MMLM Ep 17: Why Early Movement Matters: Rethinking Dyslexia, Development, and Early Intervention with Mary Mountstephen

No, I want to jump in.

Yes, I completely agree.

So, you know, you know that Deb Lund and I, who now is your friend, we've been developing a tool for pediatricians because I've worked in pediatrics.

I've worked in developmental pediatrics.

I'm trained in developmental pediatric psychology at UCLA.

And we were always focused on the developmental milestones at UCLA.

And they're extraordinarily sequential in the first two years.

Sure.

And the children, they need to push up.

They need to look around.

They need to roll over.

They need to roll back.

They need to sit assisted.

They need to sit unassisted.

They need to scoot, crawl, pull to a stand and walk.

And that all happens in the first year.

And when they don't, so that's why Deb and I are making a checklist for pediatricians, because when they don't do this in the proper sequence and order, it is a sign of challenges in what you know I call pillar zero, which is brainstem, some of the subcortical structures.

And if we don't catch these kids early, then their loss of the proper sequence is cascades all sorts of other things.

So I want to tell you that I feel so passionate about this.

I was with one of my family members.

He is five months old.

I love him to pieces.

And I noticed that when he was on his belly at five months, he wasn't pushing up at all.

Because he hadn't had the exposure.

And so I started putting things in front of him and, you know, really doing like this.