Please come and tell me more about reflex therapy.

[bedheadz]

I was reading a thread before that talked about Moro reflex, I feel really ignorant as I had never heard of it until reading that thread. I have done a bit of googling but you all seem like experts so what do you recommend in way of therapy.

Also in some of the articles it states that the moro reflex problems can be caused by something toxic "According to Patricia Rodier, in autistics it may have happened because of toxicity during the first 16 weeks in utero" www.fernridgepress.com/article-moro-reflex.html

I am trying not to be a conspiracy theorist but medication that I was prescribed for HG has since been issued with a black box warning as it can cause tardive dyskinesia. The only studies of which there are only are few state that there wasn't a rise in birth defects I cannot find a single study that examines the child in the years after the birth for long term affects.

What I have found is that the drug passes the placenta and the brain barrier.

When I google the drug alongside autism pdd nos adhd or sensory processing disorder I find lots of other parents who either took this drug or their child was prescribed for reflux.

I don't know what to think, I didn't research it BEFORE I took it and I feel so crap.

It doesn't matter what caused your DC to have retained reflexes - what matters is that you get rid of them now

We have had many, many threads on it here (search retained reflexes), if you can afford it go to a therapy centre and start a program. They normally give you physical exercises that takes 10 minutes a day, and have to be done every day for a long time. You go back each 6 weeks, and they update your exercises. It normally takes at least a year to get rid of the retained reflexes.

Here are some places that do it: (But there are many others)

hemispheres
INPP
Sound Learning Centre

All of those places have been used by MNers and are highly recommended.

I have been doing this therapy with DS for a year, and it has vastly, vastly improved him. And I've just started doing it with DD.......

IndiGoBell
I am a scared mum to a 9 year old boy. We started INPP in July and the therapist only told us son has retained many reflexes not which nor did she give any kind of 'score'. Do the reflexes really go away or do they get lesser. Right now son is in special needs - will we ever get to a point where he wont need special education?

Debbie, yes the retained reflexes go away, and yes that makes a huge difference.

2 years ago school were trying to get a statement for DS who has a dx of aspergers. They couldn't cope with him. Now he is about to come off the SEN register - as soon as he finishes a handwriting course he is on.

He is going to come off the SEN register because he needs no extra support at school, he has no special educational needs.

To achieve that we have done a huge amont if different things. The main things we did were:

• auditory integration training
• retained reflex therapy
• osteopath
• GAPS diet

other things we did include:

• lightwave stimulation therapy
• reflexology
• Epsom bath salts
• omega fish oil
• sensory integration training.

So, yes retained reflex therapy helped enormously, and yes you'll probably have to do more than just that.

I highly, highly recommend Reading the GAPS diet, and if you can't do the whole thing at least cut out dairy and gluten.

And I also highly, highly recomend auditory integration training.

IndiGOBell,

Thanks for the reply. Never heard of the rest except fish oil which we gave him for about 2 years. Will check it out.

The INPP therapist is a Johansen Sound Therapist and and has trained in Samonas Sound Therapy. She has not recommended Auditory Integration training. I'll ask her about it.

Does retained reflex therapy improve working memory and processing?

Johansen Sound Therapy is a 'competitor' to Auditory Integration Training. So she probably recommends that instead.

DD (not DS) had huge, huge, huge problems with working memory and processing speed. We have only just now worked out what was causing it - an allergy to gluten!

For DD firstly we did Auditory Integration Training. And that had a huge, huge effect and we were very pleased.

However it only 'half way' cured her. She was better, but still had huge problems.

Then a few weeks ago we started her on the GAPS diet ( mainly cutting out dairy and gluten) and found it has made the most amazing diet. Just had a parents teacher meeting - and for the first time ever I could read what she's written! (She's 8)

Her brain is now better. Or getting better. I think it will take a few more months before she is as sharp as she should be. But we are def getting there.

(It takes Gluten 6 months to leave the system)

She's also doing retained reflex therapy as well. And Earobics. And she did Vision Therapy, as well as almost everything else DS did :)

here's an online test to test

• Processing Speed
• Working Memory
• Auditory Memory
• Visual Memory
• Long term Memory
• Auditory Processing

I found this test one of the most useful things I've done for DD. I was surprised by her results, and it has allowed me to target exactly what she needs to work on. (With great results so far)

Do the test now, and then you can do it again in 6 months to see if what you're doing is working.....

If you do the test and PM me the results I'll help you to decipher them :)

IndigoBell

Thanks for the leads. Will look them up. Have not looked thru the GAPS diet website fully but no gluten = no cake? Eeeks!

Did the INPP treatment help DS & DD's working memory and processing speed?

Thanks

You can buy gluten free cake and cake mix

DS never had problems with his memory or processing speed. I think INPP helped with his anxiety, and sensory processing problems, and travel sickness, and visual perception and motor skills and being unable to sit still.

