Tender SaplingsArticles on movement and brain developmentSchool age risk for Neuro-Developmental Issues
(age 5 to teens)
Indicators of Immaturity and Poor Organization of Reflexes and Perceptions
When reflexes and perceptions are immature or poorly organized for processing, problems often show up in multiple areas for the child. Following are typical clusters of behavioral, academic, health, movement and social issues for children who have immature reflexes or poor sensory processing.
Please check off all the symptoms in each category that describe your child (past or present).
Cranial Nerves and Perceptions
Frequent ear infections
Headaches
Grinding teeth
Jaw tension
Breathing problems or sleep apnea
Head banging
Accident prone
Poor balance, uncoordinated
Moro Reflex
The Moro Reflex is connected to all the senses and so affects the overall emotional profile of the child.
Vestibular related problems such as motion sickness, travel sickness, poor balance and coordination (particularly in ball games)
Physical timidity
Sees edges of a shape, difficulty seeing internal features of figures
Light sensitivity; difficulty with black print on white paper. Tires easily under fluorescent lighting
Possible auditory confusion resulting from hypersensitivity to specific sounds. The child may have poor auditory discrimination skills, and have difficulty shutting out background noise
Allergies and lowered immunity, e.g. asthma, eczema, or a history of frequent ear nose and throat infections
Adverse reactions to drugs
Poor stamina
Dislike of change or surprise—poor adaptability
Skin color easily tends to go pale or blue/grey OR flushes easily, noticable in face and ears. Breathing alternates unevenly between shallow and deep. Both happen especially when stressed.
Reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Palmar Reflex
Poor manual dexterity. (difficulty with independent thumb and finger movements)
Move right arm with right leg; then left arm with left leg when walking, marching, skipping, etc. (homolateral, instead of normal cross-pattern movements)
Difficulty crossing the midline (reaching across the middle of the body)
Eyes do not move smoothly when following an object, especially at the midline
Mixed laterality (uses left foot, right hand, left ear, or he may use left or right hand interchangeably for the same task)
Poor handwriting and poor expression of ideas on paper
Visual-perceptual difficulties, particularly in drawing symmetrical figures
Rooting Reflex
Hypersensitivity around lips and mouth
Immature swallowing movements (tongue remain too far forward in the mouth)
Difficulty with swallowing and chewing of certain foods;
Drools saliva or dribbles
Needs or may need for orthodontic treatment (braces on teeth)
Speech and articulation problems
Poor manual dexterity
Spinal Galant
Fidgeting
Bedwetting
Poor concentration
Poor short term memory
Hip rotation to one side when walking
Clothes irritate back, especially shirt tags and waistbands
Diffculty sitting still – ‘ants in the pants’
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex Forwards
Poor posture—stoop
Hypotonus (weak muscle tone)
Vestibular related problems
a. Poor sense of balance
b. Propensity to get car sick
Dislike of sporting activities, physical education classes, running, etc.
