Canines, Kids and Clients (Part 2)
Last week we looked at how natural learning is interrupted in puppies and in children. When a puppy is taken away from its littermates too soon, it won't learn all of its social behavior, which can lead to behavior problems in the adult dog. A parent's strong protective instinct often leads to short circuiting the learning process in children. Similarly, a therapist's desire to do no harm can disrupt natural learning in the clinic.
As difficult as it is for parents to watch their children experience preventable pain, it is also difficult for therapists to inhibit the instinct to catch someone as they are falling. Like canines and kids, clients also benefit in an environment where natural learning isn't constrained.
For example, constantly righting a client with balance issues may prolong his recovery. That client may learn compensatory techniques more quickly if he is able to fall in a safe, controlled environment.
For his fourth birthday, my son got to ride his bicycle without training wheels. He was riding like a pro in about 45 minutes, but not before he took some inevitable spills. With a two-wheeled bike, falls are part of the learning process. You have to have a sense of falling in order to have a sense of balance.
Natural learning may also require leaving a client in a situation and allowing them to figure out their own solution. I was working on floor-to-chair transfers with a client who had paraplegia. I had shown him a couple of preferred ways to transfer, but he just couldn't make any of them work. I left him alone on the mat and he eventually figured out a method that worked for him. I had given him the tools, but he had to figure out how to use them in a way that was functional for him.
Sometimes if we will get out of the way, our children and clients will surprise us--and themselves! Periodic evaluations of our parenting and clinical skills can reap long term benefits. When we discover ways we are inhibiting natural learning, we can modify or eliminate those interactions.
Whether we are looking at social behavior or physical ability, natural learning facilitates mastery of life skills. That's what being a parent and a therapist is all about...helping others achieve life skills mastery.