How NeuroDevelopmental Therapy helps NeuroDevelopmental Therapy is a non-invasive programme of movements which aims to promote development of the nervous system and the inhibition of primative reflexes. It can be very helpful for some Adults with Anxiety and panic disorders and it can help people, particularly children and teenagers, with: Specific learning difficulties (Dyslexia) Co-ordination and balance difficulties (Dyspraxia)   Behavioural and social difficulties including Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), ADHD and Aspergers    Children who are generally under achieving Bed wetting (enuresis) when it is due to developmental delay So what are primitive reflexes and why do they matter? Primitive Reflexes are automatic movements and changes that happen in babies to help them survive, grow and develop.  You probably know know some of these reflexes already. For example the "Suck Reflex" - a new baby is able to suck automatically, that's how he gets his food … as soon as you put something in his mouth he starts to suck. When you put your finger onto a new baby's hand, his fingers will close around yours automatically … this is the "palmar reflex". There are many more such reflexes. As adults, we no longer suck automatically if we put something into our mouths!   Our "suck" reflex disappeared many years ago as did all the other primitive reflexes. Usually these reflexes are inhibited by the time we are a year old and have been replaced by other postural reactions which stay with us for life.  And as our primitive reflexes are inhibited, the parts of our brain needed for us to learn to walk, run, read, write and so on begin to grow and develop. So these parts of the brain can only develop fully when the primitive reflexes have first developed fully and then are inhibited and replaced by postural reactions. If this process hasn't fully happened or was interrupted at any stage there may be a difficulty learning to do certain things. For more information on some of the main reflexes and the potential affects of retaining them ... click here . How would you know if your child has a developmental delay or still had some primitive reflexes? Some of the things which may alert you to the fact that your child still has primitive reflexes and some degree of a developmental delay, are ... not having crawled normally ... learning to talk late and maybe needing Speech Therapy ... having difficulties being toilet trained ... learning to walk late ... having difficulty learning to ride a bike or tie shoelaces ... or not wanting to separate from you. Retention of Primitive Reflexes can lead to a mild neurological delay. A neurological delay can affect a child in a variety of ways…. Some of the more usual are difficulties with balance and coordination (riding bicycles, ball catching etc.), difficulties with reading, handwriting, and transcription. Spatial difficulties, leading to problems with arithmetic. Think about your child’s early development…. Did they skip any milestones? Did they crawl, bunny hop or head bang? Did they have difficulty learning to speak, walk or toilet train? Problems in School At school, they may have difficulty sitting for any length of time ... they may fidget and squirm or may sit in unusual positions ... learning to write and read may be difficult ... they may be disorganized and not be able to remember things. Some of these children are good at sport but most of them are not, being clumsy or awkward. Socially they may have difficulties making friends, they may be children who blush a lot, they may be impulsive or may be shy and many of them suffer at the hands of other children who pick on them and bully them. Very often these children's confidence and self esteem are low. Sequencing difficulties, causing problems with recall of spellings and tables. People with retained primitive reflexes may be very sensitive, quiet and shy, or in other instances ‘inappropriately emotional’, experiencing frequent highs and lows. 27 straight forward questions that can help identify developmental delay If you feel your child may have some developmental delay or retained primitive reflexes, a questionaire published in The British Journal of Occupational Therapy in October 1998 will help you get a clearer picture ... click here to see the questionaire and check it for yourself  A Neuro Developmental Therapy programme takes only 5-10 minutes a day The programme consists of movements which are used naturally by a baby and a young child. By repeating them for a little time every day, the nervous system is gently encouraged to mature and  become more open to learning. Each person will have a set of specific movements which are performed every day for approximately 5-10 minutes.  A programme is specifically designed for each clients personal needs and the movements change and evolve as the programme progresses.  You and your child are guided through the full programme by Jo personally and she will review progress with you both at regular intervals. A complete programme generally lasts for between 12-18 months. This varies from person to person and depends on such factors as the number of reflexes retained, the degree of retention and the ability of the individual to do the movements.  