PRIMITIVE REFLEX EVALUATION & BRAIN HEMISPHERIC TESTING
Babies are born with primitive reflexes e.g. sucking reflex and grasp reflex. These reflexes are normally supressed after the first year of life. If they are retained, this can affect neurological development and learning.
Brain hemispheric disconnection is an imbalance between the right and left brain hemispheres. This imbalance can significantly affect learning is believed to be a strong link to dyslexia.
WHAT ARE PRIMITIVE REFLEXES?
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Primitive Reflexes exist before birth
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They originate in the brain stem (the very base of the brain).
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They neurologically trigger muscle movement. The muscle movement stimulates higher
neurological formation which suppresses the reflexes.
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It is believed that if the primitive reflexes aren’t suppressed, they can affect normal neurological development and interfere while new neurological growth is taking place, similar to an electrical glitch in a computer.
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Children with developmental disorders and learning disabilities have something in common, they almost always have primitive reflexes that remained past their first year of life. Children who integrate and supress these reflexes show great leaps of improvement.
Primitive Reflexes are the foundation of muscle movement. They stimulate muscle movement to help mature wilful muscle movements and control.
Research has determined that muscle movement, especially the large postural muscles, stimulate higher neurological development in the brain.
When your child is lifting their head, crawling, moving their hands, learning to walk, etc. they are stimulating neurological development of their brain.
Large muscle movement also increases heartrate, in turn sending more blood flow, nutrients and oxygen to the brain.
The brain, in turn, helps us learn and controls the rest of the body including the lungs, organs, muscles, hormones, enzyme production and much more.