Children

Gentle, effective and playful sessions to help children move beyond limitations

I offer movement-based sessions rooted in the Feldenkrais Method and the Jeremy Krauss Approach (JKA)– a special extension of Feldenkrais developed specifically for working with babies & children with special needs.

What is the Jeremy Krauss Approach?

The Jeremy Krauss Approach (JKA) is a cutting edge approach to helping children with special needs develop their movement skills.

JKA is solidly founded on the science of Neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and developmental pathways.

Developed by Jeremy Krauss, a leading Feldenkrais educational director with 40 years experience helping children develop physically, mentally and emotionally. It's based on a model of Progressive Developmental Abilities Formation and has helped many hundreds of children worldwide progress far beyond their original prognosis and expectations.

Photo of Hannah smiling

“It’s a privilege to connect and build deep trust with the kids who come for sessions with me, to help them progress and see their joy as they discover new possibilities.”

Hannah smiles with a baby during a JKA session

1:1 sessions

Playful, tailored sessions for children and babies

I offer sessions in central Chichester for babies and children. Sessions are generally 45- 60 minutes long. I offer a safe and playful environment in which children can explore movement and consolidate fundamental developmental movement patterns, leading to leaps in cognition and focus as well as motor skills. I believe learning happens best when your child is engaged and having fun.

Intensives

Flexible Intensives – delving deep

To optimise learning and provide the chance for greater breakthroughs, it’s recommended to do what’s known as intensives, a condensed block of lessons over a week, where possible. This may also suit you better if travelling to see me from further afield. Of course, this isn’t possible for everyone and I’m happy to discuss individual flexible arrangements. Occasionally I travel to work with families in other places too.

Here’s what a family I worked with had to say…

  • “Hannah has been treating our daughter Lua for about one and a half years now.

    In that time we’ve been through a lot. Lua was born with a development delay in her gross motor and speech. She wasn’t sitting up until one year old and now at 3 and a half she is starting to walk independently. Lua was diagnosed with a very serious illness at 20 months old. She needed a number of operations and long difficult treatment that added to her delay. This left her in a very vulnerable place.

    Since we started with Hannah she has been amazingly supportive and very accommodating to our situation. Her approach to working with a chronically ill and unconfident child has been loving, gentle and consistently encouraging.

    We started out using a physiotherapist but we soon felt that it was too aggressive for our child. It was neither inspiring Lua to progress nor building her confidence.

    Feldenkrais technique is very different, it works in a holistic way allowing the child to develop her full potential.

    Hannah is now Lua’s friend and ours, too. She has a wonderful way of playing with Lua, really following her needs and her flow. She has made a massive difference to the life of our child.

    Hannah has shown a level of commitment to our little girl far beyond what we expected when I made that first call to her all that time ago. She has grown to become an important person in Lua’s life and we feel very fortunate to have her.”

How does it work?

Stimulating potential through gentle, developmental movement

In my sessions, I use clear touch and movement to guide each child to experience themself with greater clarity and to discover new possibilities for ways of moving. The movements I'll explore with your child are based on the developmental movement patterns a typically developing child moves through as they develop from birth- rolling, crawling, walking, etc.

I use my expertise to observe, feel and assess which pieces of the developmental puzzle your child needs to progress. I gently work on these movements with your child through touch and sometimes verbal cues, depending on the child. I adapt to their sensory needs, if a child is sensitive to touch I have ways of working around this.

Since movement is tied in to all aspects of emotional and mental development this work stimulates growth of potential and abilities in all areas. I practise a holistic approach that takes into account the whole child, beyond their condition. The focus isn't on fixing or correcting but helping each child build on their existing skills and make better sense of sensory stimulation to overcome their individual challenges.

My sessions are always:

  • Respectful – I will only move your child in non-invasive ways that are comfortable, respectful of their intelligence and encourage their own sense of agency over the sessions

  • Playful – I seek to engage your child's attention and curiosity through novelty, I'll often use song, rhythm (games and sounds effects where helpful!) to connect to your child through the things they enjoy

  • 100% personalised- I tailor sessions to each child's unique needs and ways of learning

I like to work closely with family and support networks to help you support your child's progress. Questions are always welcome and I'm happy to give take away tasks and ideas to help you continue to support your child between sessions in manageable and enjoyable ways. Parents of more active children sometimes worry their child won't engage but I'll adapt to meet your child where they're at, initially following and joining in with them when needed. Movement is a child's first language and usually quickly engages them.

Baby looking happy receiving JKA treatment with Hannah

Who can benefit?

I have experience of working with children with many conditions, including:

  • Cerebral Palsy

  • Spasticity due to brain injury or stroke

  • Genetic disorders

  • Downs Syndrome

  • Autism

  • Global and undiagnosed developmental delays and difficulties.

I also work with children with milder learning needs such as dsylexia, dyspraxia and dysgraphia to give additional support.