After you start the programme, we will normally see you and check progress every six weeks.  This is very important as it gives you the support you need and the comfort of knowing how things are developing. Of course, if any questions or difficulties come up in between reviews, you can always contact me by phone or email. What happens when I first contact you? When you contact me, we will talk through your experiences or the experiences of your child and about your concerns. We will go through some questions about early childhood development, learning style and character traits and I will send you a Developmental Questionnaire which you fill in and bring to your first session. All information is of course treated by us in strict confidence. Once you have the form filled out, you can make an appointment to meet me for an Initial Consultation or a Full Assessment. Click here for more information or to book an assessment What happens at an Initial Consultation? An Initial Consultation lasts for about an hour. I will discuss with you the various difficulties you or your child are having and then I will quickly check for the presence of retained primitive reflexes. The assessment is totally non-invasive.  Ideally the person to be assessed should wear a t-shirt and shorts/tracksuit bottoms. This information added to the from developmental questionnaire tells me whether a programme of Neuro Developmental Therapy could be useful for you or your child.  If I think it would be, then we will make an appointment for a full neurological assessment. What happens at the full assessment? The full assessment lasts for approx 2 ½ hours. I do a full check for retained primitive reflexes, the number of reflexes retained and the extent to which they are retained. All my clients are also assessed for the presence of any postural reactions and the extent to which these have developed. I also do tests for balance, coordination, laterality and eye tracking as well as transcription and drawings tests. I may also add in an audiogram at this stage. That's because I want to make sure we all have the full picture before deciding how best to move ahead. At the end of the assessment, I will choose the movement best suited to inhibit any reflexes found and I will also assess be best order in which to work through them. I will demonstrate and teach the first exercise and give you a detailed instruction leaflet showing how to do the exercise at home. Do I need to be referred to you by someone? You don't need a referral to contact us. While many of our clients come to us through schools, psychologists, counselors etc, you are free to contact us directly with any questions you have or to make an appointment for an initial meeting or a full assessment. Click here for more information or to book an assessment Can I do other movement programmes with Neuro Developmental Therapy? No. It's best to do only one programme at a time. Sometimes though, I may integrate Sound Therapy into the programme if it would be beneficial for you or your child. Do dietary supplements help during a programme? Studies show that supplements of Omega 3 and Omega 6 can be beneficial and help progress. We can talk about that when we meet.  Meantime, if you would like to see the results of a trial involving Omega 3 and Omega 6 ... click here Do you have to continue doing the programme for life? Here's more good news. Once the primitive reflexes have been inhibited, they stay that way.  So there is no need to continue the exercises indefinitely. When it's done, it's done! At what age can my child begin a programme of Neuro Developmental Therapy? This very much depends on the child and their ability to do the exercises. Neuro Developmental Therapists see clients of all ages from children to adult. Younger children may start with sound therapy and later progress to Neuro Developmental Therapy. Is Neuro Developmental Therapy useful for adults? Neurodevelopmental Therapy is suitable anyone who has retained primitive reflexes and the benefits and changes are the same as they are for younger people. However, if as an adult you want to undertake a programme, I've found that it's important to have a supportive environment at the time. That's because the changes that occur can also free up and release past thought patterns and emotional memories. People can find this very beneficial, its just a matter of having the someone you can talk and work things through with. If you would like more information on completing an adult programme, feel free to ...  Click here for more information or to book an Adult assessment Click here to return to our Home page   Our busy practice is based in the Stillorgan/Blackrock are South County Dublin and are supporting clients from Dublin City, Stillorgan, Blackrock, Mount Merrion, Foxrock, Ballsbridge, Sandymount, Donnybrook, Cabinteely, Dundrum, Rathfarnham, Terenure, Wicklow, Enniskerry, Bray, Greystones, Lucan, Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Malahide, Portmarnock, Swords, Howth, Clontarf, Naas, Kildare, North Dublin and Wicklow