retained reflexes Archives - Primitive reflex integration support for neurodivergent children under 10

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 retained reflexes Special Needs Education STNR: Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex TLR

Retained Reflexes And Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia

Retained Reflexes And Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia

Everyone has heard of dyslexia, but perhaps most people are less familiar with the terms dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia, which are also specific learning difficulties…

So, what do all these terms mean?

Dyspraxia is a neurological spectrum that involves difficulties in motor planning, coordination as well as organisation of thought, sequencing and working memory and often extreme difficulties in setting thoughts down on paper. Dyspraxia can also come with sensory processing difficulties, anxiety and difficulties socialising, and can often be misdiagnosed as autism.

Dyslexia can be defined as a specific learning difficulty that is neurological in origin, which results in difficulties learning to read and spell.

Dyscalculia is a numeracy equivalent of dyslexia, involving extreme difficulties with numbers, calculations and numerical reasoning.

Dysgraphia is characterised by extreme difficulty or avoidance in getting thoughts down on paper, with poor or often illegible handwriting.

What causes specific learning difficulties?

All these dys- diagnoses are caused by under-developed connections in the corpus callosum and irregularities in the parietal lobe. This causes a disconnect between left and right hemisphere and means that information between the two hemispheres cannot be processed as efficiently as someone with a fully functional corpus callosum. Added to this, problems with balance and coordination.

Underlying all these specific learning difficulties is a cascade of retained reflexes. Most with these SPLDs will have the following reflexes active: Fear Paralysis, Moro, Landau, Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex and Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex. It may be that these children/adults did not learn to roll effectively, get up on hands and knees and start to rock before reaching a hand out and starting to crawl, or to cross crawl during the appropriate developmental window, or that they skipped crawling altogether, perhaps they were late to meet milestones…

Does this sound familiar? If so, never fear! It is possible to repattern the brain to a certain extent, which will reduce or even eliminate these challenges.

You see, these developmental milestones aren’t simply there for fun – as they happen, our primitive reflexes gradually integrate. If we hit developmental milestones early or late or skip them altogether, we can expect to see reflexes hanging around in our systems. In fact, every one of us has a few, but it’s the extent to which they are retained that may or may not cause problems or learning difficulties.

I worked with a little boy of seven with extreme difficulties with the three Rs. He also had problems learning to ride a bike and had an extremely uncoordinated gait. So we got to work, and within a week of starting Rhythmic Movement Training, we saw improved eye tracking and he was suddenly able to ride his bike without stabilisers after two years of trying really hard to do so!

Difficulties learning to ride a bicycle can be related to the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex

His difficulties were all related to the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, and his inability to separate head movements from arm movements. This stems from the time that this little boy was a baby, preparing to roll over, and turned his head to look at an outstretched arm, bending the opposite arm – something he never managed to get out of his system, because all his milestones were delayed – crawling at only 13 months and walking at 19 months.

We are now well into an Rhythmic Movement Training programme, and the differences are staggering. Many of his sensory processing signals – spinning, flapping, problems with sudden loud noises etc, have completely disappeared. His coordination has improved, his hypermobility has reduced noticeably, and his balance is much better – in fact, the latest is that he is learning to snowboard!

Rhythmic Movement Training is so called because we are training our brains to make the connections we should have made as babies, and training our bodies to notice small differences that can help us move forward – behaviourally, emotionally and academically.

Programmes involve an assessment taking around an hour, followed by shorter follow-up sessions every four weeks, and a bespoke programme of special movements for around 5 minutes per day, every single day.

Check https://rhythmicmovement.org/consultants for your nearest Rhythmic Movement Training consultant.

Neuroplasticity retained reflexes retained reflexes Special Needs Education Uncategorized

DIY Primitive Reflex Exercises

I’ve always warned against DIY primitive reflex exercises without the careful guidance of a practitioner.

However, realistically speaking, not everyone has the budget to commit long-term to a programme with a practitioner, some people live a long way from a practitioner, and people will always look for ways to try to do this work for themselves – I know I would have been the same.

I am now happy to endorse an alternative that’s second-best to coming to see a therapist in person. I do stress that this is second best, as it’s a programme that will not address the earliest piece of the development puzzle in the same way that the Safe and Sound Protocol and RMTi do.

It’s a self-managed listening programme consisting of 20 hours of music coupled with a movement programme, devised by Tomatis, called Soundsory. Soundsory uses bone conduction headphones coupled with an ecclectic rhythmic collection of music and a movement programme, which is available via a login allocated when you sign up.

Soundsory

Soundsory can help with sensory, emotional, motor coordination and learning challenges by primarily targetting the vestibular system. However, if a person would be unable to copy or replicate the movements, it may be necessary to modify the programme to incorporate passive movements, with input by me.

I would still always recommend the Safe and Sound Protocol as a pre-cursor to Soundsory, but this is a great do-it-yourself, home-based programme for those who either do not have time to come into clinic or do not have the funds to complete a bespoke reflex integration programme.

What I like about this programme is that it’s yours to own for a one-off cost, and requires no practitioner input or monthly subscriptions. If you get on well with this, you could later consider signing up for one of the longer term programmes, but then again, you might want to repeat Soundsory.

Buy Soundsory

DIY Primitive Reflex Exercises It’s a self-managed listening programme consisting of 20 hours of music coupled with a movement programme, devised by Tomatis, called Soundsory. Soundsory uses bone conduction headphones coupled with an ecclectic rhythmic collection of music and a movement programme, which is available via a login allocated when you sign up.