Niki McGlynn
Organised Mind

The primitive reflexes develop during pregnancy or shortly after birth and their role is to assist with the birthing process and the early stages of movement. They develop and become integrated in a particular order allowing the next reflex to emerge. The primitive reflexes are followed by transitional reflexes, then postural reflexes, which allow standing, walking and eventually running.

 

When reflexes don't integrate, they can intefere with normal development. Active reflexes can cause anxiety, allergies, and problems with such diverse issues as digestion, behaviour, reading and writing, concentraion, impulse control, balance and eyesight. 

 

This is a short list of the main reflexes, the approximate order in which they appear, and the problems they can cause!

 

Fear Paralysis Reflex

This is a reflex that develops and integrates during pregnancy. It is considered a withdrawal reflex rtaher than a true primitive reflex and involves the whole of the feotus in times of stress during pregnancy. As it is the earliest of the reflexes to emerge, if it remains active it can intefere with the normal progression of the other reflexes.

 

If the Fear Paralysis Reflex (FPR) remains active it can cause huge problems as it is an integral part of the parasympathetic nervous sysytem - the fight/flight/freeze survivial mechanism, with emphasis on the freeze aspect. Active FPR can interfere with sensory processing, the ability to cope with change, motion sickness, food senitivities and can appear either as withdrawal - no eye contact, elective mutism, passivity or with temper tantrums, particularly screaming as the noise shuts out external stimulus.

 

Moro Reflex

The Moro reflex is the second primitive reflex to emerge in utero. Closely

linked to the first reflex, the FPR, which causes the system to freeze, the

Moro reflex will activate the system and trigger what we would recognise as

fight or flight response. An active Moro reflex can create a state of constant

inner stress, interfering with good sensory processing. Pupils can be slow to

respond to light, they might need to wear dark glasses. Hypersensitivity to

noise, specific noises or difficulties in shutting out background noise.

Hypersensitivity to touch, firm or light touch, and problems with textures.

Problems with balance, dislike of swings, slides, roundabouts, rides, or a love

of those activities. The Moro is the reflex of fight or flight, so it can cause a

tendency to withdraw socially, if circumstances are overwhelming, and

problems with transitioning from one activity or environment to another.

However the fight part of the reflex can show as explosive reactions to

overwhelming environments, aggression, domineering behaviour or

manipulation. The reflex a sensation of feeling unsafe in the world so there is

a desire to manipulate the environment to make themselves feel safer.

When this reflex is active it can cause digestive and bowel issues, nausea,

IBS, colitis and other bowel problems.

 

Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex 

The TLR is one of the three neck reflexes that we check, it has two

components, forward and back. If the forward part is retained then it is

triggered by moving the head forwards beyond the centre of the shoulders or

looking down. This causes a sensation of the body wanting to collapse

forwards, spatial problems, motion sickness, poor posture and low muscle

tone, visual perceptual difficulties, poor sequencing and poor sense of time.

The head can be thrust forwards leading to a hunch in the upper back, weak

neck muscles, hunched or rounded shoulders, and over flexible joints

(hypermobility).

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If the backwards part is retained it is triggered by looking upwards or tipping

the head backwards beyond the centre of the shoulders. It inhibits the

development on the postural life long reflexes, results in poor balance and co-

ordination, poor organisation skills, sequencing and stiff, jerky movements.

Particular problems are caused when going upstairs or travelling upwards on

an escalator.

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The TLR can be reactivated after an injury to the neck, particularly after a car

accident or similar injury.

 

Asymetric Tonic Neck Reflex

This is the second neck reflex that we look at and it is activated when turning

the head to one side the arm and leg on that side want to extend and the arm

and leg on the opposite want to contract. It’s associated with the birthing

process and stimulates the balance mechanism and increases the

connectivity between the left and right sides of the brain. If retained it can

cause problems crossing the midline and interferes with establishing a

preferred hand, eye, leg and ear which can limit a child’s learning style,

affecting academic performance. Functionally this affects handwriting, and

can lead to poor execution of ideas and visual perceptual difficulties –

particularly with tracking smoothly from left to right. It causes problems in

balance activities, such as riding a bicycle as when the head is turned,

balance is affected. It can trigger swerving when driving if the driver looks to

left or right. It can cause problems with grip and hand press when writing.

