7 Signs Your Child Might Have Retained Primitive Reflexes

The problem nobody checks for

Your child is struggling at school. The teachers say they can’t concentrate. They fidget constantly. Their handwriting is illegible. They get overwhelmed in noisy environments. They have meltdowns that seem out of proportion to what triggered them.

You’ve probably been through the usual channels. The GP. Maybe CAMHS. Perhaps an occupational therapist or an educational psychologist. Some of these professionals are brilliant. But very few of them will check for one thing that could explain a lot of what you’re seeing.

Retained primitive reflexes.

After eight years at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Development Centre (B.I.R.D) in Chester, I’ve assessed hundreds of children who’d been struggling for years before anyone thought to look at their reflexes. When we did, the pieces started falling into place.

What are primitive reflexes?

Every baby is born with a set of automatic movement patterns called primitive reflexes. They’re hardwired into the brain stem. The rooting reflex helps them find the breast. The palmar grasp reflex makes them grip your finger. The ATNR helps with the birth process and early reaching.

These reflexes are supposed to do their job in the first months of life and then gradually disappear as the brain matures and higher-level movement patterns take over. That process is called integration.

Sometimes it doesn’t happen. The reflexes stay active. And when they do, they can interfere with everything from balance to reading to emotional regulation.

The 7 signs to watch for

Not every child who shows one of these signs has retained reflexes. But if you’re nodding along to three or four of them, it’s worth getting an assessment.

1. They can’t sit still

I don’t mean normal childhood energy. I mean the child who physically cannot stop moving in their chair. They wrap their legs around the chair legs. They lean on the desk. They shift position every thirty seconds. Teachers call it fidgeting. It might be an active Spinal Galant reflex making them hypersensitive to the feeling of the chair back against their spine.

2. Their handwriting is a battle

You can see the effort they’re putting in, but the letters are oversized, inconsistent, and exhausting to produce. They grip the pen too hard. Their hand cramps. Writing a paragraph takes them three times longer than their classmates. This often links to a retained palmar grasp reflex or an asymmetric tonic neck reflex (ATNR) that interferes with the hand-eye coordination needed for writing.

3. Reading is slow and tiring

They lose their place on the page. They skip lines. They find reading physically tiring in a way that goes beyond just not enjoying it. The ATNR, when it’s still active, can interfere with the smooth eye movements needed for tracking across a line of text. The child isn’t lazy or disinterested. Their eyes are literally fighting them.

4. They’re clumsy in a specific way

Not just general clumsiness. The kind where they bump into door frames, knock things off tables, and struggle to catch a ball despite plenty of practice. Poor spatial awareness and coordination problems are common when the tonic labyrinthine reflex (TLR) or STNR haven’t integrated properly.

5. Emotional reactions seem too big

A small frustration triggers a meltdown. A change in routine causes real distress. Retained primitive reflexes can keep the child’s nervous system in a heightened state of alert. Their fight-or-flight system is on a hair trigger. They’re not being dramatic. Their nervous system is genuinely overwhelmed.

6. They struggle with balance and coordination

Riding a bike took much longer than expected. They avoid climbing frames. Swimming is difficult. They might get car sick easily. Balance issues often connect to the TLR and the vestibular system not developing the way it should.

7. Sensory sensitivities are extreme

They can’t stand certain clothing textures. Tags in shirts are unbearable. Socks have to be positioned exactly right. Loud noises cause genuine distress. Retained reflexes can leave the sensory processing system underdeveloped, making the child hypersensitive to input that other children barely notice.

What this isn’t

I want to be clear about something. Identifying retained primitive reflexes is not a diagnosis of ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or anything else. Some children with retained reflexes have those diagnoses. Many don’t.

What I’m describing is a neurological immaturity that can be addressed with specific movement-based exercises. It’s not a label. It’s a treatable condition.

And here’s what matters most: you don’t need a diagnosis to get help. You don’t need a referral. If you recognise your child in what I’ve described, you can book an assessment directly.

What happens in an assessment

I’ll take a detailed developmental history from you. When did they hit their milestones? Were there any complications during pregnancy or birth? What are the specific difficulties you’re seeing now?

Then I’ll work directly with your child, testing for the presence of each primitive reflex through simple movement-based assessments. It’s not invasive. Most children find it quite interesting.

At the end, I’ll tell you what I’ve found and, if retained reflexes are present, what the therapy programme looks like.

The therapy itself

It’s surprisingly simple. A programme of specific movement exercises that your child does at home for about 10-15 minutes a day. These movements are designed to give the brain the stimulation it needs to complete the integration process that didn’t happen in infancy.

Programmes typically run 6-12 months, with appointments every 4-6 weeks to reassess progress and adjust the exercises.

The changes I’ve seen over the years still surprise me. Children who couldn’t write a sentence producing pages of neat work. Children who were labelled as disruptive becoming calm and focused. Children who hated school starting to enjoy it.

Finding help

I’m one of very few practitioners in the UK offering primitive reflex integration therapy. The clinic is in Chester, but I regularly see families from across Cheshire, the Wirral, North Wales, Liverpool, and even Manchester.

If what I’ve described sounds familiar, get in touch. The phone consultation is free, and there’s no obligation. Sometimes just having someone explain what might be going on is the first step towards things getting better.

Call 07469 870 295 or use the contact form.