The Moro Reflex, sometimes called the infant / adult startle reflex, is an automatic response to a sudden change in sensory stimuli. A sudden change of any kind (bright / flashing lights, change in body position, temperature, loud noise, touch, balance, smell, taste etc.) can trigger the Moro Reflex that activates the ‘Fight or Flight’ system. It is very much part of our ‘survival’ system.

The Moro helps develop the five senses – the Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Vestibular and Motor senses. If the Moro is still active, any or all of these senses can be affected, causing oversensitivity. People that live in constant stress, the Moro is usually still active and this will make learning very difficult. This can be improved easily to help make life and learning more manageable and enjoyable.

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated Moro are:

The Moro is important for our ‘survival’

• Reacts in anger or emotional outbursts
• Cannot concentrate
• Easily distracted
• Visual challenges  – Accommodation, Myopia
• Over-sensitive to light, movement, balance, sound and/or touch
• Constantly stressed
• Challenges with reading / writing
• Need coloured glasses or overlays for reading
• Feels anxious  / panicky / Fearful
• Difficult to relax and feel calm
• Feels unsafe to venture out into the world
• Needs to be centre of attraction and dominates OR –
• Does not want to be ‘seen’ or noticed / sits at the back
• Difficulties with reading
• Poor balance and coordination
• Poor stamina
• Poor digestion, tendency towards hypoglycaemia
• Weak immune system, asthma and re-occurring infections
• Difficulties adapting to change
• Cycles of hyperactivity and then extreme fatigue
• Can be an underlying cause of M.E (adrenal exhaustion)
• Inflammation issues in the body
• Allergies

The TLR provides the baby with a means of learning about gravity and mastering neck and head control outside the womb. This reflex is vital for giving the baby the opportunity to practice balance, increase muscle tone and helps develop vision, the proprioceptive and vestibular senses. The TLR interacts with other reflexes to help the infant to start developing coordination, posture and correct head alignment.

It is vital for the TLR to play its role well because correct alignment of the head with the rest of the body is necessary for balance, eye tracking, auditory processing, muscle tone and organized movements, all of which are essential to the development of our ability to focus and pay attention.

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated TLR are:

Learning to lift head and chest builds muscle tone to the neck and helps develop vision

• Balance and coordination difficulties
• Hunched posture
• Head feels too heavy to hold up when sitting still
• Baby/child cannot lift its head off the floor while on tummy or back
• Sequencing challenges
• Keeping track on a page
• Poor sense of balance
• Motion sickness
• Easily fatigued
• Dislike of esculators, open stairs or walking along piers
• Poor muscle tone to neck and shoulders
• Difficulty judging distance, depth, space and speed
• Visual / speech / auditory difficulties
• Stiff jerky movements
• Toe walking
• ADHD / ADD

If the ATNR remains active it plays a significant contribution to academic problems at school. It is the most common reflex still retained in people with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia 

The ATNR is important for developing homolateral one-sided movements as a baby. When the infant turns his head to one side, the arm and leg of that side automatically extend. In utero the ATNR provides the necessary stimulation for developing muscle tone and the vestibular system.

It assists with the natural birthing process, providing one of the means for the baby to “corkscrew” down the birth passage. Caesarean births miss this opportunity to stimulate the ATNR early on.

By six months of age this reflex should evolve into more complex cross lateral movement patterns which helps to myelinate the Corpus callosum for the two hemispheres to receive and process information from the eyes, ears, hands/fingers and legs/feet. Without being able to cross the midline efficiently, processing of information will prove very challenging. The ATNR also provides training in hand- eye coordination.

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated ATNR are:

Arm and leg extend to same side head is turned

• Dyslexia
• Dyspraxia
• Reading / Listening / Handwriting and Spelling difficulties
• Binocular vision and eye tracking challenges
• Corpus callosum lacks development and myelination
• Co-ordination and balance challenges
• Difficulties learning to ride a bicycle
• Number / letter reversals
• Delayed hemisphere dominance
• Left ear dominant
• Poor auditory processing
• Poor math skills
• Difficulties with getting ideas down on paper
• Difficulties tying up shoelaces / buttons
• Challenges with crossing the midline of the body
• Turns the page vertically when writing to avoid crossing the midline
• Challenges with writing eights, especially horizontal eights
• Postural and neck problems
• Confused handedness
• Drops or knocks over things when turning the head to one side
• When driving, turning head to the left or right, the car veers

