Practice process

In this method, different parts of body called ‘Ban’ and expressed by numbers.

Ban 1	neck	Ban 8	ankles
Ban 2	two parts of scapula joint in back	Ban 9	feet fingers
Ban 3	upper part of the back between scapulas	Ban 10	shoulder joints
Ban 4	the middle part of back around the chest	Ban 11	elbows
Ban 5	the lower part of back around waist	Ban 12	wrists
Ban 6	hip joints	Ban 13	hands fingers
Ban 7	knees

The basic ideas in Dohsa training are:  1) Relaxation,  2) Movement of arms, hands and legs – tan-i Dohsa, 3)   ‘Tate method’.

Relaxation –  This treatment will be done by different techniques such as ‘kata-yorume’, ‘se-sorase’, and ‘kukan-no-hineri’.

Tan-i Dohsa –   The aim of ‘tan-i Dohsa’ training is to help the child to learn the basic movement of arms, hands and legs by different techniques such as ‘ude-age’, ‘ude-mage’, ‘te-no-hiraki’, ‘ashi-no-mage-nobashi’.

Tate method –   In Dohsa training the idea of ‘Tate’ and ‘Tate method’ is very important. ‘Tate’ means making straight or putting in one line vertically.  In this case it means by fixing the vertical body axis, putting different parts of body straight and vertical against the ground. The detail of the method will be explained in its sections. Beside the “Tate method” task, there are many other tasks related to the case disability and other problems. The therapist in this method is called as “trainer” and client is refereed to as “trainee” rather than patient. This reinforces the view of work primarily beings as an educational process.

          Most of the trainees who can not make a proper sitting, standing on knees, and standing posture have either bending forward posture, or bending backward posture. In these postures, the trainees have a tendency of strengthening themselves by putting their effort in the wrong parts which causes bending forward or backward. The inappropriate bending forces should be changed to a straight direction (Tate).

          The training aim is to support the trainee to strengthen his/her body in vertical position towards the floor and make him/her able to take the proper posture of sitting, standing on knees and standing on feet. In the Dohsa training session, the training range varies from laying to walking. The children who are not able to stand and walk, are trained by the sequence of sitting, standing on knees, standing on feet and walking.

        Procedure of the treatment – the following steps will be followed:

1. Evaluation of motor difficulty. After review of physical maturation and historical outline of motor development, a series of clinical examination about ability and difficulty of motor action will be done.

2. Making a schedule of motor training. According to the evaluation, a schedule of motor training will be made for each case separately.

3. Selection of model pattern for training. The trainer should plan an appropriate training model and let him to perform by his own striving.

4. Self-liberation from the old pattern of motion. At the beginning of the training the most difficult task for trainee is freeing himself from improper tension or distorted pattern of motion.

5. Practicing new pattern of motion.

6. Human relation between trainer and trainee.

          There are 5 main tasks in Dohsa training: (1) Zai training (sitting with crossed legs training), (2) Hizatachi training (standing on knees training), (3) Kata Hizatachi (standing on one knee training), (4) Litsui training (standing posture training), (5) Hokou training (gait training).

Zai training –  Sitting posture on the floor is the primary posture for human being to keep his body vertical against gravitation. In child development, it is the first posture when an infant makes his body vertical by himself. The sitting posture has quite different physiological and psychological meaning other than a state in which the body is lying on the floor. The posture is one of active motor actions that a person operates for his own body to be vertical against gravitation. To make the upper part of the body to stand vertical is not only to set it on the lower parts, but to operate the whole of body (neck, shoulders, waist, hips and legs) in order to keep the upper parts vertical. So the main task in this position is making 1,3,4,5 “Ban” straight in one line towards the ground and to enable trainees to support themselves on their buttocks.

Hizatachi training –  The importance of the kneeling posture has not been emphasized in rehabilitation medicine and developmental psychology. In the techniques of neuro developmental treatments (Bobath 1966), this posture has not usually been used. The only exemption is an unimportant technique in which a child maintains a kneeling position by holding onto some stable object. In the Dohsa-hou, however, kneeling has always been a very important posture. The term “kneeling” generally includes all the positions in which a person’s knees touch the floor. The kneeling posture used in the Dohsa-hou means the position in which a child is supporting himself/herself upright on his/her knees with a trunk and the thighs erect. So the aim of Hizatachi training is to enable them to support themselves on their knees. As in Zai (sitting) training the main task was working on 1,3,4,5 “ban”, in Hizatachi training 6 “ban” will be added to the task.

Kata Hizatachi training –  After Hizatachi training, in order to make balance on each knee, to stretch each hip joint, and to stand firm against the ground (fumishime) on each knee, Kata Hizatachi training is practiced. In this training, the trainee should stand only on one knee.

Litsui training –  The training of Litsui (standing on feet) is as important as the other motor action training. The aim of Litsui (standing) training is to enable them to support themselves on their feet. The main point in this training is pressing firmly towards the foot (fumishime) from the top. In this training the range of feet on the floor should be as follows:

Hoko training –  Hoko (Gait) training is the last stage of “Dohsa training”. Before starting this training, the trainee should be able to stand on his/her feet. After standing by himself and standing firm to the ground (fumishime), the trainee takes a step forward and balance himself on the forwarded leg, then alternately takes a step forward. In this training the trainee finds his/her feet and can put his/her foot forward while pushing firmly toward the ground. They will learn how to shift their body weight from one foot to other.