FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Primitive Reflex Integration on the Surrey/Sussex Border

The Safe and Sound Protocol for neurodivergent families

The Safe and Sound Protocol – SSP for neurodivergent families: Why Move2Connect offers a family package

The Safe and Sound Protocol for neurodivergent families

You have probably found this blog post because you’re researching the SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) for your child.

The Safe and Sound Protocol (in its standard format) is a five-hour listening therapy, which works directly with the autonomic nervous system to make the a person feel safe in the world by tuning up their autonomic function, which in turn improves social engagement. It does this by passively stimulating the vagus nerve by means of specially filtered music. It is the only auditory programme to work directly with the autonomic nervous system, and is now used widely by all sorts of healthcare and mental health professionals with a variety of conditions caused by mis-firing autonomic nervous systems.

The Safe and Sound Protocol was first launched as a way to help autistic children improve social engagement. It has been acknowledged since that the reason this is so effective is because it’s working with the trauma inherent in autism – in other words, the stress caused by being forced to function in an environment that is not accepting of autism.

For context, I have been working with the SSP pretty much since it was first available in the UK, and have probably worked with more clients than anyone else here – with a myriad of presentations and a beautiful rainbow of different nervous systems.

The Safe and Sound Protocol for neurodivergent families

The Safe and Sound Protocol used to be provided by means of an MP3 player, which I would use in-clinic. I would also sometimes rent these MP3 players out to clients once they had been through a rigorous screening session in clinic. There were huge challenges in using physical equipment, in that either clients had to attend scheduled sessions, OR schedule a rental period. Most of the time, this worked well, but occasionally, more sensitive clients needed more time or needed to miss scheduled sessions. This made providing the SSP – and using the SSP as a client – costly and a logistical nightmare.

However, from March 2020, SSP providers had to adopt a different way of working due to lockdowns and our lack of understanding of COVID19 at the time.

The licensing organisation, Unyte, released a digital version of the SSP via an app. This enabled discussion on the safest way to work with clients remotely with the SSP.

It is important to recognise that the Safe and Sound Protocol in itself is not a therapy – it is a TOOL used by therapists, and we all do it slightly differently. Some hand-hold, some budget providers only give access to the tool and let their clients get on with it – not really advisable, but it happens – caveat emptor.

My opinion, having run a clinic for neurodivergent children and adults for the last 8 years, is that it is important to engage with the Safe and Sound Protocol (and my other work) in an environment that feels safe. For most people, home is a safe space – so this makes engaging with the SSP in the comfort of your own home appealing, convenient and most effective.

Even more effective is ensuring that a child’s needs during the SSP are fully met – and the best way to do this is for a parent to go through the process themselves first.

My approach is to train parents first. They then go through the Safe and Sound Protocol themselves, and learn to understand their bodies’ cues and their own nervous systems. After that, they take their own children through the SSP, as those who understand their children better than anyone else, as well as through the eyes of someone who has completed the Safe and Sound Protocol in their own way.

When I first started working with primitive reflexes with my own child, over a decade ago, I remember our therapist telling me that parents of children with retained reflexes always benefit from going through the process themselves too. At first, I thought this was a potential money-spinner and ignored the advice. However, the more I read about primitive reflexes and the more fascinated I became, the more I realised that it was something I needed to experience – if only to understand the changes we were seeing on a daily basis in my child.

I decided to take that time out for myself – I went along, was fully assessed and did exercises daily in order to experience what my child experienced. And I changed – enormously – for the better. The experience dramatically improved my social anxiety, as well as my ability to connect so much better with my child, which is completely key to seeing positive results. A prescriptive “working on” approach when working with neuroplasticity therapies is not as effective as a “working with” approach.

The same happened when I trained in the SSP. Of course, I used it on myself before using with my children. And of course, I had the same excitement and impatience as my clients often have when they first approach me! At first, all I noticed was calm and spontaneous joy – and later came the realisation that my connection with my children, patience and ability to co-regulate effectively had all improved so dramatically that my children had CHANGED – without my children even going through the SSP themselves.

