Previously anxious girl now enjoys baking class and hanging out with friends
This preteen with severe social anxiety didn’t like to leave the house, even to see familiar people and places. She could not make eye-contact, and her legs would shake uncontrollably during conversations. By integrating her reflexes and using the 5-Step Balance from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course, she resolved these issues and was able to reconnect with friends as well as participate in a baking class.
Submitted by Christine Siu, M.Sci., M.Psy.Med., Registered Clinical Counsellor
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Avoided all eye contact | Able to initiate eye contact |
| Extreme anxiety in social situations | Less anxiety when talking to people, and able to hang out with friends |
| Response to fear was to cry, legs would shake, and she would bite her fingers | No more crying, shaking, or finger biting in response to fear |
| Unable to go out of the house | Requesting to attend a basketball camp and a baking class |
This is a 12-year-old girl who struggles with social anxiety, suspected with ADHD. I meet with this girl weekly and I’ve been working with her for more than 2 years. We started doing the [Brain and Sensory Foundations] movements in February 2025, and the reason for starting the integration of her innate reflexes is to help with her anxiety and reduce the ADHD symptoms.
I first tried the FPR [Fear Paralysis Reflex] and the Moro Reflex as I suspected an over-reactive flight-fight-freeze response. For the integration activities, I did the Fear Release Tapping Points [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] and I invited the girl’s mother to place the girl’s hands at the back over the kidney areas while they can maintain a hug-like position and improve their bonding too. The girl reported less anxiety when she talks to people, and she even was able to make up with her old friends and hang out with them again!
After she got familiar with the movements, I started doing the 5-Step Balance [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] with her. She wanted to work on her eye contact, so her goal was: “I can look into people’s eyes confidently when I talk to them”.
The girl and I decided to set a benchmark to measure and record the progress and she decided to use the frequency of crying out of fear, the intensity of legs shaking, and the frequency of finger biting as the benchmark. Before we tried the 5-Step Balance, the girl was not able to go out with her mom, not even go to the places that she has been or meet with the people that she knows. She shaked both of her legs vigorously and avoided eye contact when she talked. I also worked on her ATNR [Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex], as I hoped to reduce her ADHD symptoms. When I first stimulated her ATNR, her shoulders were very tense.
After 4 weekly sessions, 1 hour a week, the girl was able to initiate eye contact and shaked only one leg when she talked. Mom also reported that the girl told her that she would like to join different classes including the basketball camp and a baking class, although she didn’t join at the last minute. Her shoulders were also more relaxed. The relationship between her and her mom also improved, which I believe was the effect of the FPR integration activity that I invited mom to help her with. After 8 weekly sessions, the girl does not shake her legs or bite her fingers, and she is able to maintain eye contact when she talks. She also shared more about what she does with her friends at school instead of concerns about her social life. She joined a baking class and likes to share her hand-made pastry with her friends and family. Now when I stimulate her ATNR it is integrated. She also reported that she has not cried with anxiety for more than 3 weeks.
(Edited, emphasis added)