STNR

The STNR (Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex)

June 4, 2017 By Leanne

There are many questions running through my mind about reflexes, some of which could become areas for research. Particularly at the moment is the role of the STNR reflex. The more assessments I undertake on children the more I am seeing this reflex still fully present. Currently, I am working with a group of 4 year olds using the INPP “Wings of Childhood” Programme. The children whom I chose to assess had displayed areas of balance insecurity and/or some evidence of Primitive Reflex involvement. All the children assessed had at least partial evidence of the STNR, and some couldn’t even stay in the quadruped position.

The role of the STNR is to help the infant defy gravity and to fully establish the quadruped position for creeping. It helps to break up the effect of the TLR and is thought to train the eyes in the skill of accommodation. This reflex emerges about 5 – 6 months of postnatal life and should be inhibited by 11 months of postnatal life. It is for this reason that its strong presence at 4+ years old is concerning. This can lead to issues with upper and lower body integration which makes sitting at a desk extremely difficult and uncomfortable. This then effects concentration and attention levels, as well as hand-eye coordination, vertical tracking, posture and strength to name a few.

Since my study in the INPP method, I have realised that I have a retained STNR myself. Looking back on my childhood I can see the many times this has affected both my concentration and posture. I was the child who always needed to lie on the desk to write. I didn’t understand it then, but I now see that I needed to develop more extensor muscle tone. As an adult, this need is becoming even stronger with the bending and sitting positions required more and more of me.

So, to help children while they are working through the process of integrating the STNR I suggest that they should be able to work in a position that is most comfortable to them. If attention is drawn to their sitting position then the child’s cognition is taken away from the information they are learning. This isn’t a long-term solution, however but would be helpful while a reflex integration programme is taking place. In addition to this, having them sit on a swiss ball or lie on the floor on their stomachs when relaxing will help to develop the much-needed strength in their back muscles.

Take it from me, living with an STNR is not easy. Not in school, not in university and not in work. If it is put to sleep the child no longer has to worry about their posture, how uncomfortable they are sitting, whether they are upright or not. They don’t need to eventually have back pain from poor posture all their life, not to mention that they will actually be able to sit still at school! Wouldn’t that please teachers! The STNR is linked by research to problematic, behavioural, and impulse control in the classroom!

I think we will all be better off without this reflex bugging us – your child included. Fill in the screening form to see if this programme will help your child.

Feel free to comment or add your findings to this discussion as well. Happy sitting!

What’s the deal with reflexes?

August 4, 2016 By Leanne

What are Primitive Reflexes?

Primitive reflexes are automatic stereotyped movements directed from the brainstem. We don’t think about them, we don’t try to make them, they just happen. These Primitive reflexes are needed for survival and development in the early months of life. However, as we mature with age, higher and more sophisticated places of the brain should mature and take control. These primitive reflexes will become a hindrance to learning and development if they are not “put to sleep” or integrated into our central nervous system.

What happens if Primitive Reflexes don’t go away?

If primitive reflexes are retained past the first year of life (at the very latest) they can cause issue with our social, academic, and motor (movement) learning. It actually becomes a barrier to development. Many children with learning disorders such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum, and Non-Specific Learning Difficulties as well as other Neuro-Developmental Disorders are known to have retained primitive reflexes which contributed to their issues. Basically, we need primitive reflexes for a little while but by one year of age, they should no longer be actively working in our bodies. We then need to develop postural reflexes by four years of age.

Reflexes are linked to the Sensory Processing Systems. These are Auditory (sound), Taste, Tactile (touch), Smell, Visual, Vestibular (balance and stability), and Proprioceptive (messages conveyed through our body). Because of this, primitive reflexes that are causing issues usually do so in one or more of these areas as well. This can lead to what is known as Sensory Processing Disorder.

Causes of retained Primitive Reflexes

There are many reasons why a child may still have primitive reflexes causing havoc in their bodies. Children who are born by caesarean section, or experience trauma in birth, are often high risk. Being exposed to toxins and medicines can also contribute. Other causes may be due to the environment they experienced in the first few months of life such as not enough time of the floor, whether it is on their tummy or crawling on stomach and knees, or even lack of specific movement in their early years. Illness and sickness also play a part especially in regards to chronic ear infections – as it impacts the vestibular (balance) system.

Sometimes we need to remember that because the brain is so easily mouldable, we don’t always have to worry about the reasons why they are this way, but instead, let’s celebrate the change that can be made. Primitive reflexes can be put to sleep no matter what age, and postural reflexes can develop if the child is provided a developmentally appropriate movement programme. This means we can make huge progress in a child’s life! We can help their body and brain communicate effectively with one another and allow the child’s cortical brain to gain increasing control over their body. Change is possible! There is a second chance.

If this sounds like your child, contact me now. If you’re interested, keep reading. Over the next few weeks I will explain different reflexes and how they impact our children and their learning journey. From my personal experience to you, let’s journey to make our children’s learning, movement, and self confidence excel.

Reflexes and the Eyes

June 1, 2016 By Leanne

Our eyes are essential for learning – especially in the classroom. We track (left to right) both when reading from a book and from the board. We need binocular vision to adjust our eyesight from close reading range to further distance – board range. Our eyes work overtime in the school system and it is not uncommon to notice that children at times cannot cope with what they are being asked to do because their eyes tire.