Eye movement (oculomotor) dysfunctions
a. Visual-perceptual difficulties
b. Spatial problems
Poor sequencing skills
Poor sense of time
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex Backwards
Poor posture—tendency to walk on toes
Poor balance and coordination
Hypertonus—stiff, jerky movements and/or tight muscles
Vestibular related problems
a. Poor sense of balance
b. Tendency to motion sickness
Eye movement (oculomotor) dysfunctions
a. Visual-perceptual difficulties
b. Spatial perception problems
Poor sequencing skills
Poor organization skills
Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex
Poor posture
Tendency to “slump” when sitting, particularly at a desk or table
Ape like walk
"W” leg position when sitting on the floor
Poor hand-eye coordination
a. Messy eater
b. “Clumsy child” syndrome
Difficulties changing focus easily from near to far/far to near (desk to blackboard)
Slowness at copying tasks
Difficulty learning to swim, or uses unsynchronized movements when swimming above the water (may swim more easily under the water)
Poor attention span and/or discomfort sitting in one position
Balance and the Vestibular System
Poor balance
Delay in postural and motor milestones such as head control, sitting, crawling, and walking
Poor muscle tone
Motion sickness beyond the age of puberty
Dislike of heights, swings, carousels, escalators and lifts, or conversely, no fear of heights
Easily disoriented, poor sense of direction
Clumsy
Difficulty remaining still; may actively seek vestibular stimulation through activities such as excessive rocking or spinning
Difficulties in space perception (where oneself, others or objects are in surroundings)
Poor organizational skills, “dizzy” or scatterbrained behavior
Cannot work out “how” to do certain activities, e.g. push/pull
Fatigue/lethargy
Inability to mentally rotate or reverse objects in space or procedures; can affect such things as the ability to read an analog clock which is a spatial ability, or to understand that multiplication and division are the same processes in reverse
Symptoms of Poor Proprioception
Poor posture
Constant fidgeting or moving
Excessive desire to be held
May provoke fights to get sensory output
May have visual problems
Poorly developed knowledge of where different parts of the body are in space
Tactility
Symptoms of Hypertactility
Hypersensitivity
Dislike of being touched
Compulsive “toucher”
Allergic skin reactions
Poor temperature control
Low external pain threshold
Poor eater; anorexia
Dislike of sports
Tendency to rely on sensory instead of verbal language
Easily irritated by clothing, especially shirt tags and waistbands
Symptoms of Hypotactility
Hypotactile
High threshold of pain
Craving for contact sports
Provoke roughhousing or fighting
Compulsive touching
"Bull in a china shop”
Auditory
Short attention span
Distractibility
Hypersensitivity to sounds
Misinterpretation of questions
Confusion of similar sounding words, frequent need to have a word repeated
Inability to follow sequential instructions
Flat and monotonous voice
Hesitant speech
Weak vocabulary
Poor sentence structure
Inability to sing in tune
Confusion or reversal of letters
Poor reading comprehension
Poor reading aloud
Poor spelling
Auditory delay
Visual
Misreading words
Missing or repeating words or lines
Slow reading
Need to use finger or marker as a pointer
Inability to remember what has been read
Poor concentration
Child describes letters that “move,” “jump” or are poorly focused
Reading at a very close distance
Reading with one eye covered or sideways posture
Distractibility (stimulus bound effect)
Poor posture when reading or writing
Poorly spaced work
Handwriting crooked, or slopes in different directions, letters poorly balanced
Clumsiness
Difficulty with ball games
Headaches
Lazy eye
Taste and Smell
Hyper-sensitive
Child may avoid going to the bathroom and is at risk of wetting his pants because he cannot stand the smell of the antiseptics used
Child may avoid other children, especially those who come to school with dirty or smelly clothes
Child may misbehave after floors have been polished
Child may avoid eating in the cafeteria or be “faddy” about foods which have a strong smell
Dislike of close proximity to other people
Hypo-sensitive
Child may eat indiscriminately, is at risk of eating substances labeled Keep out of reach of children
Full assessment includes a review of early childhood history, as well as observation of the child. Rarely will a single factor by itself indicate Neuro-Developmental Delay. Only when a child shows a cluster of factors may Neuro-Developmental Delay be present. Indicators of Neuro-Developmental Delay are not limited to the above list.
Recommended: If your child has clusters of problems in a reflex area, also fill out the checklist for Early Childhood Risk Factors. These two forms provide an early screening for neuro-developmental problems.
Call Catherine Burns at 612/332-7459 or e-mail at Catherine@MamaBebe.org to discuss concerns or questions you may have about your child.
Questionnaire adapted from: Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology; from Sally Goddard, A Teacher’s Window into a Child’s Mind
Catherine Burns partners with Janet Oliver, Plan for Learning, in helping school age children. Visit her website at: PlanforLearning.com
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