Primitive Reflexes

Has your child or yourself been checked for retained Primitive Reflexes? This is vital for the proper development of the brain and nervous system. Retained reflexes have been shown to contribute to the development of ADHD, dyslexia/learning disorders, Autism, OCD, Tourettes, depression, anxiety, various mental disorders, fatigue, gastrointestinal dysfunction, autoimmunity, pain, headaches, migraines, spinal curvatures/scoliosis, balance/coordination issues, and many others.

We are all born with Primitive Reflexes. These reflexes are brain stem driven and are essential to our survival during the first 12 months of life. As we develop and movement stimulates our brain growth, these primitive reflexes are inhibited or turned off.

They serve three evolutionary functions

• Assist our passage through the birth canal

• Protect us and aid in our survival during our first few weeks and months of life

• Provide the body with essential sensory/motor stimulation for initiation of higher cortical functioning and brain development

It is the instinctive movements that a baby makes throughout the first year of life that helps to integrate (inhibit)these reflexes. This is why movements such as rolling, rocking and crawling are so important for a child's growth and development

In some babies, seemingly in increasing numbers, the reflexes don’t become integrated when they are supposed to ,leading to impacts on the developing brain. If they don’t go away or become integrated when they are supposed to, research suggests they may never go away on their own.

When we see a cluster of RETAINED primitive reflexes, usually because the child did not complete a milestone or didn't do it for long enough to inhibit the reflex, we start to see the classic hallmarks of functional disconnection syndrome. This child's brain may not function efficiently, they need to put a lot of extra energy into functions that would normally be done automatically and can in fact contribute to the development of an under-active hemisphere.

There's a huge range of challenges children face when their primitive reflexes remain unintegrated. It may impact negatively upon their learning, attention, behaviour, global development, coordination or emotional well being. And perhaps all of the above!

It is essential that these Primitive reflexes are inhibited by the brain to allow for higher cortical function. Your chiropractor will test for Retained primitive reflexes during your initial assessment and exercises will be given to work to inhibit them.

Signs of a Retained Primitive Reflex

Retained Primitive reflexes and milestone delays are the two most important markers that can tell us something is wrong very early on. It is also one of the safest and easiest things we can do to intervene and get the brain back on track — and possibly prevent a lifetime of issues.

  • Reactive & overly sensitive to surrounding Stimuli, resistance to change, hyperactivity.

  • Rapid mood shifts, fear of social embarrassment, anxiety & negativity, resistance to change or surprise.

  • Poor Posture & balance, motion sickness, toe walking, difficulty copying from a blackboard.

  • Involuntary tongue or mouth movement when writing or drawing, problems with speech articulation, swallowing or chewing.

  • Dribbling, thumb sucking, nail biting, chewing or sucking on clothing, speech articulation delay.

  • Poor fine motor skills, incorrect pencil grip, jumbling letters, spelling & handwriting problems, trouble putting ideas to paper.

  • Bedwetting, fidgeting, hard to sit still ('ants in the pants'), poor concentration and short term memory.