Primitive Reflexes 

What Are Primitive Reflexes?  

Have you ever heard the term Primitive Reflexes? Funny enough, we are all born with them. Primitive Reflexes are involuntary body movements that aid in infant delivery, keeping babies safe /alive, and aid in development through infancy. As infants age and experience different milestones, those primitive reflexes integrate and no longer appear when stimulated. For example, one reflex we all have as babies is the palmer reflex. When something is placed in a baby’s hand, they instantly close their palm around it. As a baby starts crawling, that constant stimuli on the palm of the hand makes that reflex integrate allowing more functional and intentional use of the baby’s hand. But if something were to happen to keep that baby from crawling or weight bearing on their hands, they are not getting that stimulus and therefore not integrating that primitive response of closing their palm, making it hard for the child to have voluntary control of their hand for play or even eating.  

Primitive Reflexes 

Now that there is an understanding of what primitive reflexes are, let’s look at some common primitive reflexes that we typically see in the clinic.  

• Moro Reflex: primitive fight or flight response. It occurs from birth to 2 to 4 months.  
• If retained: hypersensitivity, poor impulse control, social and emotional immaturity, Anxiety 

• Rooting Reflex: automatic turning of head/mouth towards food. occurs birth  3 to 4 months  
• If retained: fussing eating, articulation problems, thumb sucking  

• Palmar Reflex: automatic flexion of fingers to grasp with input to palm, occurs birth to 5 to 6 months  
• If retained: poor fine motor skills/ manual dexterity, sticking out tongue while writing, messy handwriting  

• Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR): assists baby through birth canal and develops cross midline movements, occurs birth to 4 to 6 months  
• If retained: poor hand-eye coordination, difficulty with handwriting, trouble crossing vertical midline of body, poor visual tracking  

• Spinal Galant Reflex: Prepares body for crawling, occurs birth – 3 to 9 months  
• If Retained: Unilateral or bilateral postural issues, fidgeting, bed wetting, poor concentration  

• Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR): basis for head management/control and postural stability, occurs In Utero to 3.5 years  
• If retained: poor muscle tone, toe walking, motion sickness, poor spatial awareness   

• Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR): helps the body divide movement in half/at midline to facilitate movement/crawling, occurs 6 to 9 months to 9 to 11 months  
• If retained: Tendency to slump while seated, poor muscle tone, W-sitting, decreased focus/attention/concentration, poor hand-eye coordination  

Retained Reflexes 

So what happens if your child has or may have retained reflexes? Well, it can interfere with their current level of function. Some activities may be harder for them to complete than others due to those involuntary responses. It’s not too late, an Occupational or Physical therapist can assist in creating a plan to integrate those reflexes and improve your little one’s functional performance via stretches, exercises, or play. Also, keep reading and researching on this topic! For more support and guidance for suspected retained reflexes, please contact your pediatrician, occupational therapist, or physical therapist.  

Breanna Hester MS, OTR/L