Importance of Early Stimulation

Early stimulation refers to a series of activities and exercises aimed at helping a child’s abilities, whether physical, cognitive, or social, grow. In other words, early stimulation is important as its goal is to provide children with a variety of scenarios in which they can explore and so acquire skills and abilities spontaneously.

Experts say that these strategies work best when there are more neuronal connections. This occurs between the ages of 0 and 6. As a result, it’s important to begin newborn stimulation as soon as practicable.

Goal of Early Stimulation

1. Stimulating the development of the child through natural pathways.
2. To avoid delay in development.
3. To avoid Asymmetries and anomalies.
4. To avoid muscle waste.
5. To keep joints from becoming jammed.
6. To keep the joint from contracting.
7. Muscle and tendon tightness should be reduced and avoided.
8. Detecting transitory anomalies and reducing long-term abnormalities.

Importance of Early Stimulation

1. Early stimulation is important to the developing brain and body. A child’s well-being also depends on adequate nutrition and the presence of both parents during his or her early years. All of these elements contribute to the development of a typical, healthy adult. The amount of stimulation a baby receives is determined by his or her environment at home and the family structure.
2. The life of a new born baby may appear to consist solely of sleep and nutritional support. The personality of a newborn begins to develop at this age. Some babies are quite active, while others are more reserved. All, however, require being caressed, gently spoken to, and stimulated. So, stimulation is important for a child’s development. Various age-appropriate toys are also recommended, and the best time to stimulate the baby is when he or she is most active and playful. Normal babies should also receive stimulation.
3. Early interventional therapy proponents argue that interdisciplinary structured intervention should be provided for newborns who are at risk of neuromotor problems in order to reduce future disabilities and successfully rehabilitate the kid. Moreover, the infants can benefit from early stimulation and intervention as it helps to stimulate their actions and feelings, allowing them to have a normal developmental experience.
4. By preventing active inhibition of central nervous system pathways which is caused because of incorrect input and boosting the usage of modifying pathways during a very sensitive period of brain development, early intervention improves not only medical but also the neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Early Stimulation Programme

The Early Stimulation Programme (ESP) is a programme for children having developmental disability. The programme is for young children aged 0 to 6 years. Cerebral palsy and many other disabilities which are physical, such as sensory loss, autism, Trisomy 21, delay in development, secondary to psychosocial deprivation and co-morbid behavior complications, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are among the disabilities managed by this programme.

A full history of societal, medicinal, and evolving history is taken in this programme and then the development screening checks are administered to comprehensively detect potential developmental abnormalities. A medical examination is performed to identify probable neural and bodily deficiencies. Once a delay in development has been recognised, each child is given a separate intervention plan. Parents are consulted to identify roles and ensure that they are involved in the procedure.

Benefits of the Programme-Early stimulation programmes appear to be especially useful for at-risk and handicapped infants, and they continue to be a hot topic in clinical and research circles as well as among the general public. These programmes may focus on minimizing sensory stimulation based on sensory appropriateness, rather than supplementing sensory stimulation to counter sensory deprivation..Other important benefits are:

• It strengthens brain functioning
• It helps in detecting learning disorders
• It encourages the development of emotional bonds
• It helps a child to awaken his curiosity and observation skills

Precautions to be taken while Stimulation

1. The stimulation that is supplied must be age-appropriate.
2. It is essential to have a stimulation which is monitored and there is willingness to reduce environmental hazards.
3. The small babies require the quietest surroundings possible.
4. More essential than the amount of time spent is the quality of stimulus provided
5. Stimulation should be introduced gradually, with developmental evaluations in between.
6. The younger the infant, the more unorganized his neural system is, and then he/she is less likely to be able to process stimulus, both positive and negative.

Conclusion

Stimulation during the first three years of a child’s existence helps to prevent stress-related modifications in the brain structure and neurological pathways. Furthermore, it contributes to the expansion of a healthy bond with the baby as well as the acquisition of vital parenting skills.