"Does that make you think better?" - A Post for Granddad

There's this "thing" I do, I've been teased about it mercilessly for a long time.  And my daughter does it too.  My dad, Mariposa's granddad, likes to point it out and we have a good laugh about it.  I've never thought much about it until we went for Mariposa's OT (occupational therapy) evaluation and the therapist pointed it out.  It is something very normal, all people do it but it can be more pronounced in some people, especially if they have any kind of motor difficulties.

Look at the picture below
(Mariposa at about 19 months with her beloved Granddad). 

She's doing it in this picture.  Can you guess?

Yup.  It's the "tongue thing".

 But it has a name!  Did you know that?  It's called motor overflow.  Basically, when you are concentrating to do something difficult with one part of your body, another part of your body unconsciously starts to do its own thing.  This can be one hand making unconscious movements when the other hand is trying to do something difficult.  It can be nonpurposeful leg movements when the arms are working hard.  Or it can be the "tongue thing".

 It's a very normal thing.  Playskool even has a great little video (click here) explaining motor overflow in toddlers/preschoolers.  It's a normal part of development.

 With Mariposa, you can see a little tongue sticking out during fine motor tasks like writing, playing play-doh, doing puzzles, painting, etc.

 Children that demonstrate motor overflow beyond the preschool/early elementary years can have difficulty with differentiation.  Differentiation is defined as the ability to direct one part of the body to move according to plan while all other parts remain still.  It goes hand-in-hand with vestibular and proprioceptive dysfunctions.  DING DING DING!!!

 It becomes much more prominent when she is doing skills that stress her motor abilities to the max.  Like running AND trying to kick a soccer ball at the same time!

 I have tons and tons of pictures, since she was a year old all the way through now, of the "tongue thing".  It was hard deciding which ones to share with you.  This one was just taken last week!

And.....just for the record.  I said at the beginning of the post that it's something I've been teased about my whole life too.  I've even had patients ask me, when I worked in the ER, if I was a better nurse with my tongue sticking out!! So, here's proof that Mama Butterfly is just as guilty as my little caterpillar.  This was taken over the weekend when I was giving Mariposa her first sewing lesson.

To answer the question "Does sticking your tongue out help you think?":  Probably not.  But it seems to make some tasks easier to do.  I just wonder if the "tongue thing" will disappear as Mariposa begins therapy.  I'll keep you posted!