So why do some children’s eyes tire so much more quickly than others?

Initially of course, eye tests and glasses may be needed – but that is not the whole answer to the problem. Reflexes impact our eyes to a very large degree. Especially for young children. Our primitive reflexes (automatic movements) should be ‘put to sleep’ by 4 years of age. It is then that our Postural Reflexes take the lead. However, if this isn’t the case, then the Primitive Reflexes that were there to train our body, brain and eyes are still impacting our eyes! (Read my previous post about the ‘poltergeist’ if you need more proof). In other words they really don’t have full control over their eye movements, and they need it!

The STNR reflex for example impacts our binocular vision. That is the adjustments of long to short distance and visa versa. I was very much that child. I saw the ball coming . . .then oops . . . didn’t quite see when it was near to me. This is not only embarrassing for children but they just don’t understand it! I mean they try really hard to catch that ball . . . . they just can’t see where it is to catch it.
This is exactly how reflexes work. We don’t have FULL CONTROL over our body movements. For a child, in school, this is not an easy thing. Their eyes tire, their bodies are tired from holding themselves together all day. Then they come home to more demands. They are frustrated! They don’t know how to fix it – but the good news is . . . IT CAN BE FIXED.

There is definitely hope for this child. Their body and brain can communicate properly so that the right messages are getting to the right place at the right time. This reflex that hinders the proper control over their eyes can be ‘put to sleep’. They need a Reflex Inhibition programme.

Without Limits Learning offers consultations and assessments that will help your child’s eyes, coordination, learning abilities. Don’t wait.

The Poltergiest!!!

May 24, 2016 By Leanne

My interest and curiosity in the STNR (Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex) is not new to you all. I wonder if it really does bridge the Primitive reflexes with the Postural’s, or if it is solely a Primitive reflex. In addition to this I ponder about the retention of the reflex and how this impacts subsequent reflexes (namely Postural’s). If there is a STNR still present in children, it is said that the Postural reflexes will not be as well developed as is necessary. Also, does it mean that that child will struggle with top and bottom integration for the rest of their lives? Will there come a time whereby their age allows developmental maturity and the STNR no longer ceases to be in control despite its presence in assessments and posture. From my own experience, I know I function competently but probably not ideally, and I am constantly aware of and adjusting my own posture.

I was re-assessing a child just yesterday. I watched intently as I assessed for the STNR which is conducted in a table position (on hands and knees). One thing to note in this assessment is convergence of the eyes upon movement of the head. I watched the feet, arms, elbows, back and neck position. Thinking that this child would most probably register as having a partial STNR. It wasn’t until I positioned myself by the head of the child and watched what happened to the eyes that I was astounded. I mean, it was something out of the poltergeist! Truly, I had not noticed this before if it was present. And I have not seen this in any other child. As the head lowered from looking at the ceiling to the placement of their hands the eyes suddenly converged half way down, making cross eyes. The eyes stayed there – much to my surprise – until the child blinked and refocused.

To see this was both amazing and astounding. Wow. Really! As the reflex came into effect the lack of control of the child’s eyes was plain to see. I didn’t know that the eyes did this so strongly with this reflex, and to think how it must have felt for the child is quit disturbing. As someone who is prone to travel sickness I am aware of the feeling of visual vestibular mismatch. This would have been exactly the same feeling. The brain would not have processed the same sensations through her vestibular input as well as visual. And to think this is most probably occurring on a daily basis. The impact on the educational achievement and physical coordination is huge. Every time this child would move her head up and down her eyes would change. Imagine this in the classroom where they have to look at whiteboards then books, the teacher then pupils and more books. The head is constantly moving and this is why active primitive reflexes have such a detrimental effect. Even on the sports field where they have to move to catch balls, the eyes would change, and unfocus and the child would spend so much time gaining control over their body that there would be little time left for actual learning.

However, the impact of Primitive reflexes in older children is not always so accepted and is often disputed. But upon seeing how it impacts a child’s body, completely outside of their control, I honestly wonder why. It is obvious that reflexes play a part in normal childhood development. Yet why do we refrain from acknowledging their impact on coordination and academic success later in life.

How can we help? What can I do? These are questions of practicality. Not theory. Though both are important and valid. What can we do to help children in our care better their physical coordination so that reflexes are ‘put to sleep’ and controlled coordinated movements are made?

One of the first things we can do is to ensure our children are moving. Moving every day. Moving more than they are sitting, especially in the early years. Any kind of movement is beneficial. For the STNR particularly it is the coordination of the upper and lower parts of the body. Imagine that the child is cut in two along the line of their tummy button. Can their arms and legs perform coordinated movements at the same time? Can they go left – left and right – right then in opposites left and right together without thinking? This crossing the mid-line and bi-lateral integration is indicative of a brain that can coordinate efficiently between the two hemispheres of the brain.

Let’s move! Simply move. Run, (because that uses both sides of the brain), crawl (because that coordinates both top and bottom), and do strength based exercises which allows the increase of extensor muscle tone (muscles on the back) as well as arms and core. These muscles are essential for static balance and good posture when sitting still. We can use this as a time together, playing and having fun. Let’s not become too busy to play and move with our children. Remember; a well coordinated body means there is a well coordinated mind! Happy moving!