The Spinal Galant, the Spinal Perez and the Vollmer Reflexes works in conjunction with the Moro and Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex to help the baby’s journey down the birth canal. These reflexes help the baby balance and coordinate their body for commando crawling and creeping. It helps build muscle tone along the extensor muscles of the back. It is thought to be connected to bladder / bowel function as the lumber muscles relate to the large intestine. A high percentage of children who are bedwetting past 5 will have an active Spinal reflexes. Sitting back in a chair or having tight fitting clothes can cause irritation and therefore distraction and loss of concentration. Children and teenagers will tend to not want to have anything that causes pressure on their lumbar area on the back, and so you see trousers that you want to pull up. Could be a fashion thing as well!

In the womb, the Spinal galant helps auditory development through bone conduction which is why it is important to check for being still active in children with Auditory Processing Disorders.

Testing for the Spinal galant reflex

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated Spinal Galant, Pereze and / or Vollmer reflex are:

• Bedwetting past 5 years old
• ‘Ants in your pants’ / cannot sit still
• ADHD / ADD
• Poor endurance
• Poor auditory processing issues
• Attention difficulties
• Hip rotation to one side
• Scoliosis
• Low or too high muscle tone along the spine
• Fixations in lumbar area
• Poor concentration
• Poor coordination
• Poor posture
• Poor short-term memory
• Restless / Hyperactivity / ADHD
• Does not like tight fitting clothes
• Finds labels in clothes irritating
• Does not like sitting back in a chair
• Bowel problems, IBS, Colitis
• Inflexible physically
• Inflexible emotionally / has to be right all the time

The FPR is the ‘withdrawal’ / ‘freeze’ reflex that emerges during the embryonic stage and is at cell level. It is a total body withdrawal away from stimulus that is abnormal in utero. Stress / shock / trauma to mother during the first three months after conception can affect the integration of this reflex. The fetus reacts to stress/ shock by withdrawing inward and freezing. As the fetus’s tactile awareness develops, withdrawal upon contact should gradually lessen. It is thought that this reflex is the first step in learning to cope with stress. Like the Moro reflex, it is very much part of our ‘survival’ system.

If the FPR is the dominant reflex over the Moro in stressful situations then we become ‘frozen’ to the spot, overwhelmed, our system ‘shuts down’ and we cannot move. The Moro, on the other hand, gives us the choice to be able to move and get away from the stressful issue or stand our ground and fight.

The FPR merges into the Moro reflex around 8 – 12 weeks and should become inactive before birth. If the FPR is not fully integrated at birth, it may contribute to life-long challenges related to deep fear, anxiety and not feeling ‘safe and belonging’ in the world. People with an active FPR may often be overly anxious and tend to veer towards negativity which can prevent them from easily moving forward to living a meaningful and interactive life. An active FPR often goes hand-in-hand with an un-integrated Moro reflex. Children and adults diagnosed with autism, this reflex is usually still active and affects how they ‘fit’ into the world.

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated FPR are:

Overwhelm and sudden shock can cause the person to become ‘paralysed’ with fear

• Shallow, difficult breathing
• Underlying deep anxiety / negativity
• Feels like you don’t fit into the world
• You don’t feel safe in the world
• The world is an unsafe place
• Difficulty making / keeping eye contact
• Difficulties socialising with people
• Low tolerance to stress
• Poor adaptability to change
• Inflexible physically / mentally
• Insecure,
• Low self-esteem / self worth
• Depression / isolation / withdrawal
• Vestibular challenges
• Motion sickness
• Agoraphobia
• Panic attacks
• Constant feelings of overwhelm
• Extreme shyness, fear being in groups
• Excessive fear of embarrassment
• Fear of separation from a loved one, clingy
• Sleeping challenges
• Eating disorders
• Feeling stuck
• Elective / Selective mutism
• Withdrawal from being touched
• Aggressive / Controlling behaviour,
• Craves attention
• Extreme fear of failure or perfectionist
• Phobias,
• OCD challenges
• Possible cause of Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS)

The Infant plantar reflex develops and integrates earlier than the Babinski, usually around 12 months. It helps a baby with crawling on its tummy. It is part of the ‘clinging’ action that primates need to hold on to mother when being carried. This reflex can also have an effect on speech and articulation if still retained.

The Babinski reflex develops gradually and integrates up to two years old. This reflex prepares the feet for walking and provides important stability. It helps to mature coordination between the legs, hips and lumbar spine and improves muscle tone for the lower parts of the body. As the Babinski develops it helps with connecting the higher levels of the brain more efficiently.

