A Matter of Balance

Type
Program
physical therapist spotting a woman at a balance barre

Overview

A Matter of Balance is a nationally recognized, evidence-based fall risk reduction program that emphasizes practical strategies to reduce fear of falling and increase activity.

Contact

Andrew Crocker
Senior Extension Program Specialist

Research indicates up to half of community-dwelling older adults experience fear of falling and that many respond to this concern by curtailing activity. A majority of falls occur during routine activities and are usually caused by a variety of issues. In fact, a large portion of falls are preventable. Being inactive may result in loss of muscle strength and balance and may compromise social interaction, increasing risk for isolation, depression, and anxiety.

A Matter of Balance is a nationally recognized, evidence-based fall risk reduction program that emphasizes practical strategies to reduce fear of falling and increase activity levels. Participants learn to view falls and fear of falling as controllable, set realistic goals to increase activity, change their environment to reduce fall risk factors, and exercise to increase strength and balance.

Looking for solutions in your county? Contact your local extension experts

More choices in Aging & Caregiving

  • Course

    Promoting creativity in an early childhood setting is critical for the development of children’s brains. Environments, daily interactions, and experiences are all opportunities to promote creativity in young learners. Creativity can be expressed through the visual arts, music and movement, and dramatic arts.

    After completing this 3-hour course, the learner will be able to describe the elements of creativity, explain how environments can encourage creativity, examine how the arts can support development across all domains in early childhood, and discuss the different categories of creative arts with connections to the four developmental domains.

  • Course

    To grow and excel as an early childhood professional, you must reflect on your teaching practices and child observation to make changes and adjustments to your teaching approach. Intentional early childhood professionals engage in reflective practices and create a professional development plan that builds upon their strengths and enhances their teaching.

    After completing this 4-hour course, the learner will be able to describe what an intentional early childhood professional is, explain what reflective practices are and how to implement this information effectively to improve their teaching, explain why being intentional and reflective promotes the development and learning in the children they are teaching, and create a professional development plan based upon their strengthens.

  • Course

    Intentionality is one of the hallmarks of a high-quality learning program. This involves not only using a curriculum that aligns with child development and guidelines, but also ensuring instruction is targeted to the needs of each child in your classroom.

    This 4-hour course for early learning educators discusses how to use the cycle of curriculum learning to plan whole group, small group, and individual level to appropriately meet the needs of all learners.

  • Course

    Knowing what children can do and what they know is powerful information that can guide early learning teachers to create appropriate learning experiences for their children. The purposes and types of assessments are examined.

    This 4-hour course for early learning educators is designed to review the purposes of assessment, how to evaluate and interpret the results, and create a plan to share results with families.

  • Course

    Discover Positive Youth Development (PYD) with our comprehensive three-and-a-half-hour online course. Designed for a wide range of youth-facing professionals, this course offers interactive modules that bring PYD theories to life.

  • Course

    Maintaining the health of young children – and setting them up with lifelong healthy habits – are critical elements of a quality early childhood program. This course provides an overview of the Texas Healthy Building Blocks recognition program for early care and education settings that have demonstrated a commitment to promoting early childhood health. It is aligned with the guidelines of the Texas Healthy Building Blocks recognition program.