Retained Reflexes - any "side effects"

[nightcat]

Have any of you who are doing RR therapy noticed any "side effects" in terms of increase of tics or any other symptoms?

We are only at the outset and I might be barking up a wrong tree.. and it could be some deficiency or even some bug still in the system.. or could it be the scenario again that it needs to get worse before it can get better like it was with GAPS at the beginning?

Mainly lying on his back, we touch one limb with a toy and he has to raise limb then follow the toy down, looking, not touching it and without moving other limbs. Then two limbs together, eg arms or left side or right leg, left arm. He struggles with two limbs at once.

Oodles which reflex are you targeting with that?

Hi blueshark, well that's the thing, we're not targetting any reflexes. We've been told to improve his coordination before we can attempt the reflex exercises. Does that sound right to you? Maybe I should phone the INPP.

What did the assessment say, which reflexes he has retained? To be honest all or most kids with retained reflexes are uncoordinated well obviously because they have rr but the exercise you have described seems more for the child to learn to cooperate and track movements. From what I have seen the inpp exercise are more complex than the sound learning centre ones we do but the inpp ones appear more powerful whereas the slc is targeting them gently.

All I can say stick with them, myself and others have seen lots of results and to be honest even though with the slc DS Moro went down from 100% to 50 with the one from inpp that Becaroooo described I'm sure it went down even more in just few days and we have been doing slc for 9 months.

How old is you dc btw?

Stick with it, oodles.

I know the exercises (we go to inpp too) seem really basic and slow, almost silly!! BUT they really work!!

Ds1 is still doing the astronaut given to him at his first session as it has had an amazing effect on his RR (I can still remember my feelings as she explained the exercise to me...."I have come all this way for THAT!!")

I think it will depend too on how old you dc is tbh....a very young child would struggle with some of the exercises until they had improved co-ordination. If you are on an exercise to improve that then it will all come together eventually.

Good luck x

Thanks blueShark and Becaroo
DS is 4.8
I haven't been given a copy of the assessment, but it was the two neck reflexes that he scored highly on. The assessor didn't assess for moro, just said 'he looks fine I don't think he has retained the startle reflex'.

He definitely has motor problems. The NHS OT rated him as bottom 0.5% for fine and bottom 2% for gross motor skills. She told us to put some matchbox cars in jam jars and that she would see him in a year. We waited a year for that assessment.

So I know we have to do something.

What specific improvements have you seen with your dcs?

My greatest wish is that DS could/would improve his non verbal communication. His lack of eye contact makes him so charmless at times. And he misses out so much communication from his inability to pick up on the body language of others.

Hmmmm...how long was the initial assessment oodles ?

Ds1's was over 2 hours and he was tested for EVERYTHING as your ds should have been

I can send you the astronaut exercise that has helped my ds and bluesharks ds so much if you want.... ?

What specific improvements have you seen with your dcs?

Too many to list :)

• Far less anxious
• more co-ordinated ( able to ride a bike, catch a ball etc)
• fine and gross motor skills improved
• improved vision ( can copy better from board )
• spelling improved
• can sit still
• can travel in a car

Improvements?

Much less anxious
More co ordinated (can now ride a bike and scooter and swim)
Improved motor skills
Improved ocular tracking

I am sure there are more I cant think of atm!!

About 12 weeks on, son says he can see better, that letters were not clear before. I did not know that, his vision is 20-20.

But he has dropped a reading level since beginning Y4. (He ended Y3 on grade level)

He continues to say letters are not clear.

I find he is loosing place and skipping words more often. Does not pick chapter books (even Wimpy Kid which he read in G3). Tires reading more easily.

Bit confusing!

debbie Perhaps take him to a behavioural optometrist???

Do the optometrist thingy concurrently with INPP?

Or should I wait for RRT to correct it and then go if RRT does not help?

