Author: kaleidoscopeot

As an occupational therapist, one of the things I love to do is educate parents, caregivers, and educators about retained primitive reflexes—and more importantly, how to integrate them with the right exercises and interventions. Many children struggling with coordination, focus, handwriting, or even emotional regulation may actually have underlying retained primitive reflexes impacting their development.

A study in 2023 found that 89.5% of elementary-aged children, between the ages of 3-8 years old, exhibited at least one retained reflex, with the Moro reflex (70.8%), Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) (78.3%), and Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) (67.5%) being the most commonly retained. These reflexes, which should integrate within the first year of life, can significantly impact a child’s ability to sit still in class, coordinate their movements, or even manage sensory input effectively. The good news? We can help integrate these reflexes! Through targeted exercises, movement-based interventions, and structured activities, we can support a child’s nervous system in maturing and developing more efficient motor patterns and new neural pathways.

When we address these foundational skills, we often see improvements in:

✅Focus and attention in the classroom

✅Posture and coordination for gross and fine motor tasks

✅Emotional regulation and sensory processing

✅Handwriting, reading, and learning readiness

I love sharing this knowledge because it empowers parents, educators, and caregivers to better understand the “why” behind certain challenges and equips them with strategies to help. When we work together to address retained reflexes, we are unlocking a child’s full potential—and that is why I love what I do.

PRO-TIPS: Connection Before Correction
Many children, especially with retained primitive reflexes, can struggle with emotional regulation. To show them love and help them change their behaviors, connecting before correcting is a necessary first step. What does that look like? Know how to self-regulate! Children will mirror their caregivers. When you are calm, they will also demonstrate increased calmness.

Below are some strategies to encourage emotional regulation skills:
✅ Breathing Together. One strategy to use with kids is to tell them, “Breathe in through your nose like you’re smelling flowers and out through your mouth like you’re blowing out birthday candles.”
✅ Deep Pressure. Bear hugs, gentle squeezes, and or using a weighted lap blanket.
✅ Rhythmic Movements. Have your child engage in gentle rocking motions or side-to-side swaying movements.
✅ Blowing/Sucking Activities. Blow bubbles, pinwheels, drink something thick like a milkshake through a straw.

You can also find further information on this topic by visiting kotfxbg.com, clicking
on the “Blog” tab, and searching for “Primitive Reflexes.”
If you suspect your child or student may have retained primitive reflexes, let’s talk!

Reference:
Fernández-Valdez, M., Jiménez-Pérez, H., & Fernández-Valdez, A. (2023). Prevalence of Active Primitive Reflexes and
Craniosacral Blocks in Healthy Children. National Library of Medicine. PMC10296916.

RAINY DAYS + SENSORY PLAY = BRAIN BOOSTS
Last month, we explored how multi-sensory experiences strengthen learning by firing more neurons — and as the saying goes, “neurons
that fire together wire together!” But when April showers keep us indoors, what’s a great go-to activity for growth and fun?

SENSORY BINS
These simple, hands-on activities are packed with developmental power and perfect for indoor play. Whether your child plays solo, with
you, or a sibling, sensory bins offer endless opportunities for creativity and connection.

Why OTs Love Sensory Bins:
Multi-sensory exploration: Engages touch, sound, sight, and sometimes even smel and taste for deeper learning.
Cognitive development: Promotes problem-solving, imaginative play, and language skils.
Fine motor growth: Scooping, pinching, and pouring build strength and coordination in little hands.
Self-regulation: Calming and organizing for the nervous system—great for transitions or downtime.
Play + social skills: Encourages turn-taking, cooperation, and pretend play with others.
Let’s play with purpose — rain or shine!

MAKE YOUR OWN SENSORY BINS!

Rainbow Bin
Base: Dyed rice or rainbow-colored pom-poms
Add-ins: Tongs, color cups or trays, rainbow printables
Activity: Sort by color, match items to rainbow mats, or build patterns.
OT Skill Focus: Visual discrimination, color recognition, grasp strength, and bilateral coordination.

Ocean Bin:
Base: Blue water beads, aquarium gravel, or dyed rice
Add-ins: Toy sea animals, scoops, shells, small container boats
Activity: Create an underwater world. Make up stories, practice scooping and transferring water beads with tools.
OT Skill Focus: Imaginative play, hand-eye coordination, bilateral integration, and
storytelling/language development.

