September 2018

Marla’s mother told me that Marla is extremely intelligent, even more than her age, however, her social skills leave much to be desired.  “It is a shame,”, she sighed.  “I know how clever she is, but at school, and among the children in the neighborhood, she is considered strange because of her lack of tact, to the point that she has no friends.  Before she entered first grade, they even wanted us to consider putting her in a special school, but we were not willing to do so since she is so great with reading and math, so we compromised on putting her into a class with children a year younger than her and we were sure that her babyish behavior would improve, but so far it’s only getting worse…”

I had Marla try to fall backwards, and she got very scared.  I asked her how she feels about us popping a balloon, but she didn’t like that idea at all.  I then tested her vestibular skills (standing on one foot, walking heel to toe on a thin board, etc….) and they were not up to par.  I could see that we were definitely dealing with at least Moro reflex, FPR and TLR, and possibly more reflexes.  I suggested to the mother that we begin with rhythmic movements [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course], and since my program is set up in such a way that I often see a client only once every few weeks, I also showed them how to get started working a little with the Moro reflex, with instructions to begin with that after two weeks’ time if everything goes well with the rhythmic movements. 

I decided to start with the Moro reflex [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] because that fright or flight just seemed to be so basic and foundational in this case.  

Two weeks later, I spoke with Marla’s mom over the phone.  She said that Marla is enjoying the rhythmic movements, and she had started working on the Moro reflex as well just a few days before our conversation.  She said that just understanding what was underlying Marla’s difficulties already made the whole situation easier to deal with, and asked me if I could speak to Marla’s teacher and explain to her what was going on.  I did so, and this proved to be a very beneficial conversation.  Even before Marla actually improved enough for her teacher to notice her improvements, just the fact that the teacher gained an understanding of what was happening, and realized that there is a reason for her Marla’s stubbornness and lack of flexibility, made such a difference in the way Marla was accepted in the classroom. 

Even if she had to be disciplined, it was coming from a place of understanding, rather than a place of frustration

October 2018

We had two 5-Step Balance sessions [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] on the Moro reflex throughout the month, and Marla’s mother received instruction to work with Marla on this reflex at home, as well as continue with the rhythmic movements. They didn’t always manage to do both every day, but they did at least something several times a week. 

November 2018

Marla’s mother was able to report a definite improvement in her behavior.  She was becoming much more polite, her behavior much more refined and mature, and though she could still be obstinate at times, there were definitely times that she was flexible and willing to consider the needs of others. 

At this point, we added in work on the fear paralysis reflex [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course], both because it goes nicely with the Moro reflex and also because Marla was complaining of certain fears that were bothering her.  

December 2018

At this session, we decided to still stick with the Moro reflex and FPR and I showed Marla’s mother how to stimulate the Moro reflex and FPR before appropriate playtimes so that even on days when they had no time to do an official “session”, Marla would benefit reflex-wise, for example stimulating FPR and playing hide and seek, or stimulating Moro reflex and then going on a trampoline… 

January 2019

I received a beautiful letter from Marla’s grandmother in which she says that she feels her granddaughter was born anew.  “I couldn’t reach out to her before,” the grandmother said.  “I couldn’t figure out what she wanted and couldn’t develop a normal relationship with her.  Thank God, that is now history.” 

On the monthly visit, since her behavior had really improved, we decided to leave FPR and Moro reflex for the meantime, and work on the vestibular issues, since she wanted to be able to join her classmates in jump-rope and other sports, which she had always had trouble with.  I did a balance session with TLR and core activation [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course], and showed them how to work on these reflexes at home, also supporting this work with different vestibular activities such as rolling, swinging, walking on a narrow board, etc… 

February 2019

I spoke to Marla’s mother on the telephone, she was very satisfied with the progress.  We decided to continue with the TLR and core activation and of course rhythmic movements which she was doing throughout.

March 2019

Towards the end of February, Marla’s mother gave birth to a baby, so we did not meet in March, nor in April. Marla was doing her activities from time to time and the progress she made was holding beautifully.

May 2019

We met and Marla was so bubbly and excited to tell about her new baby sister and as I sat and listened to her I could not help think about the contrast between her behavior now and the way she behaved when she visited me the first time…..yet, as she spoke I did notice that something about her finger movements were not exactly as they should be.  She kept on making unnecessary movements with her fingers, and I also remembered that her mother had mentioned that she thinks that her verbal expression could still be improved.  So, we began work on the hand and feet reflexes [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course].   

June 2019

Marla’s mother reported an improvement in the verbal expression, and though we had not yet gotten to Spinal Galant, nor checked ATNR or STNR, she decided that she’d like to take a break for the meantime. They had certainly earned a break – they had worked hard and seen beautiful results, thank God.  I did tell them to continue doing rhythmic movements even for just a couple minutes whenever they have time. 

July 2019

Marla’s mother called me with wonderful news. The principal of her daughter’s school had just called her to say that Marla’s behavior and social skills had improved so much over the past school year, and now that she was acting according to her age, and expressing herself better, her teacher has been discovering how bright Marla really is, and they have decided to put her up a grade so she can finally learn in the class that she belongs in chronologically! They did indeed do so, and during the current school year, Marla did come for some sessions in which for a time we went back to doing Moro reflex, and also did some Spinal Galant [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course].  Though the switch did have its difficulties, on the whole she is managing very well.  Her new classmates like her, and play with her as an equal, and her behavior at home is very much up to par. As her grandmother mentioned, she had truly been born anew. 

[Edited, emphasis added]