By the time it was their turn, the outcome was so noticeable that I remember being stopped at school pick-up time by the teacher, who wanted to know what we had done as there was such a marked change in my child’s focus and attention.

For example, if a parent’s motive for using the SSP is to “fix” their child, it’s unlikely they’ll notice as much of a benefit as if they work with themselves first and then with their child. When children have undesirable “reactions” to the Safe and Sound Protocol, it is because a child’s primitive brain is feeling under attack – the SSP can make this more sensitive.

Working with the Safe and Sound Protocol is like buying a beautiful piece of well-loved antique furniture – a table, for example, complete with blobs of paint and scratches, applying paint stripper and giving it a good rub down:

If you then nurture and look after that piece of furniture, perhaps applying a coat of varnish or wax and protecting it with coasters when you put a mug of tea down on it, it will gleam in it’s new setting (equating to co-regulation and providing cues of safety). If you, however, don’t look after it and stick hot mugs of tea down, or allow the children to draw on it with sharp, scratchy pencils, it’s going to quickly return to the way it was before you did all that work.

I specialise in working with the Safe and Sound Protocol with neurodivergent families. For this reason, my pricing includes a parent and child and full coaching in polyvagal theory and how to use the Safe and Sound Protocol for YOUR FAMILY. This looks completely different for each family. For example, the SSP for PDA involves ensuring that a child understands that this is going to work for them on THEIR terms – not mine. Another good reason for parents to go first!

If you would like to understand how the SSP could work for your family, please book a discovery call.

ATNR:Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Moro reflex Spinal Galant Reflex SSP: Safe and Sound Protocol STNR: Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex

Retained Reflexes in Adults: Could you be compensating for primitive reflexes?

I often use my own experiences as a private pilot to explain compensation to new clients who want to know about retained reflexes in adults – the concept of working extra hard as a result of retained primitive reflexes due to a not quite “typically”-wired brain:

I was an average child who grew up in the 1970s. I played outdoors in all weathers, possibly a lot more than the children of today – skipping, French elastic, climbing frames, gymnastics, tree-climbing, getting muddy etc.

I was talking in full sentences when I was a year old, could read my name at 15 months and was reading when I was tiny (not sure how old). I remember being shocked that children had to read out loud when I started in Reception, though – I’d been reading in my head for ages before that. I didn’t really crawl – I went straight to walking at about 15 months. I can remember trying and failing to crawl – because I have a ridiculously early memory. I was also EXCESSIVELY shy. I found nursery school just too noisy and scary and remember hiding until I was picked up the ONE time that my mother left me at a big nursery school. I ended up going to a small playgroup at someone’s house, and have very fond memories of it, even now – even though I was only about three years old when I started going there.

Oh… also, nobody ever believes quite how early my memories go back. You won’t either, so I’m not going to tell you. But it’s not normal to remember anything from the first few months of life, and yet I do.

At school, I learnt to write easily. I wasn’t brilliant at maths, but not everyone is, right? My forte was always language and music. Well, I now think I may well be dyscalculaic, and I know that I have slower than average processing speed. I found times tables horrific to learn, and would always be last to finish in maths tests. I also found swimming front crawl particularly difficult, and found sitting comfortably still all day at school a challenge!

Retained reflexes in adults

So, when I started training in primitive reflex integration, seven years ago, I was slightly shocked to discover that I am not “neurotypical”. Walking at 15 months, skipping crawling, being excessively shy, not being able to master that cross-lateral front crawl movement and being as atrocious at maths as me is not “normal” development. But who cares? I have been successful in life! I did really well in my previous career. I can also fly light aircraft, so surely my brain must be functioning reasonably well? And yes, it is…

But… when I went on a course on the effect of retained primitive reflexes on reading and writing a few years back, I discovered to my great surprise that I had not developed a head-righting reflex! This is an adult postural reflex, which should start to emerge at around 3 months of age, and its absence causes vestibular issues, and makes reading – in particular copying from a board – and maintaining attention particularly difficult.

