10 Simple Loop Activities to Support Vision, Vestibular, and Cerebellar Integration

By Geralyn Spiesz, MS, OTR/L

One of the simplest, most effective tools we’ve found to support integrated development across systems is the Infinity Loop. It is a shape as timeless as it is neurologically rich.

Neurodevelopmental Power of the Infinity Loop

Visual -Motor, Vestibular, and Cerebellar Integration in Children with Down Syndrome

The Infinity Loop is an amazing tool.

Used thoughtfully, this simple shape becomes a neurodevelopmental powerhouse. It can activate the visual system, stimulate the vestibular pathways, and target the cerebellum’s core role in timing, coordination, attention, and learning.

Below is a breakdown of how each system contributes to our children’s unique development, and how using the Infinity Loop integrates them.

Visual-Motor Integration

Visual-motor integration is the ability to coordinate visual perception with motor output, (Praxis).

Children with Down syndrome often show disruptions to their vestibular and cerebellar systems (necessary for control of the visual-motor system) as early as the second trimester in utero.:

• Delays in ocular motor control (eye movement precision)
• Difficulty with visual tracking and fixation
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Visual crowding or difficulty isolating visual targets

Why the Infinity Loop Helps:

• The smooth, continuous nature of the infinity symbol promotes pursuit tracking rather than saccadic jumps.
• Activities like “Wall Infinity Tracking” or “Laser Pointer Loop” help strengthen visual convergence, essential for reading, balance, and depth perception.
• When tracing the loop with a metronome or beat, the eyes learn to move rhythmically, reinforcing predictive visual timing, which is key to motor planning.
• Classic Infinity Loop walking stimulates all systems plus inter-hemispheric communication as well an expanding visual fields.

Neurodevelopmental Boost:

• Combines the afferent (visual input) with efferent (motor planning) systems.
• Enhances parietal-lobe to cerebellar communication, crucial for spatial awareness and body coordination. (And cerebellum back to parietal-lobe routes for biofeedback and motor planning).

Vestibular Integration

The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, helps us sense motion, maintain balance, and understand our body in space.

In Children with DS:

• Children often show delayed or under-responsive vestibular processing due to physical, functional, physiological, and chemical differences in their vestibular system’s structures from influence of the trisomy during gestation.
• Hypotonia and ligament laxity may reduce movement exploration because proprioception is altered (necessary for accurate vestibular integration).
• Vestibular system underuse can contribute to poor postural control and inattention
• Postural insecurity is also a common effect, characterized by the child being overly cautious to downright fearful of movement, walking, etc.

Why the Infinity Loop Helps:

• Activities like “Scooter Board Track,” “Marching with Metronome,” or “Balance Board Tracing” directly stimulate vestibular input through linear and rotational movement
• Crossing the midline while engaging in movement loops provides vestibulo-ocular stimulation, training both balance and gaze stability
• Novel positions (like standing on a stool or balancing on a wobble cushion) activate the cerebellar–vestibular loop, helping the brain learn to stabilize and coordinate body motion with visual input

Neurodevelopmental Boost:

• The vestibular system is the gateway for core activation, orientation, and regulation
• Repetitive, circular movement builds temporal-spatial awareness—critical for speech, motor control, and learning
• Directly stimulating the vestibular system (and cerebellum) with novel input significantly boosts BDNF which in turn modulates too much GABA influence…in short, novelty and direct stimulation of these two systems is an epigenetic powerhouse!

Cerebellar Activation

The cerebellum fine-tunes movement, supports learning and timing, and helps with sensory prediction and error correction. It is deeply involved in language development, motor sequencing, and attention regulation.

In Children with DS:

• Research shows cerebellar hypoplasia—the cerebellum is smaller and structurally different
• Functional deficits include difficulty sequencing, poor timing, and decreased automaticity
• Reduced cerebellar output affects integration between sensory systems

Why the Infinity Loop Helps:

• Repetitive loop tracing with beat-based timing (like a metronome) engages the cerebellar timing circuits
• Activities that combine rhythm, movement, and coordination train the predictive processing functions of the cerebellum
• Looped movement across the midline enhances bilateral communication and activates the vermis, the central part of the cerebellum connected to posture, eye movement, and emotion regulation
• Novelty—approaching the same shape through different mediums—keeps the cerebellum alert and adaptive, supporting multi-rate learning and generalization (per the latest research)

Neurodevelopmental Boost:

• Trains the cerebellum to function as a forward controller, adjusting movement in real-time
• Supports multi-sensory input integration, essential for creating coherent responses to complex environments
• Promotes cerebellar plasticity
• Boosts BDNF

Midline Crossing & Hemispheric Integration

Why Midline Matters:

Crossing the midline is the neurological foundation of bilateral coordination. It reflects communication between the brain’s left and right hemispheres and is a skill our children often struggle to acquire spontaneously. (Please watch the webinar in the DSAP group on Developmental sequencing for a full explanation of why rushing milestones without integrating systems sets the stage for problems with these skills for every part of development that comes next. You can also get a lot of information on this topic in other blog posts at dsactionpan.com, and the DSAP YouTube channel).