Construction Bin:
Base: Kinetic sand, dry corn, or crushed cereal
Add-ins: Mini trucks, scoops, blocks, pebbles
Activity: Scoop and dump like a dump truck, build a mini road, or create a pretend construction site.
OT Skill Focus: Fine motor coordination, heavy work for proprioception, and planning/problem-solving

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” -MARY POPPINS

As spring arrives, it’s the perfect time to get kids outside and moving in ways that engage their senses! I don’t know about you but my family definitely enjoyed the spring weather this past weekend! We spent hours outdoors going to soccer practice, walking the dogs, and doing yard work!

Use this Spring to engage your child in sensory play! It is more than just fun—when children activate multiple sensory systems at once, it has a profound impact on their development. Research continues to show that multi-sensory engagement helps our working memory, attention, and other cognitive processes! When we process new sensory information (especially when it is more than one at a time) it is helping our brains create new neural pathways! Not only do these new neural pathways help with our cognitive processing skills, as mentioned, but they are also related to increased processing speed as well as increased motor coordination!

We all know the five senses but did you know there are three other sensory systems? It is
important to include ALL the sensory systems into our playtime!
Famous 5 Senses:
*Taste
*See
*Hear
*Smell
*Feel

Hidden Senses:
*Vestibular- knowing where your head is in space (i.e swinging, cartwheels, log-rolling)
*Proprioception- knowing where your body is in relation to itself (ie. jumping, pushing, pulling)
*Interoception- knowing the internal signals of your body (hungry/thirsty etc)

This Spring, find some fun outdoor activities to do outside with your child and see how many senses you can incorporate into each activity. Multi-sensory play is the best kind!

PRO-TIPS
Swing: Incorporating a sensory swing into playtime can have a calming effect on children because of the vestibular input it provides. Swinging back and forth or spinning gently helps regulate the sensory system and can improve focus and attention. For children who crave deep pressure, a compression swing offers a hug-like sensation combined with movement, addressing both tactile and vestibular needs simultaneously.
Gardening: Gardening is a wonderful way to engage multiple senses! Spotting weeds, digging them up, adding new soil, planting seeds and flowers you are using your visual, tactile, olfactory, and proprioceptive sensory systems.
Sidewalk Chalk Obstacle Course: Let your child design their own chalk obstacle course—think hopscotch, zig-zag lines, spirals, or animal tracks. Crawling, jumping, and balancing as they follow the path engages gross motor muscles and provides vestibular and proprioceptive input. The act of drawing itself works the tactile system and
encourages fine motor control as well.
Bubble Play: Blowing bubbles challenges oral motor control and breath regulation. Chasing bubbles stimulates the vestibular system with dynamic movement while popping bubbles with hands or feet offering tactile input.

References:
Harkla. (2022). What is Multisensory Processing. Retrieved from https://harkla.co/blogs/specialneeds/multisensory-processing

If your family is anything like mine, you also love family game nights! Christmas break is an ideal time to break out the hot chocolate and some favorite games! Below you will find a list of some of my family’s favorite games and how they help to address various skills!

BATTLESHIP is a great game for working on executive functioning skills, visual scanning, and fine motor skill/dexterity.

Tip: Make this harder by taking the pieces and hiding them in theraputty or playdoh. Before starting the game, they must dig out their pieces as this helps with fine motor strengthening.

TWISTER: Who doesn’t love this famous game? Twister involves spatial awareness, bilateral integration, strengthening, coordination, following directions, and balance.

Tip: If this game isn’t already hard enough, make a rule that they can’t have two body parts on dots directly next to each other or before the spinner spins everyone has to hold the position for 10 seconds.

PERFECTION: No matter how often I play or how old I get I still jump when that timer goes off! This game addresses fine motor skills, visual scanning, and hand-eye coordination.

Tip: Does your child have a hard time reaching across mid-line? If so, put the pieces on different sides of the board. Have them reach across with their opposite hand to pick up the pieces. Have them play this in a crawl position for added proprioception and upper body strengthening benefits.

JENGA: If you have played Jenga, you know the suspense of the game! This game works on many skills such as executive functioning skills like strategy and impulse control, fine motor skills such as pinch strength, hand-eye coordination, and social/emotional skills.

Tip: For an added challenge, play this game in a tall kneel position at the coffee table work on postural control and balance.