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Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex

The is the third neck reflex and is a transitional reflex. It works to separate

the shoulder area from the pelvic area, increasing spinal mobility and posture.

When retained, this reflex affects posture, hand eye co-ordination and any

activity where the top and bottom half of the body have to move separately

from each other, such as in swimming. It creates weakness in the core so

can result in ‘slumping’ when sitting at a desk, ape like walking, clumsiness

and messy eating. This reflex affects the development of muscle tone in the

eyes causing difficulties with binocular vision, slowness in eye

accommodation between a near and far distance, and eye tracking from left

to right. Reading may be slow, needing to follow the line with a finger. The

STNR is partly responsible in those who have difficulty doing a somersault,

using monkey bars or press ups and learning breaststroke. It can cause a

sense of instability so those retaining it may ‘W” sit on the floor, to increase

surface area or wrap their legs around chair legs or sit on one leg in order to

feel more stable.

 

Spinal Galant Reflex

This is a spinal reflex and helps facilitate the birthing process by encouraging

the baby to wriggle down the birth canal when pressure is applied to the

spine. It is important in the development of posture, walking style and

mobility. When retained it can cause late bedwetting, IBS type symptoms and

lower back pain. It’s the main reflex that causes fidgeting and problems with

focus and attention. When this is retained there is often a dislike of tight

clothing around the waist, issues around labels at the back of pants, skirts

and trousers and difficulties with sitting with the back against the chair,

instead a tendency to sit forward on the edge of the seat with the top of the

back against the chair. There can also be issues around listening (rather than

hearing) as the spine is the first mode for conducting sound vibrations. This

can cause issues with working memory. Older children and adults can fixate

the lumbar spine and this can cause scoliosis if only on one side.

 

Landau Reflex

This is a transitional reflex, which enables the infant to raise its head from the

floor. If retained, it affects the muscle tone of the neck and back so there may

be difficulty keeping the head upright. It can also affect coordination between

head, and legs – such as breaststroke. It can cause a clumsy lower body,

with additional tension in legs and inefficient coordination between upper and

lower parts of the body 

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Hand/Mouth Babkin and Palmer Reflex

These are two of the hand reflexes and work together. They are indicated in

poor fine motor coordination in the hands: difficulties tying shoe-laces, doing

up buttons, poor handwriting. Retained hand reflexes can also affect speech,

articulation, phonological awareness and show up in involuntary mouth and

tongue movements when writing, playing an instrument or using scissors.

Also can be observed in hypersensitivity to touch on the palms or face.

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The Palmer Reflex causes challenges with motor control in the

hands – poor handwriting, unusual pencil grip and tendency to hold the pen

too tightly. Causes tension in shoulders and makes writing difficult.

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Plantar Reflex

One of the two foot reflexes, the plantar reflex separates the front and back

parts of the feet, helping the development of balance and mobility. It facilitates

muscle tone and provides vestibular stimulation which in turn stimulates the

balance mechanisms. If retained it will impede the cross pattern crawling

which is important for hand eye co-ordination and integration of vestibular

information with the other senses. Affects balance, crossing the midline of the

body, laterality, visual perception, handwriting and written expression.

 

Babinski Reflex

The second of the foot reflexes, this prepares the feet for walking and helps

with the maturity of coordination between the legs, hips and lumbar spine,

and good development of muscle tone in the lower body. This reflex can be

undeveloped or retained. If undeveloped it can be evident in flat-footedness,

slow pace, dislike of walking, walking on the inside of the feet, or have loose

ankles which sprain easily. Also occasionally to toe walk and rotate legs

inwards.

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If the reflex is retained then a tendency to walk on the outside of the feet, with

legs rotated outwards and increased muscle tension in their legs and feet.

 

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