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6 Primitive Reflexes that must be Integrated in Order to Learn
Happy New Year everyone!
To start the new year off, we are looking at the foundation of learning - the primitive reflexes. Why are these so important? They are stages of development in infancy that develop the brain. For most people, if they have attention issues or reading problems, these did not start later in life; they were always there from the beginning. These stages help the infant grow physically, but also set up the brain and create connections that must be there for learning.
An example is the Palmar Reflex when a newborn grabs tight onto someone's finger that has been placed into the palm. The infant holds so tightly! While this is important for learning to hold onto things as an infant, it is not as good in school where we must learn how to hold onto a pencil correctly, and if we hold on to tightly our hands get tired and we get callouses. These are only stages of development, and when the stage is over, we should move on.
Yet many of us still hold our pens awkwardly, and grip too tightly. Our handwriting is hard to read, and we tire after writing a paragraph or two. Many of us still retain the Palmar Reflex, even though we don't have the need for it since we were infants.
Luckily we can integrate the reflexes at any age. By simulating activities that infants do, we move on and strengthen our brains in the process. For example, I integrated my reflexes in the mid 50s and no longer have a callous on the inside of my middle finger, and my hand doesn't get tired after writing just a few sentences. I didn't realize how happy this would make me until it happened!
History
Primitive reflexes are not something new - they have been around since people have been around. They are a survival mechanism to help the infant grow and mature enough to survive on his or her own. The Moro Reflex (and others) are checked at birth, although that is the only time that pediatricians generally are concerned with them. It is important that and infant display several which should have emerged in utero.
Physical therapists and occupational therapists all learn about the primitive reflexes in school, and usually how to test to see if they are present. However, beyond the physical attributes associated with them, they rarely learn why they are looking, or how to help the child integrate them. I hope with more and more exposure to the ned to integrate, that many schools will start teaching the additional information.
The Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential was created in 1955 by Glenn Doman and Carl Delacato to help remediate the effects of brain injury. The therapy was called repatterning, and although the Institute exists today, it does not have the recognition that it once did.
INPP (Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology) was started in 1975 by PhD Psychologist Peter Blythe and Sally Goddard. Goddard has written many books about reflexes, and indeed has promoted this enough that people around the world know her work. I feel that she is the one to bring reflex integration back into our experiences and knowledge base. Many behavioral and developmental optometrists have learned about reflexes through their work, and have incorporated it into vision therapy.
Svetlana Masgutova created the Masgutova Method in 1989 making the therapy more widespread by integrationg 27 different reflexes through hands-on therapy. Other therapies have also been created and promoted since then, giving the therapist or parent options for the best choice in their circumstance.
Today you will see reflex integration being used as a tool by Behavioral Optometry, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech and Language Pathology. I work to give this information to teachers, tutors and parents as well, as the foundation for learning in the Pyramid of Potential.
Research
Take a look at the following page for 3 research articles about the reflexes and their effect on reading and ADHD, and a list of other research. www.pyramidofpotential.com/research
6 Reflexes for Learning
The following list shows the 6 reflexes with the functioning that can be improved when it is integrated:
- Moro Reflex: Math, Anxiety, and Sensory Integration
- Palmar Reflex: Writing and Articulation
- Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex: Reading, Math, and Writing
- Spinal Galant: Reading, Math, Writing and Sensory Integration
- Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex: Reading and Writing
- Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex: Reading and Writing
Maintaining Brains Everyday is a DVD that shows how to integrate these reflexes for someone 5 to 95. As it is on sale this month, now is a great way to begin the new year!
Here is a link to our sales page to get Maintaining Brains Everyday. www.pyramidofpotential.com/sales
There are many stories about how reflex integration helped many people on www.pyramidofpotential.com/testimonials. If you know of someone whose life was helped through addressing the reflexes, please go to the section in this newsletter and tell us about it. There is someone out there who needs to hear about your story!
Next week: There's Something About Moro
Each week after that, I will be addressing the other 5 reflexes. I will go in-depth about what the reflex is, why it is needed in infancy, how it looks when retained and what symptoms are associated with it. Please feel free to pass this information on to educate others.
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