INFANT REFLEXES...

                               WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
 

Brain and body development are underway from the moment of conception. Did you know that primitive reflexes also begin to develop in early stages of pregnancy?  When we are born and even before we are born, we have been programmed with automatic movement patterns that help us develop our brains and bodies. These patterns are called primitive reflexes. 

 

Primitive reflexes allow a very small baby to move and to survive. They are essential for helping baby develop head control, muscle tone and the ability to make sense of incoming sensory input. The primitive reflexes are controlled from the lower structures of the brain and the movements caused by the reflexes are stereotypical, innate and automatic.

 

We are also pre-programmed to make specific movements repetitively and rhythmically in order to take us through the stages of primitive reflex development and integration. Rhythmic Movement Training uses these innate movements to assist people of all ages to integrate primitive reflexes. This is how we "make the connections."

 

Sometimes reflexes do not become inhibited or integrated and remain present in our lives. When reflexes are not integrated, the brain does not make connections upwardly to the more complex structures such as the cortex. This may cause chronic stress on the brain and body and may result in difficulty in many aspects of life, including: posture, attention, communication, reading, writing, math, behavior, sensory and social aspects.      Click the reflex for potential problems associated with the reflex: