Why your child's earliest survival instincts might still be running the show — and what to do about it
If your child is bright, eager, and trying hard — but still struggling with reading, writing, balance, or sitting still — you might have heard the suggestion that retained reflexes could be part of the picture.
Or perhaps you haven't heard it at all, and you're reading this because something just doesn't add up.
Either way, you're in the right place. Retained reflexes are one of the most underrecognised influences on child development, and once you understand what they are and how they work, a lot of things that previously seemed puzzling can start to make a great deal of sense.
Primitive reflexes are automatic, involuntary movement patterns that are present from birth — and in some cases, even before birth. They originate in the brainstem and are essentially hardwired survival tools.
They help a newborn root for the breast, grip a finger, respond to sudden sounds, and hold their airway open. They do not require thinking or intention. They simply happen, automatically, in response to a specific stimulus.
These reflexes are meant to be temporary. As the brain develops and higher centres begin to take over, each reflex should gradually integrate — becoming absorbed into more sophisticated, voluntary movement patterns. Integration typically happens during the first year or two of life, through movement, play, and healthy developmental experiences.
When this integration happens on schedule, it is largely invisible. The child just develops normally, and nobody thinks twice about it.
When a primitive reflex fails to integrate — due to birth trauma, illness, limited movement opportunity, developmental delay, or sometimes for no obvious reason at all — it can remain active in the nervous system well beyond when it should have switched off.
This is what we call a retained reflex.
A retained reflex does not cause paralysis or obvious physical disability. What it does is much subtler: it creates a persistent, low-level interference pattern in the nervous system. Certain movements, positions, or sensory inputs continue to trigger an automatic movement response when they shouldn't, pulling the body off course and demanding extra neurological effort to compensate.
The child isn't being lazy or defiant. Their brain is genuinely working harder than it should have to — and that has real consequences for learning, behaviour, and physical development.
There are several primitive reflexes that are commonly assessed in children. The ones I see most frequently in practice are:
Sometimes called the startle reflex. It is triggered by sudden movement, sound, or sensation — and in babies, it causes a dramatic full-body response: arms flung wide, a gasp, followed by a pull inward.
In an older child with a retained Moro, this shows up as heightened sensitivity to sound, light, or touch; emotional reactivity; difficulty managing transitions; poor impulse control; and sometimes anxiety. The nervous system is still treating ordinary sensory input as a potential threat.
In babies, turning the head to one side causes the arm and leg on that side to extend, while the opposite limbs flex. It is sometimes called the "fencer reflex" because of the position it creates.
When retained, the ATNR can make crossing the midline of the body difficult — which has enormous implications for reading (tracking across the page), writing (especially with the dominant hand), and bilateral coordination. Children may skip words when reading, struggle to write in a straight line, or have poor hand-eye coordination.
This reflex links the position of the head to the position of the upper and lower body. When the head goes up, the arms extend and the legs bend. When the head drops, the arms bend and the legs extend.
A retained STNR can make it very difficult for a child to sit still at a desk. When they look up at the board, their body wants to straighten. When they look down to write, their body wants to collapse. They may fidget, slump, hook their feet around chair legs, or constantly shift position — not because they aren't trying, but because their postural system is working against them.
This reflex responds to head position in relation to gravity, helping a newborn navigate the physical world. When retained, it can affect balance, spatial awareness, muscle tone, and the ability to judge distances and depth. Children may appear clumsy, move cautiously, dislike physical activity, or struggle with activities that require good spatial orientation.
This reflex is triggered by a light stroke to the lower back. It causes the baby's hips to swing towards the stimulus — and in labour, it helps the baby rotate through the birth canal.
When retained, the Spinal Galant can cause significant sensitivity around the waistband or lower back. Children may pull at their clothes, dislike being touched, struggle to sit still (particularly on chairs), have poor bladder control, or have difficulty concentrating when seated. It is one of the more frequently overlooked reflexes, but it can make a huge difference to a child's comfort and focus in the classroom.
This is where things get really important to understand, because retained reflexes are not always picked up during routine developmental checks — and yet their impact on scholastic performance can be significant.
Consider what a child is asked to do at school:
Now consider that a retained STNR is making sitting upright an active, tiring neurological battle. That a retained ATNR is making left-to-right tracking unreliable. That a retained Spinal Galant is making the sensation of sitting in a chair uncomfortable enough to be distracting. That a retained Moro is keeping the nervous system in a low-level state of alert, making it hard to settle and focus.
