Patterning programmes can be helpful for children who have difficulties with mobility for a variety of reasons, including an injury to the brain following a difficult birth or traumatic injury; cerebral palsy; a genetic disorder or syndrome; loss of ability following an illness such as meningitis or encephalitis, and those whose development is delayed with no known cause. Any of these might result in spasticity, dystonia, hypermobility, floppiness, poor balance or a lack of coordination.
A patterning programme is likely to have the best chance of being effective with regard to the development of independent mobility if started before the age of 5 or within a couple of years of an acquired brain inury, but it can also be helpful for reducing spasticity and dystonia or improving muscle tone in older children or those with a longer post trauma interval.
Since patterning therapy addresses the neurological aspect of cerebral palsy it can also assist in re-educating the brain following the surgical procedure selective dorsal rhizotomy, as once the spasticity has been removed by SDR the child has to relearn how to control muscles that now “feel different” and overcome the abnormal movement patterns that have already been imprinted. As well as building muscle strength and control, patterning can help improve balance, coordination and walking gait.