Testing for the Babinski reflex

Some possible long term challenges of an un-integrated Babinski are –

• Flat feet
• Toe walkers
• Does not like walking or slow walkers
• Oversensitive soles of the feet
• Does not like walking barefoot on stony beaches
• Speech and articulation challenges
• Poor attention and concentration
• Tension in the feet, legs, hips and lower back
• Tendency to walk on inside or outside of feet
• Claw / Hammer toes
• Weak ankles and easily sprains them
• Rotation of a hip inward or outward
• Usually people with Cerebral palsy and Autism have a retained Babinski

The Babkin reflex helps the baby to learn to grasp objects and put them in its mouth which is important for developing fine motor control of the hand, fingers and mouth. The mouth is our first learning of sensory input, what things taste like, feel like etc. Being able to pick things up, hold them comfortably and manipulate tools. If the reflex is still active, when you press into the palm the mouth will open and the head turns to the same side and the person can feel movement in the jaw, mouth and/or neck.

Because the hands and mouth are linked, it can affect how well we speak, articulate and express ourselves. Understanding these hand reflexes will be extremely useful to Speech and Language therapists.

The Babkin is also to do with Bonding and Attachment issues. Children that have difficulty bonding with their mother, or someone special, are likely to have this reflex retained. Integrating it can be extremely helpful in relationships and communication.

There are two other hand reflexes. The Hand grasp reflex and the Hands pulling reflex.

The Babkin Hand – mouth reflex

Possible long term challenges of un-integrated hand reflexes are –

• Speech and Articulation challenges
• Involuntary movements of the mouth when writing / drawing / cutting / playing instruments
• Phonological challenges
• Bonding and Attachment issues
• Cannot ‘grasp’ concepts
• ‘Lets go’ / ‘Slips through your fingers’
• Auditory processing difficulties
• Emotionally withdrawn from the world
• Awkward pencil grip
• Stuttering and stammering
• Tension in the jaw
• Tension in hands, arms and shoulders
• Feeding problems
• Grinding teeth
• Poor motor ability of the hands and fingers
  

  Hand grasp reflex

• Very sensitive palms
• Poor handwriting
• Holds a pen too tightly and presses into paper
• Drops things easily
• Lets go of bats / golf club after a swing
• Challenges with tying shoelaces and doing up buttons
• Sensitivities to face and palms

The Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex prepares baby for crawling

The STNR is not a primitive reflex, but a transitional one. It is an important developmental stage that transitions the baby from lying on the floor up to being able to get up and crawl. At this stage in development, movement of the head is automatically linked to movement of the arms and legs. If the STNR remains active, it is another main cause of inability to function in school. This is because up and down head movements remain linked to arm and leg movements, making school work challenging and difficult.

Some possible long-term effects of an un-integrated STNR are:

• Poor upper body posture due to weak muscle tone
• Hyperactivity / ADHD / ADD
• Poor concentration and attention
• Headaches from muscle tension in the neck
• Poor stability of the pelvis
• Difficulty reading and writing
• Difficulty sitting still
• “W” sitting with legs
• Difficulty copying from the whiteboard and cannot keep up
• Difficulties with climbing, doing push ups, somersaults,
• Difficulty with breast-stroke and butterfly in swimming
• Ape-like walking
• Visual accommodation challenges
• Visual convergence challenges
• Phorias / Strabismus challenges with vision
• Difficulties with judging speed and hand-eye coordination in ball games
• Find it difficult to stay on task
• Bottom shufflers – missing the crawling on hands and knees stage

There are two Headrighting reflexes. The Labyrinthine headrighting reflex affects the vestibular system. The Ocular headrighting reflex affects the eyes. They are both important for maintaining good head position no matter the position of the body. This is important for reading, writing and balance.

Some possible long term effects of an un-integrated headrighting reflex are –

Head automatically corrects itself no matter the position of the body

• Low muscle tone – tend to be ‘head proppers’
• Muscle tension in neck and shoulders
• Un-coordinated movements, especially anything that requires sequence (marching)
• Poor balance
• Reading challenges
• Poor handwriting
• Poor spatial awareness
• Disorganised
• When eyes move head also moves
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Difficulties copying from the board
• Difficulties keeping place on page when reading
• Poor time management
• Easily distracted
• Finds it difficult to look and listen at the same time

The Cerebellum

The role of the Cerebellum is to help make all movements smooth, rhythmical, controlled and co-ordinated. Children and adults who have difficulty doing movements with a rhythmical element clearly shows the Cerebellum is not developed sufficiently. As the movements become rhythmical, exact, smooth, controlled and effortless this stimulates the neural connections through to the speech centres, helping to overcome challenges with late or no speech quickly.

