European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

IMPACT OF VESTIBULAR STIMULATIONS USING VESTIBULATOR ON THE CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

*Dr. Anis Choudhery Ph. D. and Aaliya Baig

ABSTRACT

Background: The vestibular system is one of the basic sensory systems1. It provides a foundation for the development of all other sensory systems such as touch, vision, sound and proprioception. The vestibular system is neurologically interconnected with many other systems in the brain. It is connected with limbic system, which is crucial for the development of further physical, emotional and psychosocial regulation and wellbeing. The vestibular processing system is also interconnected to the cerebellum, combining visual information to enable reflexive eye movements. It controls equilibrium and balance, controls body movement, and facilitates the development of muscle tone. It also is one of the influencing factors in auditory language processing. The objective of this case study is to understand the impact of one aspect of sensorimotor techniques of therapeutic intervention i.e. the Vestibular stimulations Using Vestibulator on the Emotional/Mental Wellbeingsleep, social behavior, mental wellness, confidence, and pain of children with developmental disorders. Methods: A clinical study was conducted at the POSAT Foundation, Mumbai to study the effects of vestibular stimulation using the Vestibulator on the muscle tone and reflex responses of the children suffering from cerebral palsy between December 2017 to July 2018. Other children were also undergoing regular treatment using the Vestibulator. For the present study, we selected 13 children suffering from developmental disorders below 10 years, having regular therapy using the Vestibulator. A detailed interview with parents was conducted on the rate of improvement for Sleep, pain, confidence, Social behaviors, and mental wellness of their child. Results: The study reveals that there are lots of improvements in the children suffering from developmental disabilities. A 100% improvement in the sleep of the children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, 80% in Cerebral Palsy children, and no sign of improvement in a partial blind child was seen. There was no sign of pain reduction seen in any of the children, except the Children suffering from Down’s syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. A100% confidence improvement was seen in all children. Social behavior was found to improve in children having more than 30 sessions. Conclusions: Vestibular Stimulations can be used as a therapeutic modality to facilitate mental /emotional wellbeing, social behavior, confidence, sleep and pain in the children with developmental disorders .And that Vestibular stimulation is one of the best tool for sensory integration therapy. This therapy can also be recommended for adult, especially for those suffering from Vertigo[2], Parkinson’s diseases[3], 1- Ornitz, E.M., Atwell, C.W., Kaplan, A.R., & Westlake, J.R. (1985): Brain-stem dysfunction in autism: Results of vestibular stimulation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42: 1018-1025. 2- Sadegh Jafarzadeh, et.al Effect of Early Vestibular Rehabilitation on Vertigo and Unsteadiness in Patients with Acute and Sub-Acute Head Trauma Iran J Otorhinolaryngol, 2018 Mar; 30(97): 85–90. 3- S.B. Pinheiro et.al Vestibular rehabilitation in patients with Parkinson's disease, Phyiotheraphy May 2015 Volume 101, Supplement 1, Pages e1214–e1215.

Keywords: Vestibular Stimulation, Sensory Integration, Developmental Disorders.