Interactive Metronome (IM) is an assessment and treatment tool used to improve motor planning, sequencing and processing. Our IM certified therapists often use IM for our clients with Sensory Processing difficulties, ADD/ADHD, difficulty organizing and sequencing at home and school, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The IM program provides a structured, goal-oriented process that challenges the child to synchronize a range of hand and foot exercises to a precise computer-generated reference tone heard through headphones. The child attempts to match the rhythmic beat with repetitive motor actions. A patented auditory-visual guidance system provides immediate feedback.

Over the course of the treatment, children can learn to focus and attend for longer periods of time and filter out internal and external distractions. Students will generally practice IM in our office and then be able to continue with a home version, making the time and costs more manageable. Changes you can expect are an increase in physical endurance and stamina, improved ability to monitor mental and physical actions as they are occurring, increased organization around homework and sports, and progressively improved coordinated performance.

In September, 2011, Director Laurie Kalb was selected as one of Interactive Metronome's panel of IM Home Virtual Training Specialists for the newly upgraded, totally internet accessible Interactive Metronome Virtual Program. The IM2 home progam will allow appropriate candidates to complete a 5 week course of IM training totally from their homes, with web and phone based coaching.

A You Tube discussing Interactive Metronome can be found here.

Laurie Kalb's IM Success Stories

I want to share a few of my personal IM success stories with you so you can see what a valuable tool IM can be:

-----A few years back I had a 4th grade patient come to me with motor planning and sequencing problems that were affecting his coordination. After his second session using IM, he was able to hit a baseball for the first time in his life! That patient is now a student at Stanford University, and I was thrilled to recently receive this unsolicited letter from him: 

     "I have many memories of occupational therapy at your office, especially the Interactive Metronome. I have developed a lot since my days as a small, anxious 10-year-old....With your help developing my fine motor skills I became a varsity tennis player in high school.Perhaps more surprising given my late bike education, I rode my bike on a summer program trip from Seattle, Washington to San Fransisco, California. Now at Stanford, riding my bike is a vital part of my daily routine."

----A patient received his IM Home to help address severe anxiety and motor planning difficulties the day before leaving for a trip to Disney with his family. He cried when his folks wanted to leave it home and start IM Home training when they returned. They took the IM unit to Disney. Now age 11, he has become a black belt in karate.  

----A third grader, reading at a picture book level and having both significant handwriting difficulties and a tic disorder, spent a summer doing short sessions of IM. By the fall, she was reading Harry Potter and writing in cursive, with a notable reduction in tics. 

----A middle school patient had great difficulty working independently; he took hours to do his homework, and it required continual parental supervision. After using IM, he was able to do homework on his own and was notably more fluent in his speech pattern. 

What type of success would your child have after using IM?