The treatment programme that I offer utilizes our sense of touch to
re-start the development that stuttered when the primitive reflexes
failed to inhibit. Clients are given a programme of
skin stimulation exercises to carry out at home using a small, soft brush. These exercises take a few minutes each
day. In this way, the reflexes are very gently stimulated to inhibit, and natural
development can proceed unhindered.
Touch is the first sense that we acquire, and is intimately linked to the primitive reflexes. It begins to develop from 5-7 weeks in utero, and is very important in early development: withdrawal reflexes, which are sensitive to touch, develop in an embryo in the very earliest stages of pregnancy; the powerful Moro reflex, which can be elicited by touch, is present from around 9 weeks gestation, and touch-dependent grasping reflexes, such as the Palmar, Plantar, Rooting, and Sucking reflexes, begin to develop in the second trimester.
At an initial appointment the client will be assessed for the presence of primitive reflexes and then given a skin stimulation exercise to carry out at home for 6-8 weeks. You will then return, the reflexes will be assessed again, and then you will be taught a new exercise to carry out for another 6-8 weeks. In this way the programme is tailored to each individual depending on the feedback given at each appointment and the progress that is being made. Each appointment will last for 45-60 minutes.
Typically a complete programme will consist of 6-8 appointments spread over 9-12 months. Alleviation of symptoms usually happens gradually over this period, but this varies between individuals.
