Weak Core? This Prone Progression Builds Real Strength 👨🏾‍🦱💪🏽 | Athetoid CP PT #12

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. I’m continuing this series with my co-instructor, Ne’Quan 👨🏾‍🦱💙 Ne’Quan has spastic athetoid cerebral palsy, and I was his physical therapist from age 5 through age 26. When we began filming this playlist, he was 27 — and at this point, we are simply dear friends. Although Ne’Quan is an adult, the motor challenges he experiences are the same challenges I address across the lifespan. The strategies used in this series apply to young children and adults alike — what changes is how the task is presented. With younger clients 👧🏽👦🏼, these skills are often built through play. With Ne’Quan, we work directly using verbal cues, repetition, task progression, and long-established trust. 🧠 What This Video Focuses On In this session, we work on a **prone extension progression** (sometimes called airplanes, superman, or swimming) to build core strength and postural control. Individuals with athetoid cerebral palsy often have fluctuating tone, making it difficult to maintain a stable center. Because of this, building core strength is a key starting point in many sessions. I demonstrate a simple progression from easiest to hardest: • Arms back (“jet plane”) — easiest • Arms out to the side (“T”) — moderate challenge • Arms straight overhead — most challenging As the arms move farther away from the body, the demand on the core increases significantly. 🧠 Why This Matters Children with athetoid cerebral palsy often struggle to trust and use their arms early in development. You may see them on their stomach with their head up and arms pulled back behind them. This can become a pattern that limits weight bearing through the arms. This progression helps build: • Core strength and endurance • Postural control • Shoulder stability • Readiness for weight bearing through the arms 💡 Therapy Tips A few simple strategies can help: • Start with the easiest variation to allow success • Progress arm position to increase challenge • Keep lifts short at first (5–10 seconds) • Build up to longer holds as strength improves • Focus on quality, not just duration 📌 About Ne’Quan • Walks in daily life with someone nearby for safety 🚶🏾‍♂️ • Does not speak; communicates using gestures, signs, an alphabet board, and a switch-accessed communication device 💬📱 • Strong receptive language skills • Limited hand control affecting fine-motor and self-help tasks 🤲🏽 • Functionally most similar to GMFCS Level III ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Introduction & Meet Ne’Quan 00:20 Background & relationship 00:54 Why core work comes first 01:00 Prone extension explained 01:35 Arms back (easiest) 02:02 Arms out to the side 02:20 Arms overhead (hardest) 02:55 Closing 🎥 Watch All of Ne’Quan’s Videos (Playlist) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjNPEoC-A5MaSjxfr_omXGDS 🌐 More Resources Website: https://www.pediatricPTexercises.com Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises Email: amysturkey@gmail.com ⚠️ Disclaimer This video is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. It would be unethical for me to provide specific treatment recommendations without personally evaluating your child or client. 💬 Captions / Accessibility I’ve reviewed and corrected the captions for clarity. To turn on captions: click CC. To change caption language: Settings → Subtitles/CC → choose a language or Auto-translate 🌍 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey (Amazon) Children’s Books P is for Poop and Pee Accidents — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 A is for Anxiety — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR C is for Cerebral Palsy — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP D is for Down Syndrome — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 A is for Autism — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB Professional Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercise Books Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Hips — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Knees — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Ankles — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD