attitude seems to be very exhausting for him, because he does not have too much stamina when painting. The teachers urge the parents to send Lukas to occupational therapy so that he can hold the pen properly until he starts school. Especially since he also struggles with scissors. Lukas quickly loses interest in painting and doing handicrafts and prefers to romp around with the other children.
Dr. med. Martin Lang, specialist in pediatric and adolescent medicine, chairman of the regional association of paediatricians in Bavaria:
It's not that easy to tell whether Lukas needs occupational therapy. First of all, I would have to investigate how intensively the boy was supported in his five years of life. Have parents or grandparents studied it enough? Have painting programs been implemented in the kindergarten? Boys in particular like to build great Lego houses, but willingly not pick up a pen. If the teachers don't direct such children a little, valuable time can be lost. In most cases, a child doesn't need therapy, but someone who sits down with them according to the motto: "Let's see if we can paint a car." Children who are encouraged and challenged in everyday life, for example by helping with setting the table or folding laundry, move more confidently and then have more manual dexterity. Since a five-year-old is about to go to school, I grudgingly approve the occupational therapy for Lukas. Why gritting your teeth? Because occupational therapy only makes sense if the family organizes their life at home in such a way that Lukas can do his exercises every day. We doctors are very concerned that parents, educators and teachers often understand occupational therapy to be something like tutoring. Nobody expects a child to learn to play the piano without daily practice. What a child learns in occupational therapy also has to be repeated many times so that it "sits".
Felix dawdles with homework
Second grader Felix takes hours to do his homework. Only when his mother sits down and coaxes him well can he make any progress. He is normally gifted. As soon as she leaves, he just dreams to himself. The mother is already very desperate.
Gabriele Griehl, qualified curative teacher (FH) and learning therapist, Gauting:
Something has to happen here. I would check whether the child is overwhelmed. Perhaps it has problems with perception or concentration or an as yet undetected partial performance weakness. It can also be that the behavior has become so established because the mother likes to support her child. That is not inherently bad, but a child who is often helped by their parents becomes more and more dependent. Mother and child can hardly get out of such a cycle on their own. Basically, this is about parent coaching. I would ask mother to run the video camera one afternoon. Most parents will understand a lot from a film like this. I would then suggest a plan that would teach Felix step by step how to do homework without his mother's assistance.
Ann-Marie lisps
Until recently, four-year-old Ann-Marie had a pacifier for the night. Her parents think that the lisp actually sounds very sweet, and since the lisping TV presenter Katja Burkhard has existed, many have been wondering whether one should definitely treat such a speech impediment.
Dr. Iris Eicher, expert for voice therapy and speech therapy in the academic teaching practice of the University of Munich:
Long pacifiers and lisp – that's very typical. Pacifiers prevent children from abandoning the "infantile swallowing pattern" that normally disappears by the age of three. Children who sucked their thumbs or the tips of their beds or who had been given a drinking bottle for a long time also stick to this swallowing pattern. The tongue pushes against the front teeth when swallowing and when hissing sounds like "s", "sch" and "z" instead of pressing against the perineum, the bulge behind the upper incisors. Lisp is a transition stage in learning to speak and usually gets lost over time. A three-year-old doesn't need treatment yet. Provided that the hearing is good and the child does not suck their thumbs, pacifiers, bottle teats, etc. I recommend going into speech therapy with Ann-Marie. Now that the pacifier thing has been dealt with and the unfavorable sucking habit has been abandoned, you can practice speaking correctly before Ann-Marie gets too used to lisp.
Leon often trips
In the summer, Leon, 6, comes to school. He can already write a few words and works in the tens. But when you see Leon running, he seems powerless, totally bored or annoyed. He shuffles, barely lifting his feet off the ground. That's why he trips a lot. When his parents or teachers admonish him, he walks like a stork. Romping around with other children is not his thing.
Vera Hugenpoth, state-certified motopedist, Fröndenberg:
When a child moves so without energy over a long period of time, one cannot simply wait. Leon may be able to use mototherapy – a form of psychomotor therapy that builds self-confidence in anxious, insecure, and clumsy children. What kind of therapy he needs can be determined by proven test procedures. Important questions are: How long has it been going on? Are there any other abnormalities? Has there been an acute problem in the family or in kindergarten recently? We motor therapists are concerned that parents today often do everything to ensure that their child becomes a good student. But they do not allow enough freedom, do not trust children enough, bind them too closely and thus keep them physically small. We have to explain to parents again and again how important, for example, bellows, romping around, hopping, playing sand, painting with fingers, are so that children feel at home in their bodies.
Hannah is terrified of storms
Storm, lightning and thunder cause great fear in Hannah, 5. It started around the age of three and grew steadily. Now she's getting nervous when it's very windy outside. In a real thunderstorm she cries, crawls under the table and cannot be calmed down. The teachers say it is "no longer normal."
Dr. Dietmar Mühlbacher, psychotherapist (cognitive behavioral therapy), Vienna:
Perhaps by comforting and protecting her, Hannah's parents increased her fear. This is not how a child learns to deal with such fears. If children are afraid (for example, of doctors or dogs), it is important that the parents remain confident, explain to the child in an age-appropriate manner what it is about and also ensure that they relax. In this way, the parents could surprise Hannah with a new book, puzzle or game during the next thunderstorm and deal intensively with their child. Both mother and father have to be patient – a fear that has built up over a long period of time only slowly disappears.
This article originally appeared on Eltern.de.