As the Cerebellum develops the first neural connections are made to link up the Frontal lobes. As the frontal lobes become more efficiently connected attention, concentration, control of impulses, abstract thinking, judgement and learning improve. The Cerebellum is also important for working memory, processing information and control of eye movements to help with reading.

It has been found that people with autism, the Cerebellum has been found to be smaller than normal in size.

Using Rhythmic Movements can help develop the Cerebellum very effectively and quickly.

The Basal Ganglia

The Basal ganglia is the level at which the primitive reflexes should become inhibited and the postural reflexes develop to help us to get up off the floor for walking. It is also where movements should become automatic i.e chewing, walking, writing, running etc. We need to be able to move without having to be consciously aware all the time as this can be tiring to the mind and body.

When the basal ganglia is developed sufficiently it manages our ability to be able sit still for long periods. Children / adults with ADHD, this area of the brain is not developed sufficiently. To expect them to sit still for any length of time will cause them a great deal of stress, they won’t be able to concentrate and the ability to learn will be lost.

In Parkinson’s disease, the Basal ganglia diminishes hence problems with motor ability, posture, muscle tone and gait. Using Rhythmic Movements can help to slow down deterioration and help to reduce the difficult symptoms people have to try and manage.

Using Rhythmic Movements helps to stimulate and develop the Basal ganglia

The Reticular Activating System

Relays sensory information from the visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular, muscles, joints and inner organs up to the Neocortex. If developed sufficiently, it should act as a ‘filter system’ to sensory input and ‘dampen down’ over sensitivity so not to cause too much stress to a sensitive person. This system, when stimulated, helps to keep the Neocortex alert. People who day dream a lot and who have poor attention or ADD, this system will not be functioning efficiently. It also regulates our sleep / wakefulness pattern so people with poor sleep patterns would benefit from using rhythmic movements.

Using Rhythmic Movements helps develop the RAS.

The Limbic System

This area of the brain develops between 15 months and 4 years. It is where emotions, the hormonal and immune system are managed. It is also where the ‘Fight or Flight’ system is initiated. As this area develops, we learn about ‘who we are’ and where we learn to test out our emotions through the ‘terrible two’s’ stage. This is an important stage of development for learning to be assertive, being able to be self expressive and learn to interact with others. Encouraging children to play is vital to motor development, feeling emotionally safe and secure to venture out into the world and developing our social skills to learn how to interact with others. If we don’t learn to play, emotional development can be affected.

As the Limbic system develops, the neural connections are made to the prefrontal cortex. This is vital if emotions are going to be managed properly and the person is to remain in-control of stressful situations. It is the prefrontal cortex that gives the most appropriate response to everything we do, providing it is linked up sufficiently.

Rhythmic Movement Training helps develop and integrate the Limbic system

The Neocortex

The right hemisphere develops between 4 and 7 years old. It is when our creativity and imagination stage needs lots of development. This area likes colours, shapes, facial recognition and seeing the ‘whole picture’ and end result.

The left hemisphere develops around 8 onward and is our language, analytical, science orientated brain. This hemisphere sees the ‘details’ of the picture and plans the steps to get to the end results.

The two hemispheres are connected by the Corpus callosum, a bunch of 200 million nerve fibres that allow the sensory information for processing to pass over to each side at high speed, IF myelinated sufficiently.

Rhythmic Movement Training can help develop the two hemispheres and the corpus callosum to be able to crossover the midline.

The Prefrontal Cortex

The frontal lobes receives its first level of neural development in the first year of life, with the right stimulation. The main time for neural development takes place between 9 and up to 25 years old. This area of the brain, behind the forehead, needs to receive all information from the senses so it can make decisions on how to give the most appropriate response to situations. It is our decision-making, problem solving, judgement, impulsivity, reasoning and rationalisation area of the brain. ADHD / ADD, reading problems, eye movements, poor decision-making and comprehension challenges can be the result of poor neural connections to the Prefrontal cortex.

Rhythmic Movement Training can help develop the Prefrontal cortex.