Last year, three-year-old Dominik Rutenberg did not walk, talk or crawl due to global developmental delays. Hoping to see improvements in Dominik’s motor skills but unsure what the outcome would be, his parents, Jan and Carol, brought him to a movement therapy workshop in Auburn. The workshop, designed for children with special needs, was led by Jackie Mason, founder of Movement Matters (formerly Movement for Life) in Nevada City. The Rutenbergs immediately saw how Mason’s technique could improve their little boy’s ability to move. To their surprise, it has also transformed the way he thinks and feels.

Dominik’s story

After observing how Dominik scooted on the floor on his buttocks, Mason determined that Dominik did not know how to move from his front. In her first session with Dominik, Mason rolled him onto his stomach and showed him how to lift his head, look around, arch his back and bend a leg to come up to his hands and knees for crawling. Dominik was so intrigued that he worked with her for almost two hours.

The Rutenbergs noticed immediate improvements in their son’s ability to move. “He quickly became more mobile, with a strong desire to explore his surroundings,” his father Jan recalls. “His body was less rigid, he had more flexibility and his appetite improved,” adds Carol.

Encouraged by Dominik’s fast progress, the Rutenbergs followed the workshops with a few private sessions at the Movement Matters studio. “Remarkable changes are taking place on a daily basis,” observes Carol. “Dominik now easily pulls himself up to a stand for extended periods of time, climbs onto furniture and has even begun ‘cruising’ without the aid of his leg braces.”

Freeing Body & Mind

Jackie Mason’s movement therapy approach is based on the Feldenkrais principles she learned while completing a Feldenkrais Professional Training Program in 1994. Expanding on these principles, Mason’s approach involves gently guiding the body through a series of movements designed to re-educate the brain and nervous system and establish new patterns of movement.

Having worked with children with autism, cerebral palsy, global brain damage and other conditions, Mason is passionate about her work. “It’s not just the children who are faced with challenges,” says Mason, “but the parents as well who are desperate to help their child.”

Incorporating movement therapy into any special needs program greatly increases a child’s chances of becoming more independent later in life, and, according to Mason, even children with paralysis or permanent nerve damage can learn to move in ways that offer them improved function and more freedom of movement.

Dominik’s advancements have extended beyond his motor skills. Carol reports that her son’s cognitive skills are now age-appropriate and his verbal communication skills have also improved. “Most importantly,” she says, “Dominik seems to be a much happier little guy.”

For more information about the Movement Matters method, call (530) 478-9547.