Now this... this is one complex topic; but an oh so important one for the growth and development of our little ones! We will just scratch the surface of what primary movement patterns (aka primitive reflexes) are, why they are important, and what you might see when these patterns are still active or become problematic.
What do you mean active? What would my child do if a primary movement pattern is active? Don't you want them to have active movement patterns, so they can move? Yes, yes, we do! But there is a developmental progression to when and how they help us move. Let's just jump in!
What are primary movement patterns/reflexes?
Primary movement patterns, or reflexes, are automatic movement patterns hardwired at birth. This means that our babies are not in control of the movement, it just happens! They are controlled and expressed by the nervous system to help us survive and learn to move as babies. Like the tendon knee reflex test our doctors do during annual check-ups, we get a slight strike to the tendon in our knee and our foot kicks forward. We didn’t think about kicking our foot, it just happened. As we get older, reflexes keep our bodies safe in times of danger (physical or perceived). When a primary movement pattern re-appears or becomes residual (still seen at preschool age or later), they can begin to interfere with voluntary control of our movements and overall function - more of what you might see in a minute. Prolonged residual reflexes often result in poor and limited gross and fine motor coordination, prevent smooth movement patterns (movements appear awkward, rigid, or choppy), and can limit new learning. It can also impact self-regulation and social skills!
In summary - reflexes are:
Hardwired at birth - even if they don't emerge until birth or a few months after, all humans have them!
Their initial purpose is to protect and help babies survive (think feeding)
They allow us to begin to move against the pull of gravity and explore our amazing world through movement!
Precursor movements that guide babies through motor milestones (rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, etc).
Why are primary movement patterns/reflexes important?
There are so many things that primary movement patterns support including (but not limited to):
Sensory integration - they activate our sensory systems in response to input from our environment
Gross motor skills - rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, transitional movements, running, jumping, skipping, galloping, etc.
Coordination of the left/right sides and top/bottom halves of the body
Postural control and stability - aka being able to hold ourselves up against gravity vs. being a puddle on the ground
Muscle tone - our muscle tone changes based on the movement of our body
Fine and visual motor skill refinement - such as reading and writing skills
Praxis skills - aka being able to create, plan, and carry out desired movements
Activities of daily living (ADL’s) - dressing, feeding, bathing, grooming, potty training/bowel-bladder control, and leisure/play.
In addition to making movements more effortful, residual reflexes can also negatively impact hearing, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, fine motor/handwriting, and reading, as well as influence a child's capacity to learn. In response to these challenges, children often develop coping strategies (adaptations) for the difficulties they experience. This can cause significant fatigue due to the amount of effort required. When kids have to work much harder than their peers, it puts their nervous systems in a higher state of arousal leading to poor self-regulation skills. When in those higher states of arousal, we can quickly move into the fight, flight, fright, freeze response. The fight, flight, fright, freeze response releases neurochemicals (cortisol and adrenaline) into our bodies to prepare and protect us from danger/perceived threat.
When the brain and central nervous system don't have automatic sensory and motor functions, a child needs to consciously control these aspects of daily life. In turn, this interferes with the brain's ability to then attend to high level cognitive functions including sustained attention, behaviors/self-regulation, refined motor skills, and academic learning.
When do these active patterns become problematic?
It is important to understand when a reflex pattern is “integrated” into the nervous system, that does not mean it disappears and never returns. It simply means it moves to the background to allow purposeful, functional and controlled movement patterns to take over. When we experience high levels of stress, perceived danger/threat or trauma, these primary movements come back to the foreground to protect and help us survive.
So, what might you see if these reflexes are still active beyond the pre-school years? You might start to observe or see your child have difficulty with:
Using both hands together (i.e building legos, cutting with scissors); reaching across midline
Hand-eye coordination (throwing and catching a ball)
Visual tracking skills (reading, copying from the board at school)
Handwriting/hand skill challenges
Motion sickness/ fearful of feet leaving the ground
Sensitivities to touch (tactile), sounds (auditory), visual or other sensory input
Getting potty trained or bed wetting/Incontinence in older children
GI irritations/issues
Low muscle tone/hunched over posture, tires easily
Awkward/clumsy coordination, poor balance (beyond age appropriate)
Trouble paying attention/ following directions, easily distracted, impulsive/“busy body”
Behaviors/emotional immaturity, verbal or physical aggressive outbursts
Social skills (shy, withdrawn), anxious/ stressed, always “on edge”
Speech and language delays
So long story short… if your child is experiencing any of the difficulties listed above there could be a number of things going on - including unintegrated reflexes. Having a trained professional look at, assess or evaluate the functionality and quality of your child’s movement patterns may be helpful.
Move & play on!
Amy & Cassie
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