What Is DMI Therapy?
Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) is a therapeutic technique used in physical and occupational therapy to treat children with motor delay by improving automatic postural responses and promoting progress towards developmental milestones. The goal of DMI is to provoke a specific active motor response from the child in response to a defined dynamic exercise prescribed by the therapist.
DMI stimulates neuroplasticity to facilitate new neuronal connections and development of motor milestones. DMI is a comprehensive intervention that incorporates current research on neuro rehabilitation, technologies and methodologies.
(Information sourced from the DMI website at dmitherapy.com)
DMI FOCUSES ON:
Gross Motor Skills
Alignment
Postural Control
Balance
Range of Motion
Functional Movements
Somatosensory Development
Modifying Tone and Reflexes
Global Development
Who benefits from DMI?
DMI is a therapeutic technique that benefits children of all ages, but has the most impact when children are in their early development years. This can start as early as 1-2 months old up to 5 years old. This is the most impactful time period to target neuroplasticity as your child’s brain is still growing and making new connections.
By helping form neurological connections to perform appropriate and functional movement patterns at a young age, we are able to make these movement patterns instinctive rather than working to override a previously learned movement pattern.
Children who are born with or who have attained a neurological impairment during early development (birth to 5) receive the most benefits from DMI intervention as their brain is healing and ready to make new connections in order to continue growing and developing.
What is the intensive model?
Intensive physical therapy is a block of therapeutic intervention ranging from 1-3 weeks long with a minimum of two hours per day of intervention. Intensives build off of the concept that repetition aids in learning. By consistently providing external stimulation for ideal movement patterns, it helps the brain to create motor pathways and connections in order to establish these motor patterns throughout their daily life.
Milestone Moments is offering 1-2 week intensives at this time 5 days/week with 2 sessions per day. Sessions are 50 minutes long. While the therapist is trained in DMI intervention, traditional therapy will also be utilized to best support your child and ensure they maximally benefit from each intervention period.
At the end of the intensive, a home exercise program will be given to the families in order to continue exposing their child to new movement patterns and to foster their continued development at home.
DMI differs from traditional therapy because we will challenge the child’s neurological system to their highest levels and provide opportunities for them to actively participate rather than strictly aiding them to attain desired postures and positions. The therapist will be using exercises to develop the core strength, postural control, and balance in various positions in order to progress their motor milestones.