It’s all because of a retained reflex called the STNR - symmetrical tonic neck reflex. It’s a reflex that splits the body in half from top and bottom, and it helps to allow babies to learn to crawl forward. When it doesn’t integrate, or mature, that leaves the person’s body movements at the mercy of what their head, neck, and eyes are doing. It’s extremely exhausting! It can be 10 times harder for people with this reflex retained to copy from the board, sit properly in a chair, ride a bike, etc.

STNR Reflex: What It Is, Signs of Retention & How to Support Integration

Two very important reflexes to integrate are the STNR & ATNR. Generally they integrate between 6 and 12 months old. When they don’t integrate, we can see a variety of functional challenges, including things like learning disabilities, handwriting difficulty, poor posture, ocular motor deficits, left / right confusion, and even misdiagnosed for ADHD! You can see them clearly when they aren’t integrated when doing activities like these! While these integration activities aren’t the most functional

Megan, COTA/L, MSOT on Instagram: "Let’s talk about the STNR reflex🧠🚼 STNR typically emerges around 6-9 mo (depending on your source) and integrates by ~11 mo. When it is present it can affect posture, handwriting, tolerance for sitting at a desk, and coordination. It affects arm and leg positioning and can cause “W sitting”. Through these activities in quadruped, this helps a child weight bear through their extremities, facilitate controlled head movements while challenging core strength, sho

🧠 CEREBELLUM × REFLEX INTEGRATION — HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER 🔸️Primitive reflexes (like ATNR, STNR, Moro, TLR, etc.) are meant to appear early in life and then integrate as the brain develops. 🔸️For integration to happen smoothly, higher brain structures must gradually take control over movements that were once automatic. And the cerebellum plays a key role in this process. 🔗 WHY THE CEREBELLUM MATTERS IN REFLEX INTEGRATION The cerebellum is responsible for: • Coordination of movement • Postur

If you’re working on reflex integration with a child and you’re noticing they’re still holding onto a reflex (or multiple) after completing an integration program, these are some other factors to consider: 1. Not consistently doing the activities with good form in a playful manner. 2. Biologic needs aren’t being met (child doesn’t feel safe / secure, hunger, thirst, poor sleep, etc. 3. There’s another underlying cause of retention / challenge. Heavy metal toxicity, mold, parasites, poor nutritio