Ali's Story

At six months old, when Ali began working with Sheryl Field, she could only keep her head pointed to the right. Her right arm was spastically held toward her armpit, and her right fist was clenched tightly. By the end of her first Feldenkrais session with Sheryl, Ali was turning her head to her left shoulder by herself, something she had never done before. Ali continued working with Sheryl for four years.

Ali is now 6 years old, and most doctors are surprised to learn that she has cerebral palsy. While she uses a walker, Ali has no spasticity, and her movements are generally smooth and symmetrical. She uses both arms to swim and even catches a medium-sized ball with both hands. Ali has also developed fine motor skills, allowing her to undress, eat, and draw. She sits beautifully, rides a tricycle, uses a normal chair in her mainstreamed classroom in the public school, and is even participating in therapeutic horseback riding. (See a testimonial by Ali's mother, Lisa Kirwin)

Matthew's Story

Matthew (not his real name), a five-year-old with cerebral palsy, had great difficulty lying on his stomach because his feet, ankles, calves, wrists, and hands were constantly moving. He was unable to speak and attempted, with great difficulty, to communicate using the sign language his mother had devised for him. Matthew's physician, a specialist in rehabilitative medicine, referred him for Feldenkrais intervention.

At his first session in The Field Center, Sheryl focused on strategies that would allow Matthew to move between one position and the next. In this first session alone, Sheryl's intervention enabled Matthew to lie still, lift his head, and turn it from one side to the other. This pleased Matthew so enormously that he practiced these movements on his own. With support, Matthew was brought onto his side and then into a sitting position in which his body was upright, extended over his pelvis, and his head was held high. The sight was so surprising to Matthew's mother that her reaction startled him, sending him into a wild pattern of movement, and he ended up in a lying position on the table. After telling him to lie on his stomach, Sheryl showed Matthew that he had the ability to organize himself in a better way. Following Sheryl's instruction, Matthew moved into positions with such grace, it was evident that his ability to initiate and execute an action on his own was much more efficient.

Matthew is a bright boy and highly motivated to communicate. Within two months, he was sitting and soon after, as his chest and breathing became more organized, he began to talk. Eventually Matthew crawled, pulled himself to stand, and walked without braces and with the assistance of a walker.