ATNR - non-integrated

[sangtarah]

The OT says dd9 has non-integrated asymmetrical tonic reflex. She didn’t explain it or point it out though, it was just in a short list of “areas of concern”. This same dd has been in VT for around 7 months. Handwriting took us to the OT. She also has had struggles in math, and the short internet article I read said that’s not uncommon.

I would welcome any input from the hive. On what this means, what we should be looking at, future, things at home, anything really. 

[kbutton]

I have not been able to tie my kids' reflexes to specific learning issues like math, but I have been able to tie it to things that interfere with learning in general, such as not being able to use their visual or motor skills properly. 

https://www.retainedneonatalreflexes.com.au/reflexes-explained/

This quote is the sort of thing one of my kids had major issues with--every time he looked away from where his hand was or every time he re-positioned his hand, he was a mess. It didn't even have to be blackboard work--just copying from one page to another or from the top of a page to the bottom of a page was a major struggle.

Quote

In the neonatal display of the ATNR, the hand moves in conjunction with the head. This connection between touch and vision helps to establish distance perception and hand eye co-ordination. If retained, the hand and eye want to move together, making it difficult to look up at a blackboard and write.

Our VT worked on some integration, and he is doing some OT as well. I am not sure if we'll ever get full integration, but he's doing a lot better. It's not always where we think it will be better though--even though VT was worth every penny and helped my second son a great deal, he actually got the most benefit when he was able to hear speech in background noise much better. He went from basically deaf to speech in a noisy environment to being able to hear us talk through the door if he's taking a shower.

I wanted to note that every person that tests your child will find evidence of some of the same reflexes and maybe some different ones, and it's very uncommon for just one reflex to be retained, though one might certainly be much worse than the others. You might also get better answers if your child is at least mildly fatigued when tested--not necessarily sleepy, just already put through their paces in some way with movement or visual-spatial tasks.

Some people get a bump in function from one therapy but then have to revisit things again after a growth spurt. Other people are kind of one and done--my older son has some slight problems as a 9th grader, but he's been mostly solid since doing VT and working on some reflexes. My other kid just seems to need work every other year or so (but he also has a connective tissue disorder that means his body is not getting the same kinds of proprioceptive feedback that other bodies get). 

The VT practice used a specific series of exercises that are readily found on the internet like bear walking, lizard exercises, etc., but they had a specific progression, and they added in a metronome and such as the child got better at each exercise. They watched really carefully for signs that they could move to a new exercise. We practiced 5 times a week (or daily if we were doing awesome). His current OT does more Rhythmic Movement for reflexes, and he's doing Astronaut Training. It seems to be good stuff.

[PeterPan]

Well if your OT tested reflexes (which is a good thing!), then she's planning to treat them, yes? She should be able to give you a list of homework, exercises to do to begin to integrate the retained reflexes. Whatever improves improves. For my ds, integrating reflexes calmed his overall behavior. If you've got an OT who actually knows to check them, that's a good start.

If you're looking for exercises, trying searching Pyramid of Potential.

[PeterPan]

27 minutes ago, kbutton said:

He went from basically deaf to speech in a noisy environment to being able to hear us talk through the door if he's taking a shower.

What were you doing when that happened? That's way cool...

[geodob]

The ATNReflex, is triggered by turning the head to either side. Causing the arm and the leg to extend, on the side the head turns to.  This Reflex needs to be inhibited, to enable the left and right sides to work in coordination with each other.  Which is also essential for the coordination of the eyes.  Here's a link with a clear explanation of ATNR:

http://occupationaltherapyforchildren.over-blog.com/article-atnr-105923600.html

 

[Heathermomster]

My son had the ATNR, STNR, and another.  As a 7th grader, he worked with an OT for 6 weeks performing IM (interactive metronome) therapy.  Later as a 10th grader, DS worked with a ped PT because a couple reflexes were still not integrated.  He performed agility, balance, weight lifting, and cross body type exercises.  Son’s posture and ability to sit properly at a desk improved significantly.  Following ped PT, son worked with a private swim instructor and finally mastered swimming.  My greatest regret is not finding DS a good ped PT when he was younger.  Not all OTs are equal.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Heathermomster

[kbutton]

15 hours ago, PeterPan said:

What were you doing when that happened? That's way cool...

VT. Not sure which reflex--they worked on Moro with the idea that working on Moro is often the lynchpin, and it's the one that affects vision the most. Some of the exercises were clearly meant to target a variety of reflexes. They just didn't make any specific claims about reflexes.