Therapeutic Trampolining for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs

A Practical Guide to Supporting Emotional and Physical Wellbeing

Ange Anderson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367819286
• eBook ISBN: 9781000047134
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica generale

This practical resource explores the benefits of therapeutic trampolining on children and young people with special educational needs. It supports practitioners as they introduce the trampoline into their own therapeutic settings.

Trampolining is known to improve balance, co-ordination and motor skills; it can improve bone density and benefit the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems. It has even shown to encourage communication in children with autism and PMLD.

This book draws on the author's extensive experience of delivering both the British Gymnastics Trampoline Proficiency Award scheme as well as the Rebound Therapy trampolining programme. The book also explores the practical side on how to set up and deliver trampolining as a therapy in schools, clubs or in the home.

Photocopiable material includes:

• Lesson equipment, such as schemes of work, lesson plans adapted for varying needs and a trampoline rules poster.
• Tools for offering therapeutic trampolining sessions such as sequencing cards, communication cards, Risk Assessment, an individual education plan and a communication placemat.
• All the necessary forms to ensure a safe trampolining environment for all participants, including screening forms, referral and assessment forms and relevant policies.
• A business plan for after school provision, advertising leaflet and service level agreement.

This is an invaluable resource for anybody looking to explore therapeutic trampolining as a way of enhancing the physical and emotional wellbeing of children and young people with special educational needs.

1
Trampolining – supporting emotional and physical wellbeing

If you can jump on a trampoline and bounce, then when you jump in the air for a split second you feel as though you can fly, the weightlessness is uplifting, and you can’t help but smile. When a student with profound and multiple learning difficulties is hoisted onto the trampoline and gently bounced, they smile. Light bouncing can help increase blood flow to underused muscles and it helps the body release endorphins in the brain (which make us feel good and so we may smile). Large trampolines and mini trampolines are an amazing resource that all schools can benefit from if you want to support your students’ emotional and physical wellbeing.

In 2019 nearly 40% of London’s youngsters were reported as overweight or obese (Jarvis 2019) and trampolining was suggested as a way of encouraging fitness and emotional wellbeing through fun. Anyone who has taught students with autism and any parent of a child with autism knows that not much encouragement is needed when a trampoline is available to support that child’s emotional and physical wellbeing.

In 2016, the UK government published guidance on obesity and weight management for people with learning difficulties stating that ‘It has been recognised for many years that people with learning disabilities are at an increased risk of being overweight compared to the general population, with poorly balanced diets and very low levels of physical activity. This risk, in turn, increases the likelihood of a range of health and social problems’(2016). The guidance detailed the issues faced by them and their families and recommended diet and exercise. There is a limit to the exercises available to a person with PMLD. Trampolining is one of them.

George Nissen invented and built the modern trampoline in 1936. NASA began to use those trampolines soon after. NASA recognised that astronauts returning from space were losing 20% of their bone density on return to earth and had to find an exercise that would increase bone density quickly. When the astronauts were tested on a rebounder compared to the treadmill, there was less pressure on their joints due to the G force. When rebounding and on top of the bounce, your G force is eliminated, meaning you are weightless for a split second and when at the bottom of the bounce, the G force is doubled providing an adequate stress on every cell in the body to promote change. Some physiotherapists began to see it as a useful piece of equipment. It is worth noting that the use of trampolines for some medical conditions is not recommended and, in every case, consent forms and medical forms must be completed and signed before any student takes part in a trampoline session. Templates of consent and contraindication documents can be found in chapter 7.

A study was undertaken for NASA by Bhattacharya et al. (1980) comparing running, jogging, walking and bouncing on a trampoline. The results showed that jumping on a trampoline was less stressful to the neck, back and ankle than jogging on a treadmill for an equivalent oxygen uptake. In fact, the study concluded that ‘any activity on a rebound unit is more efficient than a treadmill running at any speed’ (Bhattacharya et al. 1980, p. 887).

It can easily be observed in a special school that a student with injuries or a painful disability finds it less painful to exercise in the hydrotherapy pool or on the trampoline than they do on solid ground. NASA reports suggested that there was no undue stress on the body from being on the trampoline and that there was less output and less demand on the heart compared to other exercises. The oxygen consumption with the trampoline was almost twice as efficient as running.

NASA reports suggest that bouncing on a trampoline increases cellular excretion of toxins and protects against cellular degeneration, which makes it a great exercise for students with degenerative diseases.

It improves lymphatic flow. (The lymphatic system does not have a pump like the heart and so is reliant on the body to move to push things through the lymphatic system.)

