Primitive Reflex Integration Case Studies

Neurodevelopmental movements: Help for reading, writing, attention, and speech.

Rhythmic movements and primitive reflex integration helped this 6-year-old boy improve many aspects of learning. Key to his dramatic progress was the use of rhythmic movements at home. This case study shows just how profound the effects of neurodevelopmental movements can be!

Submitted by Briana Dannecker, MS, OTR/L

C.T. is a 6-year-old boy that was exhibiting deficits related to attention, social interaction, fine manual control associated with grasp, manipulation, precision, strength, hand dominance, and bilateral coordination, visual perceptual/visual motor skills, handwriting, spelling, reading, math, sensory processing, and motor planning/gross coordination.

I chose to begin by using the Brain Tune-up prior to non-preferred activities, specifically handwriting tasks, because C.T. often fixated on his dislike, discomfort, or fatigue rather than focusing on the task at hand. I quickly observed increased motivation and stamina when the Brain Tune-up was utilized; C.T. was completing these tasks in a shorter amount of time with fewer breaks provided. 

Two weeks following implementation of the Brain Tune-up, C.T.’s mother joined us in his therapy session to learn passive Rhythmic Movements [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course]. The caregiver education session took place on 10/15/2020, approximately 3 months ago. The very night of parent education, his mother reached out to tell me that C.T. had spelled 7/9 words correctly on his practice quiz, which was very rare. The next morning, C.T. did two of the rhythmic movements prior to leaving for school. He earned an A+ on the spelling test, spelling all words correctly, even the bonus word. His mother reported that he had gotten a 64 or lower on all previous spelling tests. 

C.T.’s caregiver is excellent with consistent carryover of rhythmic movements. I can see that C.T. is steadily becoming more coordinated with active facilitation, indicating brain maturity, and has also demonstrated improved self-advocacy for speed and duration of movements. I have begun to implement reflex integration work [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations® course] into our sessions together, as he exhibits an unintegrated TLR [Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex], ATNR [Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex], FPR [Fear Paralysis Reflex], Moro  [Reflex], Spinal Galant [Reflex], and hand reflexes. 

Following consistent carryover of Rhythmic Movements, his mother reported improved reading comprehension and phonological awareness with improved scores on assignments and exams in school. C.T. now demonstrates consistent right-hand dominance while utilizing an age-appropriate dynamic tripod grasp on his writing tools. 

He has displayed improved formation, sizing, spacing, line placement, and directionality of uppercase letters. C.T.’s mother often says, “His handwriting is better than mine!”. He demonstrates an improved attention span during all therapeutic tasks, including previously non-preferred activities. Therapists who have interacted with C.T. in the past spontaneously remark on his improved eye contact and conversational skills. 

From this client’s experience with a neurodevelopmental program, I learned how profound Rhythmic Movements alone can be. I am truly filled with gratitude and excitement for continued reflex integration work in addition to sustained implementation of rhythmic movements. 

[Edited for length and clarity; emphasis added]