Spinal Galant Reflex Archives - Move2Connect Primitive Reflex Integration

Understanding W-Sitting: Causes and Solutions for Your Child

Does your child sit in this position?

This is known as “w-sitting”. You may or may not have heard that it’s not a great position for the hips, or that it’s “bad”.

Your child sits like this because they are comfortable sitting like this.

I’m about to tell you what causes a child to sit like this. I will explain what consequences it may have for attention and learning. I also will explain what you can do to help them.

Why do some children prefer w-sitting?

This W position is very comfortable for a child with a weak core. Your child may have been diagnosed with hypermobility – or perhaps not. They may fall over frequently, they may get exhausted easily compared to their peers. In class, they will find it hard to sit comfortably in a chair. They might keep experimenting with several different positions in one sitting. They never truly feel comfortable with their feet flat on the floor.

W-sitting is a classic sign of an unintegrated STNR (Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex).

Observing Typical development

This wonderful video demonstrates beautifully how it *should* happen, within the appropriate developmental window:

Let me make a very important point:

Merely stopping a child from w-sitting will not address the neurological cause, and will not address the knock-on effects of having poor core stability, nor the future problems it may cause.

Here’s a real-life example, which at the time produced several hilarious memes. Jacob Rees-Mogg looked like someone with an STNR reflex when he famously slumped around during Brexit debates.

I was talking to my son’s teacher when he was in Reception. She told me that there is a noticeable reduction in stamina and core strength in children these days. A large proportion of children in Reception classes are unable to support themselves when sitting or drawing. They struggle at a table or even on the mat during story time.

Why this epidemic?

Well… we are simply not allowing our children to move enough. We are restricting movement by using “equipment” and props. Some babies end up sitting in car seats for hours at a time, or end up in jumparoos, Bumbos, or even being “worn” for longer than absolutely necessary. Later on, children tend to move less, glued to screens for long periods of time. Play areas are now hyper-safe, with protection against knocks, bumps etc. When I was growing up, most children had a scab on their knees several times a term – for example, we were allowed to take roller skates to school – and accidents on skates, other than the odd bleeding knee, were very rare.

What babies REALLY need is to be given plenty of floor time and as children, plenty of opportunities to explore surroundings, in order to work out how to organise their bodies for themselves, how to integrate their reflexes and move on to the next stage of development – unprompted.

After all, if you help a chick hatch, it will fail to thrive.

So, what causes w-sitting?

As I’ve mentioned, w-sitting is a symptom of a weak core. It is likely that a child will have skipped a stage of development. It is almost certain that these children will have an active STNR (Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex), which is a transitional reflex that follows the Moro, TLR and ATNR. It emerges at around four to six months of age and integrates between nine to twelve months of age – but only if rolling, sitting, rocking on hands and knees, crawling, pulling to standing and walking have happened within an appropriate timeframe.

Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex and w-sitting

The STNR reflex allows a child to understand arm, leg and body movements without moving the head. It also affects the development of binocular vision and binaural hearing.

Children who have never integrated the STNR often have learning challenges. When I say challenges, these need not necessarily be obvious. These children find it hard to sit in chairs or at tables, often slumped, with their legs wrapped around the legs of their chair for support, and can find themselves copying from a board slower than peers who do not have this reflex retained.

STNR Reflex and Vision

The other striking difference to note between my own year 6 class photo and my son’s year 6 class photo is this: In 1983, only one child in the class was wearing glasses. This was quite unusual. In my son’s year 6 class (taken a couple of years ago), about a third of the children wear glasses. This is because w-sitting is also linked to challenges with near-to-far vision.

Having an active STNR often means that vision and hearing senses have not properly developed. STNR children often find sport a challenge as their hand-eye coordination tends to be poor due to not developing sufficient connections between the left and right hemispheres, which will affect reading and writing.

It is also important to know that just because someone has a six pack, it doesn’t mean that their STNR has integrated. Reflex integration will not happen unless the body re-patterns in a specific way. So, no, I do not want to see your abs as proof of your core strength, thank you.

The STNR reflex can be integrated using the rhythmic movement patterns observed in foetuses and new-borns. You may be able to help by allowing your child to MOVE as nature intended – take them to the park, get them to walk around in a crab position, get them to wheel themselves around on their tummy on a skateboard, get them to use a balance ball, try family yoga classes or ballet…

In order for the STNR to integrate fully, it is sensible to look at what else is active and work through a movement programme to help the brain make the appropriate neural connections. These movements can take as little as five minutes a day.

