Rhythmic movements and primitive reflex integration address "freezing" in response to loud noises and social anxiety
This young woman reported freezing in response to loud noises, as well as social anxiety that hindered her ability to participate in group settings. Find out how rhythmic movements and integrating her Moro reflex helped ease her anxiety in social situations and prepare for an upcoming mission trip.
Submitted by Julie Seen OTR/L
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Reported “freezing” at work when there was a loud noise or if something stressed or surprised her; unable to speak or move | Not freezing like before |
| Feeling anxious about an upcoming trip | Feeling hopeful for the mission trip that was quickly approaching |
22 y.o. young adult with no history of diagnosis or therapy. She referred herself to me because she suspected herself as having ASD and reported “freezing” at work when there was a loud noise or if something stressed or surprised her. She reported she was unable to speak or move on several occasions and wondered if there was anything I could do. Normally, my answer would be no since I typically work with children 4- 18 yrs., however I was taking this course and what she was describing matched the description of the Fear Paralysis Reflex. I accepted her pro bono as a case study for this program. It is also important to note that although she has tremendous anxiety, she signed herself up to participate in a Christian Ministry program overseas. She thought it would be the best way to challenge herself and I had just a month and a half to get things going before her trip.
Challenges
I had to teach and set it up as a home program because I was not going to be able to see her weekly.
Rhythmic Movement Program (1-4) I taught her to do this to herself and gave her 2 weeks to get it started before moving on. Also taught her the Brain Tune ups [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course].
Due to scheduling, she returned in 3 weeks. She chose the stimulations of making a loud noise and the curled-up position with poke and withdrawal. Next, we did the fear release tapping that I taught her mother to do with her. We then went over the finger wrapping and covering the adrenals. We reviewed the brain tune ups and hook ups positions and moved through the support re-patterning sequence. Everything was taught with her and her mother so they could continue the work as a home program.
Reasoning
I chose to follow the manual for selecting activities for her home program that were provided in treatment of the FPR [Fear Paralysis Reflex] and the 5-Step Balance was a perfect match to help her deal with situations that cause her anxiety.
Finally I took her through a 5-step balance [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course ].
where she chose her goal that “I will remain calm when meeting new people.”
I had her leave and come back in and introduce herself and shake my hand and I introduced myself and asked her some questions about herself for the reenactment.
For movement she chose the fear release taps and then we did the support re-patterning sequence [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course.] Finally, we did the same reenactment, and the response was a smile and she reported that she is feeling hopeful for the mission trip that was quickly approaching.
Results
Currently she is on that mission trip and is doing well. She reports that she is not freezing like before, but it is still uncomfortable to be startled (maybe moving on to the Moro reflex) I told her we can work on that when she gets back.
She also reported that she doesn’t have time to do much, but she is sticking with the Rhythmic Movement protocol since she is good at doing that for herself and likes how she feels. Hopefully she will return after her mission trip and I can help reinforce the 5-step balance and work on the Moro reflex.
Impressions
It made me feel very good to help this young lady and know that she is out there spreading the word of God and I was a small piece that helped that to happen. I learned to be more attentive and listen to the client. Not everything in the book has to be done all at once and to provide what they are willing to do and let that be enough for now. There is always room in the future to do more.
[Edited for length and clarity; emphasis added]