THE MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL IMMATURITY AND IMPAIRMENT IN THE BRAIN

Since the mid- to late-1990's brain researchers have been reporting on their astonishing findings that the brains of traumatized children differ in development and functioning from the brains of non-traumatized children. Some of these findings are that the mid-brain and corpus callosum are underdeveloped in traumatized children, which can create many learning and behavior problems for these children. Dr. Randolph had become interested in neurodevelopmental work (the study of how movement, or, more accurately, lack of movement, affects brain development in children, and how specific movements can be used to stimulate brain development in the areas of the brain that are underdeveloped) in the late 1990's and early 2000's. She became particularly curious about the cross-crawl abilities and developmental movements of traumatized versus non-traumatized children, and began to explore this issue in the late 1990's. Much to her astonishment, there were striking differences between traumatized and non-traumatized children in terms of their movement abilities, and, in particular, between the movement abilities of children with Attachment Disorder (AD), and children with attachment problems or attachment difficulties.

Dr. Randolph then began to research these movement differences, which led to the development of the Movement Assessment of Neurological Immaturity and Impairment (the MANII) in the early 2000's. After completing several years of reliability and validity research with the MANII, Dr. Randolph was able to publish this test in 2002, and to teach workshops training other clinicians in how to administer, score, and interpret the results of this test. The MANII test kit comes complete with the MANII Manual, with 50 MANII Scoring Sheets, and with a 3-hour videotape that has two parts; part 1 is a 90-minute workshop that Dr. Randolph taught to a group of clinicians on how to administer the MANII, and part 2 shows Dr. Randolph administering the MANII to children with a variety of problems (COBD, AD, neurological impairment, Asperger's Disorder, and attachment problems) in order to assist clinicians with developing an understanding for how children with these various disorders make quite different movements from each other when given the MANII.

Although there are a number of tests that can be used to assess for neurological impairment in children, the MANII is the only standardized test that is currently available to assess for neurological immaturity in children, particularly in traumatized children. It distinguishes quite well between traumatized and non-traumatized children, between children with AD and children with COBD, between children with AD and children with attachment problems, and between children with ADHD and children with AD, COBD, and/or attachment problems. It is fast becoming one of the most useful tests in a clinician's repertoire of tests that assist with the differential diagnosis of behavior problems in children.

Return to Products Page

Home Page