These children are often described as easily distracted, emotionally reactive, disorganised, or behind their peers in reading and writing. They are frequently misunderstood. Some receive diagnoses of ADHD or dyslexia — which may be accurate, but which may also be co-existing with or compounded by unresolved primitive reflexes.
The important thing to know is that this is not fixed. Reflexes can be addressed. And when they are, many children show meaningful improvements in focus, coordination, handwriting, and emotional regulation.
Assessment for retained reflexes involves a structured set of movement observations and physical tests. A trained therapist looks at how the body responds to specific positions and stimuli — testing whether each reflex has integrated appropriately or is still actively present.
It is not painful or distressing for the child. Most children find it mildly interesting. It simply involves moving in specific ways, holding certain positions, and observing the body's automatic responses.
In a full assessment I conduct, I look at:
From there, a tailored reflex integration programme is developed — a set of specific daily movements, done consistently over time, that help the nervous system finally complete the integration process it missed earlier in development.
Yes — and this is something I feel strongly about, because access to specialist therapy is not equal, and parents are far more capable than they are given credit for.
Reflex integration does not require sophisticated equipment or clinical settings. It requires consistent, targeted daily movement — specific exercises done in a particular way, repeated over time to give the nervous system the input it needs to reorganise.
With the right guidance, parents can absolutely lead a reflex integration programme at home. The key words there are right guidance. These are not exercises you can improvise, and doing movements incorrectly — or in the wrong order — can miss the mark entirely. But with a clear, well-designed programme, remarkable things can happen at home.
This is always the first question, and the honest answer is that it varies.
Some children show changes within a few weeks. Others take several months of consistent daily practice before the neurological shifts become visible in their behaviour and function. The factors that most influence the speed of change are:
What I consistently see is that families who commit to a structured daily programme — even just ten to fifteen minutes a day — see real, lasting change over time. It is not a quick fix. But it is a genuine one.
What are retained primitive reflexes?
Primitive reflexes are automatic movement patterns that all babies are born with. They are meant to integrate — or switch off — during the first two years of life as the brain matures. When they do not integrate on schedule, they are called retained reflexes. Retained reflexes can interfere with a child's posture, movement, learning, and emotional regulation.
How do I know if my child has retained reflexes?
Signs that may indicate retained reflexes include difficulty sitting still, poor posture at a desk, trouble tracking across a page when reading, messy or effortful handwriting, sensitivity to sound, light, or touch, emotional reactivity, poor coordination, and struggles with balance. These signs often overlap with other diagnoses like ADHD or dyslexia, which is why a proper assessment is important.
Can retained reflexes affect reading and writing?
Yes, significantly. Reflexes such as the ATNR and STNR directly affect a child's ability to cross the midline, track text, sit upright, and coordinate the hands for writing. When these reflexes are retained, reading and writing can feel effortful and inconsistent despite normal intelligence and effort.
What reflexes are most commonly retained in school-age children?
The most commonly retained reflexes in school-age children are the Moro reflex, the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR), the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR), the Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR), and the Spinal Galant reflex. Each affects a different aspect of development and learning.
Can retained reflexes cause ADHD-like behaviour?
Retained reflexes do not cause ADHD, but they can produce symptoms that look very similar — including difficulty sitting still, poor attention, emotional dysregulation, and impulsivity. In some children, addressing retained reflexes significantly reduces these behaviours. In others, they co-exist with a genuine ADHD diagnosis and addressing the reflexes still makes a meaningful difference to the child's daily function.
Can retained reflexes be treated at home?
Yes. With the right guidance and a consistent daily movement programme, reflex integration absolutely can be supported at home. The exercises are specific and need to be done correctly and consistently, but they do not require clinical equipment or specialist facilities. Many families see meaningful improvements through a well-structured home programme.
How long does reflex integration take?
It varies depending on the child, the degree of retention, and the consistency of the programme. Some children show changes within weeks; others need several months of daily practice. Consistency is the biggest factor — short, daily sessions outperform longer, occasional ones every time.
At what age can retained reflexes be addressed?
Reflex integration work can be done at almost any age, though younger children tend to respond more quickly. Children from toddler age through to adolescence can benefit, and even adults can show improvement when retained reflexes are contributing to ongoing difficulties.
If you recognise your child in anything you have read here, I created the Retained Reflexes Manual specifically for parents like you. It is a comprehensive, printable guide that walks you through what retained reflexes are, how to identify which ones may be present in your child, and how to run a structured home-based integration programme safely and effectively. Practical, plain-language, and actually usable.
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