According to NASA’s research, it has less impact on the joints than running on concrete as the impact is absorbed by the springs. It enhances immunity to ward off infections. It helps with digestion because the rhythmic up-down motion of bouncing stimulates the contraction and relaxation of muscles that make up the digestive tract. It helps improve balance, coordination and posture by stimulating the ocular nerves and inner ear canal. It increases lung capacity and oxygen intake; bouncing on the trampoline has been proven to increase metabolic rate. All these things support the emotional and physical wellbeing of students with special educational needs who can be affected by any one of these conditions or a combination of them.

Subjects who had acquired new motor skills due to trampolining showed a statistically signifi-cant increase in rapid eye movement (REM)-sleep according to researchers in Germany (Buchegger 1991; Erlacher et al. 2016). REM sleep aids learning and problem solving.

Trampolines provide us with the opportunity to follow physiotherapy programmes in a more play-centred approach. I have found that students sometimes dread having physiotherapy done to them but do not dread going on the trampoline and in fact look forward to it.

The first time your student gets on a full-sized trampoline, encourage them, if they are able, to move around it – it has different tensions in different places. The most stable, bouncy part is the middle and this is where we position students who are unable to move for themselves. Sample schemes of work and lesson plans can be found in chapter 7.

Special schools can use a trampoline to follow physiotherapy programmes with any of their students. They can devise their own sensory programmes, or they can adapt the British Gymnastics Proficiency Award scheme (see section 1 of the Appendix) to meet the needs of students. I have used the trampoline to deliver cross-curricular subjects of literacy, numeracy and PSHE to students with various types of learning differences. They can also have staff trained in Rebound Therapy. There is a cost involved but sometimes funding is available.

Sensory trampoline sessions

Sensory sessions on the trampoline can be tailored to meet students’ sensory needs. Sensory trampoline sessions are an extension of the curriculum already supplied and the teacher does not require any trampoline qualifications to deliver these sessions but does need to feel confident using the trampoline. An understanding of health and safety and trampoline rules (found in chapter 9) would aid this confidence.

Students may be hyposensitive or hypersensitive to sensory stimulation. If the student is hypo-sensitive, they will need additional sensory input to feel content. If they are hypersensitive, they may see, hear, smell, feel things that the ordinary person doesn’t notice. A sensory trampoline session will take these into account and a session should be an extremely pleasurable experience for that student. The session should see a decrease in tension and a decrease in behavioural issues due to sensory needs not being met. Some ideas for a sensory trampoline session follow.

• If a student enjoys music and has a preference, then the session can include that. Staff tend to keep a supply of preferred music available and will only play it if the student shows that they are enjoying it as some students are hypersensitive to particular frequencies. I recall one student who loved electronic music. No one else in that class did, and they would get upset if they heard it. He enjoyed his trampoline sessions even more because he would have his electronic music playing in the background as he was bounced lightly and followed his physiotherapy programme on the trampoline. (Physiotherapy programmes are devised by qualified physiotherapists who show class staff what to do. This is not usually done on the trampoline, but they follow this up with visits to ensure the programme is being delivered properly and give guidance when requested.) Sometimes more physiotherapy can be done whilst the student is relaxing as they often do not realise that they are doing more exercise than they would ordinarily.
• Some students find noise frightening and want a session that is completely quiet. Staff gauge how much pressure to put on the bounce of the trampoline so that the experience is pleasurable. It might just be that the coach holds the student from behind so that they can feel any tension in the student’s body as a slight bounce is initiated. The session might just consist of gentle bounces and no physiotherapy will take place. In my 29 years of using the trampoline with students, I have never come across a student who didn’t enjoy trampolining. I may have been lucky.
• If a student enjoys the feel of materials on them, then parachute games can take place on the trampoline. Parachute games are used frequently in special schools outside on the playground but there is nothing that can prevent it being used on the trampoline, except the staffing of it. This tends to need at least two adults who can inflate the parachute and be at either ends of the trampoline. It is better, though, if a couple of spotters are also available so that each corner of the trampoline is covered by the parachute for maximum effect. The student is gently bounced as the trampoline inflates and deflates above them. They are cocooned within the trampoline. Rainbow parachutes can be purchased from many educational suppliers. We bought ours from www.tts-group.co.uk
• Some students really enjoy the feel of bubble wrap when on the trampoline, and staff have been known to save large sheets that come with furniture delivered to their homes and bring it into school for use on the trampoline. You can also purchase rolls of it if you wish. Some students like the feel of netting/satin/velvet/fake fur, and these can be placed on the trampo-line to encourage students to move towards them so that they get some vestibular and proprioception input as well as the sensory stimulation of touch. This technique works equally well for those who enjoy auditory stimulation and will move towards a familiar squeaky toy.
• Some students enjoy bubbles being blown as they sit on the trampoline and move around it trying to catch the bubbles. (Care is needed here, and the trampoline needs to be covered in material that can be washed afterwards.)
• Some students are thrilled by a trampoline filled with balloons that welcomes them as they enter the room. Their task may be to push all the balloons off the trampoline, meaning that they will also be using their vestibular and proprioception senses as they move about the trampoline. If the student has a fear of the balloons bursting, then different-sized balls can be used. I remember doing this for the first time for a 14-year-old student with PMLD in 1999. She was not interacting. I knew she liked balls and wanted to try anything that would encourage her to interact. When she entered the trampoline room and saw all the balls, some large physio balls, footballs, play balls of all sizes and loads of ball-pool balls, her face lit up. She managed to push all the balls off the trampoline twice. She was so excited and stimulated by the session that she vocalised all the way to the shop, which was her next session, and continued to do so throughout the day. It was a turning point in her communication that I cherish to this day.
• Some trampoline rooms have interactive overhead screens so that students can lie back, relax to their favourite music as they look up at the overhead screen. These interactive screens can encourage the student to move on the trampoline to make the images on the screen change.
• Some students love to have smelly objects to reach for or a favourite smell sprayed in the room. This needs careful managing and should be the last session of the day so that the room can be aired ready for the next day as not all students like smells and some are hypersensitive to smell.

