Yes, I have extensive experience of working with children with special needs in particular. In fact, I have a practice in the 17th District of Vienna where I offer Feldenkrais individual sessions specifically for children and collaborate with Sophie Dingemans, another specialist in this area. Find out more about that at Feldenkrais for Kids.
I have a feel for this feild of my work because as a child I had many problems with my own body. The treatment in those days was somewhat brutal. My legs were in braces from age three to five. But I always loved to move. In working with children with special needs, I try to create the kind of trauma-free and pain-free learning experiences that I would have wished for myself as a child.
How I started working with children
From 2005-2006, I worked at Mahdollisuus Lapselle (Chance for a Child) in Helsinki, offering Feldenkrais lessons for children with special needs.
While living in Denmark I was invited in 2017 to do regular intensive weeks of sessions for children with special needs, together with their families and helpers. They are offered six-ten sessions over five days which, when happening every few months offer an ideal environment for the work to have lasting positive effects.
In 2019-20, I completed Advanced Training for Feldenkrais Practitioners with Theory and Techniques from Anat Baniel Method for Children, taught by Nancy Aberle. This additional certification gave me additional specialised tools for working with babies, children and teenagers with special needs, complementing my general Feldenkrais training.
Building on what children can already do
When I work with children, I first search for what arouses their attention and interest, in order to connect with them so that they engage in the process with me. The method is not something I do to your child but with them. Then I gently explore what they can already do since this will be the base upon which we can build new possibilities – your child is never forced to do anything that they can’t do.
I introduce new movement possibilities by creating new variations of what they can already do – this is where learning happens. As the variations become increasingly complex, the child’s abilities develop and improve. The approach is always gentle, playful, and respects each child’s unique pace and capabilities.
This work with children feeds back into the rest of my work since children naturally embody the kind of curiosity and wonder that I try to cultivate in all my classes. They remind me that learning can be joyful, and that we all have an innate capacity for growth and transformation, no matter what challenges we face.