Identify retained primitive reflexes

Case study

Steven was always falling over and was frequently teased by his peers for his funny running. He found it very hard to organize himself and his work and he also had a very poor sense of time and rhythm. His artwork identified visual and perceptual difficulties and reading was also a problem, because he constantly missed out words or even whole lines.

Primitive Reflex: Tonic Labyrinthine.

How to help: With specifically selected exercises involving rolling, rocking and turning round, Stevens balance improved, as did his perceptual and visual difficulties.

The most stunning example I have seen of the need for a stimulation/inhibition program was a small, ten-year-old boy. He was labelled with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), as well as SEBD and the Autistic Spectrum. As his SENCO at the time I was not convinced that either the labels ADHD or Autistic Spectrum were either helpful or correct. I asked for permission to carry out a neuro-developmental assessment and discovered that he was so sensory bound that he could not even tell when someone was touching his hand unless he was looking at the hand.