To test, you get a person to sit look at an object a few metres away. You then move their shoulders from side to side, and watch what the head does. If the reflex is present (as it should be), the eyes will remain level with the horizon. If it has not emerged, the head will follow the rest of the body.

The trainer showed us some isometric pressures that can be applied to help develop the head-righting reflex, and, as if by magic, within minutes mine started to emerge! I remember hearing gasps from the other course participants.

Out of interest, I went flying in a two-seater plane a couple of weeks later and did a few steep turns to see whether anything had changed. Well… normally, steep turns had the effect of making me feel disoriented and I would always lose hundreds of feet, no matter how many times I practiced and no matter how much I concentrated. However, with a head-righting reflex in place, my eyes stayed on the horizon and I maintained height for the first time since I started flying in 2003! I no longer felt disoriented either.

I often see private pilots in the early stages of training saying that they feel sick, and receiving advice on motion sickness bands, ginger etc – I often wonder whether they have a head-righting reflex or whether I could help them with it.

I’ve also brought this adult postural reflex online in several children and adults that I’ve worked with – it’s always a thrill. If it doesn’t happen immediately, something else is blocking it, however.

I digress….

The point of this post is to show that almost all of us are walking around compensating for difficulties that we are unaware of. To us, these difficulties are the norm, but they need not be! If a child is struggling with confidence, attention or the three Rs, it is well worth taking a look to see whether their reflex profile might be causing them to compensate.

So what can we do about it?

Primitive Reflexes

As a neuro-developmental therapist, I test for active baby reflexes, and help people to gradually mature these reflexes, using a combination of gentle foetal/newborn baby movements and pressures. Until you have experienced this for yourself, it is very hard to explain how it feels to suddenly have a challenge you have been used to for your entire life suddenly removed.

In my case, while my brain has indeed always allowed me to cope very well in the world and achieve things like learning to speak multiple foreign languages with ease, play the violin and fly light aircraft, things still could have been easier for me if I’d had integrated reflexes earlier.

Integrating primitive reflexes simply means that connections from the brainstem to higher levels of the brain will work more efficiently and not take the long way around all the time.

I now find that I can do things that I used to struggle with far more effortlessly – for example,

Getting butterflies before a stressful meeting: gone
Ability to listen and concentrate: vastly improved
Processing speed: vastly improved
Auditory processing: vastly improved
Ability to express myself clearly under stress: vastly improved
Procrastination: greatly reduced – especially when it comes to writing a blog post or completing a daunting form

If you would like to find out how reflex integration might help you, please do get in touch or book an appointment

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FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Moro reflex Neuroplasticity retained reflexes retained reflexes Spinal Galant Reflex Uncategorized

Co-Regulation and Whole Brain Approach in Primitive Reflex Integration

In the years I’ve been working with neuroplasticity and primitive reflex integration, I’ve lost count of the number of parents who want to know the % their child’s reflexes are retained, as well as EXACTLY which reflexes are retained.

Primitive reflex integration

It is really important to know that we are not JUST looking at an exact percentage! We’re looking at the full picture. In fact, I do not even NEED to test a child’s (or their parent’s) reflexes in order to start working with them – I can see what I need to do by the time they’ve sat down in the room. The reflex tests are really only for the benefit of watching progress – but we also do that by watching behaviour, emotions and cognition from the time a child heads off with a new set of movements to work with.

Additionally, it’s important to understand that if we do not see a reflex reaction when we test, it doesn’t mean it’s not there: we also look at whether a body is compensating and trying to hide the presence of a reflex (very common in children with a strong fear paralysis reflex). It’s also possible that a reflex has not even emerged yet, which is why I rarely test for a huge range of reflexes initially.

Also, while a programme of movements is important, it is useful for parents to know that by co-regulating with and working WITH your child, you’ll almost certainly see the best results. If you push your child through a programme of movements that are impossible for them to grasp, all you’ll do is stress yourself and your child.

A few years back, I was contacted by someone who was concerned their child wasn’t making progress with another practitioner. After doing some delving, I discovered that this parent was putting their child through around half an hour of movements every single day. Rather than progressing, this child had “regressed” significantly – massive meltdowns and zoning out at school – due to the parent working ON rather than WITH.