Mini trampolines

In 2002 David Beckham’s physiotherapist, Alan Smith, used a mini trampoline as a therapeutic aid so that David could continue to practice whilst recovering from a foot injury (Winter 2002). The rest, as they say, is history. Since 2002 mini trampolines have become increasingly popular in schools.

Mini trampolines have been used in sensory circuits in both mainstream and special schools for many years. They are used in both the Alerting phase and the Organising phase (see chapter 6 for more information on sensory circuits). Sensory circuits support students with sensory processing disorder.

Mini trampolines do not take up as much space as a full-sized gymnastics trampoline and so many schools are increasingly using them to deliver therapeutic intervention to aid anxiety and hyperactivity in students. Some of these schools have them in classes and students can take themselves off to calm down before returning to their work task. Other schools buy in sessions on mini trampolines delivered by outside agencies to develop wellbeing (see chapter 6 for more information).

Reboundtherapy.org and World Jumping UK have recently teamed up to work on a mini trampoline therapy called Flexi-bounce so that students can continue rebound therapy activities at home and during the holidays without the need for a full-sized trampoline. It can also be used in the classroom in addition to rebound therapy sessions on the full-sized trampoline if necessary. Go to www.worldjumping.co.uk to find out more.

Rebound Therapy

The term ‘Rebound Therapy’ was coined by the founder of ReboundTherapy.org, Eddy Anderson, also known affectionately as the Godfather of Rebound Therapy, to describe the use of trampolines in providing therapeutic programmes for people with a wide range of special needs. The programmes are available from their website and from Winstrada, the national body for the promotion and development of recreational and therapeutic gymnastics and trampolining (www.winstrada.com). I spoke with Eddy recently. Eddy reports that the early work was in 1972 and progress was slow because then it was by word of mouth.

Today Eddy is still working with schools and with young people with special needs delivering to about half a dozen workshops each year. He still gets an enormous amount of pleasure from the responses from staff and users. Eddy gives credit for ReboundTherapy.org progress as a leader in the field of trampoline therapy in large measure from the work done by colleague Paul Kaye with the advent of the internet and their collaboration for the past 12 years.

Eddy would tell you that his background was unusual. He did three years in the Parachute Regiment, followed by seven years in the Royal Air Force as a Physical Training Instructor. Due to a knee injury, he then moved to civilian life as a Remedial Gymnast and qualified at Pinderfield’s Hospital. He worked with special needs children in the then Junior Training Centre (no schools for those most in need in those days).

He trained as a teacher and spent two years in mainstream primary and then became a Deputy Head at Horsforth special school in Leeds. Five years later he was appointed Head at Springwell School and was able with a supportive team in Hartlepool to put in place his passion for movement as a central mode for real communication. In 1992, Eddy, with support from Cleveland lea, produced a validated ‘train the trainers’ course for special schools with co-tutor Lynn Schofield. He retired from teaching at 56 and set up his Rebound Therapy consultancy (having won the best in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables and downloadable resources
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations and glossary of words and phrases used in the book
• 1 Trampolining – supporting emotional and physical wellbeing
• 2 Trampolining for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD)
• 3 Trampolining for students with autism (ASD)
• 4 Trampolining for students with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)
• 5 Trampolining for students with dyslexia and students with dyspraxia
• 6 Trampolining in special schools
• 7 Trampolining essentials
• 8 Trampolining at home
• 9 Trampolining health and safety, rules and risk assessment
• 10 Trampolining clubs, parks and after school provision
• 11 Trampolining competitions and programmes
• 12 Trampolining and disability sports support
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index