Primitive Reflex Activity in Relation to the Sensory Profile in Healthy Preschool Children

Abstract

The presence of active primitive reflexes (APRs) in healthy preschool children can be an expression of immaturity in the functioning of the nervous system. Their trace presence may not significantly affect the quality of child functioning. They may also undergo spontaneous and complete integration within the stages of child development. However, a higher level of active reflexes and their significant number can disturb sensory-motor development and lead to additional problems in a child’s motor activities, social life, and education. The main purpose of this study was to examine the types of sensory disorders noticed by parents of children, if any, that accompany the presence of active primitive reflexes. The study was conducted in a group of 44 preschool children (aged 4–6 years). The sensory profile of children was determined using Child Sensory Profile Cards, and Sally Goddard-Blythe tests were used to measure their primitive reflexes. The coefficient of determination (R-squared) indicated that the level of reflex activity was most strongly associated with sensory disorders such as dyspraxia, sensory-vestibular disorders, and postural disorders, at a level of p < 0.005. The obtained research results show that the examination of non-integrated reflexes might be a screening tool for children of preschool age. Knowledge of the subject of reflexes and their impact on sensory-motor functions may contribute to more accurate diagnoses of the causes of problems and higher effectiveness of possible therapy.

Retained Primitive Reflexes and Potential for Intervention in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

“…With the maturation of the central nervous system, these primitive reflexes become more challenging to evoke after the first year postpartum when the infant becomes capable of voluntary motor activity. RPRs are not infrequently present in children with ASD, ADHD, or cerebral palsy, and may be early indicators of brain-based deficits (3,4,22,148,(292)(293)(294)(295).…”

Primitive Reflex Factors Influence Walking Gait in Young Children: An Observational Study

“…Searching new aspects of child development, working in new fields and using new tools to understand children in the process of growing up is one of the goals of the PRACS project. We analysed the neuromotor development of the children in the aspects of physical, social and educational status [ 8 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 ]. The presented article shows the results of the research connected with spatio-temporal gait parameters.…”

“…The project investigates primitive reflexes and their impact on the motor, sensory, and cognitive development in preschool and school-age children. There are four articles published from the project so far [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Relationships among integration of Primitive reflexes, Motor competence and Crawling in children

“…The most severe consequences of primary reflexes persistence are typically found in children with cerebral palsy, while milder persistence has been observed in children with reading difficulties and motor problems (McPhillips, Hepper & Mulhern, 2000). It has also been shown that the non-integration of primitive reflexes can cause developmental delays, and is associated with a variety of disorders, such as ADHD (Konicarova, Bob & Raboch, 2013), autism, learning difficulties (Bilbilaj, Gjipali & Shkurti, 2017;Hickey & Feldhacker, 2021;Matuszkiewicz & Ga lkowski, 2021), dyspraxia (Pecuch et al, 2020), dyslexia, behavioral disorders (Rashikj-Canevska & Mihajlovska, 2019) or sensory processing disorders (Bilbilaj et al, 2017, Rashikj-Canevska & Mihajlovska, 2019.…”

“…If primary reflexes inhibition does not occur in a proper and orderly manner, children may develop, in addition to other difficulties, poor Motor Competence (MC) (Gieysztor, Choińska & Paprocka-Borowicz, 2018). Early signs of this may appear as difficulties in running, balance, aiming and catching tasks, poor visual coordination, lack of rhythm or defective spatial orientation (Gieysztor et al, 2018;Pecuch, Ko lcz-Trze˛sicka, Żurowska & Paprocka-Borowicz, 2018;Pecuch et al, 2020).…”