DD has huge memory and processing speed problems. She's only been doing INPP since July, which isn't very long. (DS has been doing it for over a year now.)

I'm not sure what effect INPP has had on DD because we're doing so many other things with her as well. Her memory and processing speed are def improving, but I can't tell if it's from diet, Earobics or INPP. I think it's mainly from diet, with everything else helping a bit.

I would say just keep on with INPP, and do other things as well.

IndigoBell

Thanks for the advice do more than just INPP.

From GCS Test if it comes out that Working Memory and Processing speed are abysmal, what next? Is there a corrective course of action, who prescribes it?

I've PM'd you

PM'd back!

Altho we began in July, no report was given and we were just told severe retained reflex issues.
Just asked the therapist for a report. What points should I expect in the report. Any kind of score / numerical values?

I also go to INPP - you should have had a report reading after your initial 2 hours assessment to go through your dc's issues and tell you where their main problems lie and get scores from 0-4 on each assessment - 0= no retained reflexes to 4 = total retained primitive reflex and no posrutal reflex present at all.

Thats what we had, anyway!

Ds1 has been doing RRT since March and is almost done - hardly any primitive reflexes left

We got a report from the therapist.

She has tested 9 reflexes with a score for each. One of them, the Rooting Reflex has a score for each side. (so a total of 10 scores).

Were your reports similar?

Son ATNR reflex has been inhibited. It scored a 4 in July and when she says inhibited, I assume its 0 now.

What improvements should I see?

debbie

OK, so the scores mean:
0 - no rr, adult postural reflexes present
1 - 25% rr
2 - 50% rr
3 - 75% rr
4 - 100% complete retained primitive reflex, complete absence of adult postural reflex.

So, 4 is pretty bad

My ds1 got some 4's, mostly 2's and 3's on his assessments for vestibular and balance issues and moro.

ATNR = asymetrical tonic neck reflex. This will cause your son no end of issues, sadly, being able to look up at the board at school then back down at his work, tracking reading books etc

I would hope that after some months his score will be 0.

How is it all going?

He scored a 24/40 in July. (ATNR 4 STNR 4, Tracking (hand 3 and eye 3+) rest 2.

In the report we just saw which is based on Sept assessment, she says ATNR has been inhibited.

What improvement should we see?

It all depends on the child tbh....we didnt see a difference for quite a while with ds1 and then all of a sudden they are saying his next appt will prob be his last!!!

He seemed to make a huge jump in progress after about 6 months

Adding - Therapist recommended vision therapy for later - if required that is.

She does not want to mix sound (Johansen) and INPP. She feels his RR is quite severe and the RR exercises alone must be causing a lot of changes, advises take it slow.

Son is stressed more these, edgy, irritable, and perhaps more anxious (moro is 2).

Becs, I so desperately hope things will be that way for son.

School has not noticed anything. OTOH they said we should look at a 1:1 shadow. So devastating. I know, I know I should give it more time, but still.....

I would urge you to do AIT rather than Johannssen tbh. More intense but over in 7 days instead of every day for months!

Your son may well exhibit behaviours that are not normal.....I know that with my son there were obv some really powerful things going on but it was all hidden/under the surface and we didnt really notice any change for months and then one day my dh called me out to watch him ride his bike.

He could ride a bike!!!!

If the exercises are working on moro then he may well be more anxious as that is one of moro's main symptoms!

Are you doing the astronaut exercise??? Would really suggest you do if not.

You are doing the right thing with the rrt, Debbie, but I empathise....I also want the therapies I am doing with ds1 to work faster...I want him better like yesterday!!!!! Its natural. Dont be so hard on yourself, ok?

We have been doing astronaut since July.

Agree, want it better like yesterday.

School is so negative, it stresses me out completely.

I know. It is stressful and exhausting and upsettting that people paid to help our kids dont, but that is the reality and for me personally, since I accepted that and took my own initiative (like you) I am much happier and less stressed re: school.

I simply have no expectations of them They cant help my son. I can.

You will too x

Beds, IB,

Both of you have have preferred AIT over Johansen. Why?

debbie I should point out I have no experience of the Johanssen Listening Programme, only what INPP told me and the research I did based on that info.

Basically all LP AFAIK are based on work by Tomatis. Its usually a programme you have to so every day for 9-12 months.

For my ds1 it would just have been too much...he is already doing his RRT exercises each day and other interventions for his dyslexia so for me it was just one less thing to do IYSWIM?

Then indigo recommeded AIT and I found a lady within an hours drive of me (rather than London/SE!!) and it was 1 hour per day for 7 days so we did it ove half term so ds1 only missed one day of school.

Was a bit of a no brainer to me!!! but then I am v v lazy!