For a one-hour 1:1 online consultation with me, or to book a free 20 minute discovery call, or an appointment at my clinic (and yes – I do work with adults too!), you can book here.

Please note that I can only give pointers online – I can only work effectively with clients in-person.

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I am a qualified Rhythmic Movement Training International practitioner and trainee trainer.

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

The vital role of parents in Primitive Reflex Integration programmes

In the years I’ve been working with neuroplasticity and primitive reflex integration programmes, 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.

Primitive Reflex Integration Programmes

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.

Regression, by the way, does not mean that a brain has gone backwards or shrunk, or anything sinister like that. It means that a person is stuck in fight/flight/freeze, and is simply more sensitive to their environment. For example, things that upset or trigger them are even more upsetting/triggering than usual. People tend to call behaviours “regressions” when they uncomfortable to be around.

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!

ATNR:Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex Babkin reflex FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Moro reflex retained reflexes retained reflexes Spinal Galant Reflex STNR: Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex TLR

The Hidden Key: Ways Retained Primitive Reflexes May Impact Your Daily Life

Trying to explain what retained primitive reflexes are in an elevator pitch- style presentation is very difficult. This requires more than a 30 second summary.

The elevator pitch version of what I do is that I work to help primitive reflexes to integrate. These are the reflexes we are all born with, which should have disappeared in the first two years of our lives, as we progress through the “typical” milestones, such as rolling, sitting, crawling, etc, within the “typical” window of development. If we do not integrate these primitive reflexes, they remain “retained” in our systems, and cause emotional, behavioural and learning challenges throughout life.

When people ask what I do, some think it’s some sort of wacky alternative therapy. Some think it’s massage. Some think I’m somehow conveying energy or something like that to “recipients”. I don’t do ANY of these things, and to me, neuro-developmental therapy is anything but alternative! In fact, it’s something that could save squillions – if our health service would only adopt it.

So, what do I actually do, then?

Neuro-developmental therapy is a very gentle, movement-based, non-talking therapy, which gradually (sometimes suddenly) reduces social, emotional, behavioural and sensory challenges.

I work with central nervous systems and brains! I give the central nervous system and brain a second chance to develop typically if there has been a glitch in development.

Integrating retained primitive reflexes

Our development is like a very complex chain reaction: If a foetus’ development is interrupted in utero or during childbirth by some kind of stress/trauma, or a new-born’s development is interrupted by restricting movement or by some trauma, the next link in the chain cannot be completed, so neural connections are not as efficient as they would be without the interruption.

What this means going forward is that a person will have challenges – some noticeable and some that they are able to compensate for. As a matter of fact, most people have several glitches in their development that are not obvious to the untrained eye, but it is worth mentioning that our behaviour and personalities are very much shaped by our reflex profiles.

Neuroplasticity

Equally, I would like to emphasise that reflexes are just what we see on the surface. It is also extremely important to work with the gut and autonomic nervous system – otherwise you can do all the work you want with reflexes, but they’ll never fully integrate.

I work towards integration using foetal and newborn movement patterns, which mimic primitive reflex patterns, giving us a second chance to create the brain connections we should have created first time around.

How to integrate retained primitive reflexes

Every client who comes to me is a unique individual. Of course, part of the appointment involves testing for retained primitive reflexes, but I also carefully observe a client, taking in their use of language, movement, postural control and how they interact with me, a caregiver and their environment.

I may get children to draw a picture for me, and notice whether they are left or right handed, how they hold a pencil, what colours they use, how their pencil control and colouring is… after observing, I will home in on a few reflexes that I want to assess. I’ll then get my client to do some work with me, which involves a series of rhythmic and pre-birth movements and pressures that I get the client to resist.

For this reason, every client will receive a unique programme of movements. With any kind of neuroplasticity work, it’s a case of little and often, so I require my clients to stick to their programme daily, come rain or shine. However, a programme will often be as little as 5 minutes per day or sometimes even less.

I use a combination of Rhythmic Movement Training and somatic movement to integrate reflexes.

Signs of retained primitive reflexes

What happens if primitive reflexes are retained?

Poor emotional regulation
Inability to focus
Sensory processing difficulties
Mixing up left and right
Difficulty with motor planning and coordination
Anxiety
Shyness
Being a hyperchondriac
Self harm
Poor core strength – especially when children (and adults) w-sit

How do you get rid of retained primitive reflexes?

