Children learn more easily in the areas that interest them. They learn more rapidly when they feel capable and competent. When therapists focus on the children's deficits, they communicate the child's limitations and a perception of inability. Through effective therapy the child is encouraged to be a full participant in his change. It must engage the child as a participant and co-creator.
Therapy becomes a dialog between the therapist and child in which each is a contributor.
Learning is easier and faster in a non-judgmental atmosphere. In contrast, a specific movement might be explored as interfering with or assisting a functional activity desired by the child. For example, a child can discover and choose a new relaxed or differentiated arm movement because it makes it easier to turn pages in a book. Awareness increases self-knowledge, and enhances the ability to carry over a new concept or movement into daily life. When therapists help children focus their awareness on sensations accompanying a movement, they become more able to repeat that movement pattern independently.