How the Infinity Loop Supports It:

• Every loop requires crossing at the midline; whether traced with the eyes, marched with the body, or “created” in the air
• Midline-crossing activities support corpus callosum engagement, fostering interhemispheric communication
• Midline crossing coupled with rhythm and timing activities support vermis engagement (the midline of the cerebellum that is uniquely impacted in our children), fostering interhemispheric communication of the cerebellum.
• This builds a foundation for more complex tasks like writing, reading, dressing, and speech sequencing

Novelty and Generalization

Children with DS often struggle to generalize skills across contexts. That’s why variety within a familiar structure is key.

The Infinity Loop provides a stable novelty.

10 Ways to turn the Infinity Loop into a Powerhouse Integrator!

1. Infinity Walk to Video Model

Watch the Infinity Walk Demo video together. Then tape a large figure-eight on the floor (per instructions). You’re building bilateral coordination, timing, and visual-motor focus with every step.

2. Infinity Loop with Balance Board

Trace the loop on a vertical surface while standing on a balance board or wobble cushion. This targets vestibular input, core activation, and visual tracking, all in one go. Make the loop large enough so the child must extend arms and shift weight to complete the loop with visual tracking.

3. Stool + Dab + Metronome

Again, witha giant piece of paper with a drawn infinity loop on the wall (working on vertical surfaces stimulate the vestibulo-ocular reflexes and stimulate the system in general for attention and focus!). Have your child stand on a step stool and trace it using a bingo dabber to a metronome (google the metronome on your phone and set it to 70 bpm., this is heartbeat and the most regulating). This adds rhythm, balance, and motor planning (praxis) to the mix.

4. Wall Infinity Tracking

Tape or laminate an infinity loop on the wall. Have your child trace it slowly with their eyes and hand moving together. It strengthens ocular motor control and eye-hand coordination—skills critical for reading and learning. You can have the child hold a crayon or chalk (I love the friction created by those vs. marker for increased proprioceptive feedback) in both hands and trace with segmented upper body. (layer on a balance board or wobble cushion to stand on!)

5. Infinity Loop Laser Pointer Game

In a dim room, move a laser pointer in an infinity shape on the wall or floor. Your child’s job? Track the light. This fun game improves visual tracking, attention, and anticipation.

6. March the Loop with a Beat

Have your child cross-march around a taped loop on the floor while a metronome plays (again most regulating aross systems is heartbeat approx. 70 bpm). Add a hand pattern (clapping to beat, or rhythmical upper extramity movement) for extra coordination. This supports motor planning, midline integration, and timed movement.

7. Infinity Loop Floor Scooter Track

Make a big infinity loop out of tape or chalk. Have your child follow the path on a scooter board. This activity adds vestibular motion, proprioception, and spatial awareness all at once. Super big bonus is weight bearing and weight shifting on their hands and upper extremities. (If the child struggles with moveing the board or lags their head down, this could be a red flag for retained reflexes.)

8. Infinity Loop Dance + Props

Use ribbon wands, streamers, or scarves to draw big, loopy eights in the air while dancing. Movement-based drawing supports visual-motor integration, rhythmic flow, and creative expression. Definitely add music with a defined beat.

9. Infinity Loop Eye Jumps

Place stickers with numbers 1-8 at various points on the verticalvinfinity loop. Practice shifting gaze between them on command. This builds saccadic eye movement and visual focus. BONUS: When your child gets really good you can work on auditory processing by calling out a 3 digit number and having the child repeat or otherwise indicate the number as they visuall locate the numbers. You can layer for complexisty by adding metronome, an unstable surface, etc!

10. Partner Push-Pull Infinity Tracing

Draw a loop on a whiteboard or table. Sit across from your child and take turns tracing it with your finger. Use rhythm, mirroring, and maybe even humming! This builds co-regulation, attunement, and sequencing.

Summary

Each of these activities:

• Stimulates the cerebellum, which supports timing, balance, sequencing, and attention
• Engages the vestibular system, key for orientation and postural control
• Strengthens visual-motor integration, essential for learning and coordination
• Reinforces cross-midline movement, which is foundational for brain communication

The most important ingredient: JOY!

Although vestibular, cerebellar, and visual integration is as serious as it gets, it isnt work. When approached with a mindset of possibility, it is joy.

It is the very best part of this journey of parenthood, having fun watching our children grow and become who they are authentically meant to be!

Join us at the DSAP FB Group, dsactionplan.com, the DSAP YouTube Channel, or the DS Actionplan Community to get more information, brainstorm and inspire one another!