Sometimes I can get a person to notice differences almost immediately. Sometimes it takes months of peeling back layers to get to the root of a problem.

In the future, it is my dream to get the NHS to recognise neuro-developmental therapy as a way to help children (and adults), but in the meantime, you can visit me at my clinic in Sussex.

They say that if you find a job you love, you’ll never work another day. For me and my colleagues specialising in neuro-developmental therapy, this cannot be more true. I feel that I’ve found my vocation: seeing people transform through movement is the most rewarding experience I could ever wish for.

FPR: Fear Paralysis Reflex Moro reflex Spinal Galant Reflex

Sensory Processing Difficulties and Primitive Reflexes 101

Sensory processing difficulties.

For many parents of neurodivergent children, sensory processing difficulties might be the first thing that they noticed as “different” from peers.

I have used the term Sensory Processing Difficulties in this blog title as opposed to “disorder” because a disorder is a permanent condition – and a diagnosis that doesn’t exist universally. In my work, I look at the expression of the brain and nervous system – I do not diagnose because by working with neuriplasticity, a set of symptoms/presentations change.

This article explains how movement and the integration of primitive reflexes can really help reduce or even eliminate the sensory challenges of someone with SPD.

What causes sensory processing disorder (SPD)?

In brief, sensory processing disorder (SPD) or sensory processing challenges are down to a differently wired brain. The part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) – within the brainstem – has not formed strong enough neural connections with the thalamus and higher sensory processing levels of the neocortex. This means that the brain cannot process sensory input efficiently, so we see sensory overwhelm, distractedness or even fear.

The involuntary movements we make as foetuses and newborns are doing a vital job: They are forming neural connections. These involuntary movements – reflexes – should disappear within the first year of life, giving way to adult postural reflexes and conscious movement, controlled by the cerebellum. However, if these primitive reflexes remain active in the system, it will mean that the brain has not formed the optimal neural connections from the brainstem, and consequently we may see sensory processing, motor coordination, emotional or behavioural challenges.

In my clinic, I assess for primitive reflexes and then work with the child and their parents to help integrate reflexes that might be causing challenges. This is done by repeating precisely the movement patterns that foetuses and newborns make, which helps the reflexes gradually integrate and helps the brain and central nervous system move to the next stage of development. It is important to remember that reflex integration is not a quick fix – in fact, it can take months for people to move on from their old patterns of posture and behaviour. However, you will see significant change.

What does Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) look like?

You might notice some of the following (not an exhaustive list):

Doesn’t respond to name
Zones out
Stims (hand flapping, making noises)
Difficulties with focus and concentration
Chews or spits on things
Restrictive food intake
Difficulties with motion / balance /coordination

Can a child overcome sensory processing disorder?

Using a bottom-up approach by addressing the nervous system, in a nutshell, yes. We can work to dramatically reduce these difficulties by calming the nervous system.

I had one little boy in clinic whose parents had marked around fifty of his frequent sensory behaviours in Angie Voss’s excellent book Understanding Your Child’s Sensory Signals. Following just three months of a reflex integration programme using RMTi (Rhythmic Movement Training International) methodology, this reduced to just fourteen sensory signals, and two years further on, just four. The sensory signals included behaviours such as flapping, spinning, humming, chewing, dribbling, making eye contact, etc. He is now a calmer, more present child, able to express his feelings verbally – as opposed to his nervous system being on constant alert.

You can also try to include various movements into your child’s day, every day, although when working with emotional or behavioural challenges, it is preferable to see a trained professional.

FPR Moro Reflex — A retained Moro Reflex is at the root of sensory processing difficulties

Try the following:

Cat arches, snow angels, star jumps, lying on back and pretending to be an anemone and slowly opening to become a starfish, and then back to anemone.

I hold a clinic in a home environment. in the Sussex countryside, and have after school and weekend appointments. Please contact me if you would like to discuss or find out more.

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In brief, sensory processing disorder (SPD) is down to a differently wired brain. The part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) – within the brainstem – has not formed strong enough neural connections with the thalamus and higher sensory processing levels of the neocortex. This means that the brain cannot process sensory input efficiently, so we see sensory overwhelm, distractedness or even fear.

This article explains how movement and the integration of primitive reflexes can really help reduce or even eliminate the sensory challenges of someone with SPD.