Overstimulation and Reflex Integration

My friend and mentor, Moira Dempsey, the co-creator of Rhythmic Movement Training, taught me the principle of "less is more" many years ago. I hear her in my head often when I am consulting with families. American culture has long emphasized the "work harder" and "no pain, no gain" mentality, and this viewpoint often permeates the work caregivers and practitioners do with children. However, it can impede progress and overstimulate the autonomic nervous system, causing behavioral dysregulation and regression.

Many, if not most, of the children I work with had significant trauma at birth because they were born very prematurely at 25-27 weeks, had the cord wrapped around the neck, had substantial medical issues, spent time in NICU, or were even resuscitated after birth. These children have incredibly sensitive nervous systems and require a great deal of care when working with them. Even if a child did not have that dramatic of an entrance to the world, microbial overgrowth, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, neuroinflammation, and/or multiple retained reflexes, etc. can make the autonomic nervous system remain in a sympathetic state because the brain perceives it is in danger.

When we move through life on high alert, it doesn't take much to trigger us into fight-or-flight mode, or even the state of protection of our autonomic nervous system's dorsal vagal state. When this happens, it becomes virtually impossible for new learning and changes to occur, as the majority of our brain activity will be focused on the brainstem and our survival.

When designing and implementing a program for children, it is vitally important to consider these factors and what is most likely to support their system to the greatest extent possible. Establishing and maintaining safety in the brain is the absolute most crucial priority.

Let's take the example of an ultra-preemie born at 26 weeks. At 26 weeks, most of his primitive reflexes have emerged, but have not fully developed yet to assist with the birth process, which is their primary role at this stage. The infant did not receive the deep proprioceptive input from the hours of labor and the journey through the birth canal, which activates proprioception for survival outside the uterus. The child spent 45 days in NICU with the necessary tubes and monitors hooked up to them under fluorescent lights and not in mommy's arms most of the day. Although it is essential to save their life, their natural development has been interrupted, and they have experienced emotional and medical trauma. In addition, they missed out on months of developing their movement patterns and vestibular system while in utero.

This child will require significant work on their proprioceptive system and techniques to calm their nervous system and bring them into a ventral vagal, or "rest and digest," state. There are techniques in both RMTi and MNRI for this work. I choose to combine the modalities so that I can tailor the approach to what a child may need. It is then and only then that you can begin the work of neuroreflex integration.

If reflex work begins too early and too high up the nervous system, it can trigger the sympathetic state once again. Engaging in movements for hours a day, seven days a week, can have a similar impact. Consider this: our reflexes are encoded in our DNA. All the brain needs is gentle facilitation to activate that code and help it on its journey. Doing something more intensely or trying to go too quickly can be quite detrimental.

Our reflexes develop in a specific order, and some of them are present at birth but then disappear for a bit until they are needed again. Each one works in conjunction with others and are dependent on others for their mature development. Understanding how the reflexes are related to each other is important because working on related reflexes together can expedite the process. But if you try to integrate a reflex like STNR, but hands supporting, Bauer Crawling, Landau, and ATNR are not fully matured and integrated, 1) it will not integrate, and 2) you run the risk of overwhelming the system. There are about 30 neuroreflex patterns, including primitive, postural, and righting reflexes. In programs that focus solely on a handful of reflexes, significant aspects of the puzzle can be overlooked, leading to negative consequences.

There are no magic wands in this work. It takes time. In fact, it may take a couple of years to establish and mature those pathways. Doing something more, faster, and with greater intensity will not speed up the process. As I shared, it may slow it down considerably.

I have three principles that I follow in this work:

1) Meet them where they are

2) Be present and honor the individual

3) Less is more