Anat Baniel, Ph.D.
“The child’s ability to notice differences in what he/she sees, hears, tastes, smells, and feels in her moving body is at the heart of the brain’s capacity for creating new neuro-connections and pathways. It is the source of information for the brain. It is from this ability to perceive differences that all future patterns are formed, be it learning to grasp a toy, learning to say Mamma, walking, responding to a specific word or name, or expressing delight when Daddy comes home. When we truly understand the profound importance of this capacity, it opens up vast new possibilities for children with special needs.” Anat Baniel, Kids Beyond Limits (2012, p. 31)”
Anat Baniel had the opportunity to work closely with Moshe Feldenkrais during his work with children in the last years of his teaching. The story of Elizabeth is a child who began with Dr. Feldenkrais and continued with Anat, demonstrating the ability to improve beyond everyone’s expectations.
For over 40 years Anat Baniel has had enormous success in working with children with special needs and has developed her own approach from her experience and understanding. Her process demonstrates Moshe Feldenkrais’ idea that using movement with attention, while looking for and experiencing functional variations to existing capabilities, helps the brain make connections and supports ongoing learning. It is the key for keeping the wheel of self-development and self-learning moving forward.
Some children need more support than others.
The Anat Baniel Method® of Neuromovement® for Children with Special Needs has been a force in changing the trajectory of development for hundreds of children with many different kinds of challenges.
Kids Beyond Limits is her personal account of what, why and how advantageous this natural learning process is for children with special needs and their families.
“I have observed Baniel’s little patients on multiple visits, and time after time, I have seen children whose parents were told their brain-damaged children would never walk, or talk, or be able to think well or regulate themselves, begin to do just that with this gentle technique.”
Norman Doidge, MD author of The Brain that Changes Itself
