Research on Primitive Reflex Integration and Rhythmic Movement

Relevance and Evidence-Based Rationale for Using Movements from the Brain and Sensory Foundations Courses

By Sonia Story 

 

Note: This refers to occupational therapy practice, but applies to parents and many professionals: physical therapists, speech therapists, vision therapists, trauma specialists, pain specialists, healthcare practitioners, mental health counselors, caregivers, and educators.

BONUS research slides. Go to this link for current supporting research for this program:
https://www.moveplaythrive.com/images/pdf/Bonus_Research_Slides.pdf

Occupational therapists (OTs and OTAs) help individuals participate in activities, or occupations, that are important to the specific individual’s daily life, goals and interests. Using a holistic approach and a variety of therapeutic tools, occupational therapists help individuals develop skills for success in meaningful activities (AOTA, 2017).

In the Brain and Sensory Foundations courses, we teach neurodevelopmental movements. Neurodevelopmental movements are the innate developmental, rhythmic, primitive reflex, and postural reflex movements of early infancy and childhood. Occupational therapists utilize these neurodevelopmental movements to improve balance, posture, motor skills, muscle strength, stamina, coordination, sensory processing skills and overall functioning for individuals of all ages.

Primitive and Postural Reflexes

The Brain and Sensory Foundations courses give theoretical and experiential learning of primitive and postural reflex patterns useful to occupational therapists for both assessment and intervention.

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Primitive Reflex Research Summaries

This research from the past 40 years highlights the impact of unintegrated reflexes on learning and behavior, as well as movement’s power to correct unintegrated reflexes.

Summaries excerpted from Sally Goddard Blythe’s book Reflexes, Learning and Behavior: A Window into the Child’s Mind. Emphasis added.

Clinical Research Summaries

1970

Gustafsson, an occupational therapist, carried out a study in which she compared the reflex levels of two groups of children: one group had been identified as having neurological impairment, the other group had no known neurological impairment. Reflex testing revealed a profile of abnormal reflexes in all of the group with neurological impairment. Eight out of the “normal” group, which comprised 19 children, also had some reflex abnormalities. Of these eight, it was subsequently found that one had behavior problems and the remainder had either reading or writing problems.

1971

Barbara Rider, an associate professor at the University of Kansas, who also was an occupational therapist, carried out a study in which she set out to assess the incidence of abnormal reflex responses in two groups of second-grade children: the first group had learning disabilities, the second had no identified learning problems. She found significantly more abnormal reflexes in the learning-disabled group than the normal group. She then compared scores on the Wide Range Achievement Tests (WRAT) to see if there was a correlation with a child’s abnormal reflex responses. Children whose reflexes fell within the normal range scored consistently higher on the WRAT tests than those who had abnormal reflexes.

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