Primitive Reflex Integration

Hi, I’m Dana and I have been a pediatric physical therapist for 25 years. You can read more about my practice at the top of my channel. I see kids for a lot of different disabilities including developmental delay, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, genetic disorders, dystrophies, and more. I cannot give individualized medical advice on social media and you need your doctors permission to try any exercises with your child. A therapist needs to be trained in order to perform these highly skilled exercises.

I see kids for intensives in Cary, North Carolina for 1,2, or 3 weeks for 2 visits per day. We are able to show a lot of progress with our little patients and I share that to bring hope to other parents around the world. You can find booking information at the link at the top of my channel.

The exercises I use are based on Cueves Medek Exercises. We give novel experiences to kids to work on neuroplasticity of the brain which allows us to improve gross motor skills.


Please note: I have disclaimers on my page under highlights and also suggest that you always check with your pediatrician and therapist before starting any exercise with your child. Never force a child to turn their head!
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Also, I am just showing you what works for me and how I have treated ATNR in the past as it’s based on my anecdotal evidence and not any courses I have taken. I have not taken any courses in reflexes so I do not have references for you. This is based on my own information search and 23 years of experience.
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Reflex integration was not taught in PT school yet most of the kids I see have retained primitive reflexes. As therapists, we are missing this so I hope this can be of some help to you as well. You can’t expect great results on gross motor skills if you’re not addressing primitive reflexes. It’s going to keep causing issues with each new skill so this should be one of the first things we look for when evaluating.
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Take into account sensory integration issues as well and make sure the child is not exhausted when you start to integrate the reflex. Perhaps you darken the room, try it after a warm bath, and use quiet voices as reflex integration can be overwhelming to a child. Do not do it to the point of overwhelm and melt down.
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I know MNRI therapists do great work but I am not nearly patient enough and want results quickly. Remember, this is just something that works for me so please don’t come at me 😊.
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Integration activities could take weeks of consistent work and I encourage you to time the sessions and video so that you can compare it to when you started. If a child can maintain quadruped there are other ways to work on the ATNR.
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Timing for the activity is :
Turn head
Correct the action
Release.

#pediatrics #babydevelopment #pediatricphysicaltherapy
#reflexes