Same improvements as indigo and Becaroooo. DS couldn't work out how to pedal until we started rr and in 8 months can ride a bike without stabilisers. Can sit for longer period without the ants in the pants as I call it, eye contact almost perfect as well as joint attention, we just count the blessings by the day to be honest. Each time dh goes on business trip for a week always comments how much he has improved during that week. And school are noticing it too, I just make sure it says in the review it's the rr and vb that has helped him get this far, no teacher effort :)

You can do vision therapy (which you get from a behaviour optometrist) at the same time as INPP. Should only take 5 weeks, 10 mins every day of eye exercises......

Or you can wait and do it after.

INPP improved DSs vision a lot - but we are still going to do vision therapy with him, because (apparently) he still doesn't have brilliant control of his eye muscles.

But certainly INPP improved his eye muscle control. But as a behaviour optometrist as a specialist in eye movement, his test and exercises are just a bit better.....

Indigo - do you do the vision therapy at the optometrist or do they give you the exercise to do at home? How often in the 5 weeks you go?

You go once a week for an hour.

And do 10 mins of exercises every day at home.

Lots of very weird focussing eyes exercises, and tracking exercises.

I am doing it after RRT but only because ds1 is doing RRT, write from the start, apples and pears and earobics so want to wait til we have a bit more time as dont want to overload him.

oodles, whilst you are waiting try skin brushing, this has helped my ds before we got to hemispheres, we still do it occasionally as well as rr

Grey24

If you want more information about Retained Reflexes, have a look at
[[https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=1RY0o0p76lAhROy1NCTj6CCjZEP_IiL_cBdddPxMQbdCiG4MYjWDiDryGdxlu&hl=en_GB PRIMITIVE REFLEXES AND ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY
DISORDER: DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF CLASSROOM DYSFUNCTION]]
sorry about the CAPs but it was a copy and paste

thanks everyone
nightcat massage is one of the exercises we are supposed to be doing

good stuff :)

We started INPP program in July and now my son is whining a lot more, gets fatigued is more irritable.

I am told it could be an overload.

Have you ever had a therapist cut back on exercises becasue of 'overload'?

nightcat* Did you resolve the issue of side effects?

My son has developed a severe speech problem where he cannot get words out out at all. Especially words that begin with a hard 'c' (eg Can, 'th' like This, 'p' parrot or 'b' baloon.

The RR therapist says its not overload since a overload manifests itslef in the first few days of a new exercise.

At my wits end.

Debbie, I'm sorry didn't see your post last month. The therapist never suggest stopping the programme since things always get worse before t hey get better. Snce most our kids have had the retained reflexes for few years now their bodies and brains have learnt to compensate and now it is a struggle to change that, hence the beginning of every new therapy is not pleasant.

DS had the first osteopath appointment few weeks ago and the day after I was so scared, all his traits that he has had in the last 3 years and had disappeared came back, ALL! And in one day, I was so depressed! He wet his bed, he was continuously scamming, tantruming, hurting siblings, isolating himself upstairs...., his speech had almost gone, I was going mad. But it all went better after 48 h...

I'm not an expert but the speech issues shouldn't be really related to the exercises. Does your son refuse doing the exercises? He may be getting over anxious because of you asking him to do things he doesn't want to do....I would not stop the exercises but reduce the repetitions or reduce the number of exercises. Or do it on a doll or a sibling since if he is watching the brain also registers the movements and is getting advantage of them.

I really hope it gets better. here is a little but of encouragement. DS has been doing them for 11 months and went from 91 to 40 % in his review few weeks ago. I'm hoping to be finished by the summer holidays. And we have sen massive improvements, as well as the teacher, friends and relatives. Mil hadn't seen him for over a year and commented he is a completely different child.

BlueShark,

Thanks for your words of encouragement.

I stopped everything for 5 days. Including the vitamins the paed had prescribed.

Matters did not improve so went back to exercises and will reintroduce the vitamins and the stairs exercise recommended.

Paed recommended we see a speech therapist. Orthodontist said its just a phase and will go away as suddenly as it came.