Obviously, we all want quick fixes, but neuroplasticity is NEVER a quick fix, and it really isn’t something you can force on someone without attuning to their nervous system.

I love it when parents are fascinated by my work and want to give it a go too. By jumping onto my mat and experiencing passive movements for themselves, they are learning how it feels, which in turn helps them to deliver those movements more effectively for their child – asking for feedback while working with.

There are some children who simply cannot go through a primitive reflex assessment. That is fine! As I mentioned above, I do not need to test reflexes to know what we need to do. Very often, I have my gym ball with me. This is a great piece of equipment because children instinctively know how to use it to integrate their own reflexes. Sometimes they’ll sit on it and bounce, and other times they’ll use it to propell themselves around. This gives me a lot more information than merely getting a child to go through reflex tests: it gives me important information on how to calm their nervous systems.

My 55cm gym ball – the most popular activity in my clinic!

The point of me writing this post is that in order to make the very best progress, the following factors need to be in place:

Parents need to invest in the process
This is about working WITH your child, not ON them – co-regulation is at the heart of safety
Do not fixate on reflexes – this is a whole brain/body approach, and your connection with your child is fundamental for their progress
Allow your child to lead you – watch for signs of them trying to integrate their own reflexes.
Consistency is key. You cannot stop/start or only contact your therapist when it suits you – you need to make a commitment to do movements 5-7 times a week with your child and visit your therapist every 4-6 weeks on average

To find your nearest neurodevelopmental therapist, you can use this directory

Book your initial appointment here!

FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Moro reflex

Primitive reflexes: emotional and mental health and the highly sensitive person

In this article, I’m going to look at the basics of some of the primitive reflexes that I test for. This post looks at the Fear Paralysis Reflex (FPR), Moro Reflex and Babkin reflex, and how these impact on our emotional and mental health.

highly sensitive person

“Highly Sensitive People” tend to have ALL these reflexes active, as do those with autism spectrum conditions, ADHD/ADD, anxiety, depression and dyspraxia, as well as having incredibly sensitive nervous systems that are constantly on alert for threat. It is important to mention at this point that I do not even look at a person’s medical diagnosis – I purely look at their combination of reflexes and how this affects behaviour, emotions and their unique nervous system.

These particular reflexes must be matured and integrated for a person to feel safe in the world. They are completely involuntary, governed by the brainstem. When babies are born, their little movements are not random… they are all reflexive, not voluntary, controlled movement.

In order for a baby to develop and move to the next little milestone, they involuntarily repeat these movement patterns over and over again until neural pathways are myelinated, at which point, the reflex matures and they move onto the next set of movement patterns.

Cell Danger Response

The cellular reaction is known as the “Cell Danger Response“, a term coined by Robert Naviaux. The theory is mitochondria are affected by environmental threat/injury, affecting behaviour, health, fertility, resilience and susceptibility to disease.

Fear Paralysis Reflex (FPR)

This cellular response, in reflex terms, goes on to become known as the fear paralysis reflex at around five weeks post conception. The fear paralysis reflex is at its peak at around nine weeks post conception and should merge with the emerging Moro reflex and integrate before thirty-two weeks.

The most effective way to address trauma at a cellular and autonomic nervous system level is by using the Safe and Sound Protocol, followed by skilled and trauma-informed bodywork, using a carefully designed programme of movement, which is designed to help reset the central nervous system.

highly sensitive person

If the fear paralysis reflex does not integrate fully, it will prevent other primitive and postural reflexes from emerging and integrating effectively.

Someone with an active FPR will not feel safe outside their close, familiar surroundings.

Characteristics of a retained FPR reflex are:

Finds it hard to express opinions
Does not like to draw attention to self
Issues with eye contact – either can’t make appropriate eye contact, or will stare inappropriately
Prefers to withdraw from social situations
Tactile defensiveness
Selective mutism
Panic attacks and anxiety
Phobias
Hypochondria
Inflexible outlook
Cannot take criticism
Has to always be right
Demand avoidance

If you think you or your child has an active FPR reflex, it is well worth seeking the help of a professional reflex integration therapist, as it may block later primitive and postural reflexes from emerging and integrating properly, so it is wise to have some help to unravel the puzzle,

It is worth mentioning that some people need to work with FPR, Babkin and Moro for many months or even years in order to integrate them.

Further reading on the FPR reflex

If you would like to read more about FPR and anxiety, I’ve written the blog post Why baby reflexes may be at the root of your anxiety. For how FPR affects sleep, you might find Sleep, anxiety, night terrors – and neuroscience useful. For opinion on social media and working in isolation, you might find Connection, isolation, social media, mental health and primitive reflexe s useful.

Moro Reflex

At around nine weeks of age, the Moro reflex starts to emerge. It is responsible for filling a baby’s lungs with air when it is first born. It should mature and become the Strauss (startle) reflex at around 4-6 months post birth.

If a baby requires artificial resuscitation at birth, the Moro reflex will not have a chance to emerge properly.

If the Moro reflex remains in the system. a person will not have a well-modulated fight or flight response.

Characteristics of a retained Moro reflex are:

Sensory processing difficulties, shutting off sensory input that they cannot handle (overwhelm)
Problems socialising with peers
Over-reactions, anxiety and emotional outbursts
Easily tired
Finds it hard to switch off
Argumentative and has to have the last word

If you think you may have an active Moro and/or FPR reflex, it is well worth going for an assessment if you can, as a qualified therapist will be able to help you work through a programme and learn movements that will help you manage yourself for life.

It is also worth mentioning that in order to develop and mature postural reflexes effectively, you will need to work with FPR and Moro first if they are present. This is because a person needs well-functioning connections between the brainstem and higher brain levels in order to progress with the postural reflexes.

Things you can do for an active Moro reflex:

Snow angel movements
Balance on a Bosu ball/air cushion
Row, row, row your boat
Kneel on a skateboard and scoot around

Further reading on the Moro reflex

For an insight into the Moro reflex, you may enjoy reading my article Why are some people just so ANGRY? You may also find my blog post on Sensory Processing Disorder useful. Although it does not specifically mention Moro, as I have explained it is the Moro reflex that is at the root of sensory modulation.

Babkin Reflex

The Babkin reflex emerges at around 13 weeks in utero and should mature and integrate to become the Bonding reflex by around four months post birth. It plays a major role in bonding and attachment.

In order for the Babkin to integrate, the clinging part of the Moro reflex must integrate too. Skin contact and cuddles with the mother, eye contact, movement (being carried and rocked) and proper nourishment are all essential to help a Babkin reflex integrate in a timely manner in an infant.

Characteristics of a retained Babkin reflex are:

Speech difficulties (articulation)
Makes movements with mouth when concentrating or drawing
Prone to dribbling
Cannot read body language effectively
Problems with pencil grip (too firm/too slack)
May appear to be thick skinned when talking to others, but over-sensitive when people are talking about them
Does not like being cuddled/unaffectionate
Eye contact issues
Difficulty with peer relationships
Hoarders/compulsive collectors/kleptomaniacs
Lies about the obvious
Appears detached, cold and unfeeling
Trust issues with self and others

Things you can do for an active Babkin reflex:

Press-ups against a wall
Winding wool around fingers
Picking marbles out of Theraputty
Scrunching paper as fast as possible

Further reading on the Babkin reflex

My review of Rocketman entitled Rocketman: alcoholism, drug addiction and eating disorders is about the Babkin reflex.

Be patient when attempting to integrate these reflexes with a therapist.

Reflexes can take a while to integrate, and you may see “regressive” behaviours as this starts to happen. Or you may see nothing at all, and question whether your hard work is doing anything.

One problem that I see is that people with various combinations of these reflexes tend to think it’s not going to work, and therefore avoid doing the movements I give them, making every excuse under the sun. I’ve even known of people who see a neuro-developmental therapist, don’t do the movements consistently and then tell everyone it doesn’t work…

Typical Moro!

If you would like to book an appointment in Horsham, Cranleigh or Dorking, please send me an e-mail.