Reflexes, perception, and cognition are woven tightly together in our developing nervous system. Reflexes are involuntary responses to a stimulus (something happening) and the entire psychological process activating it (how a person responds to the stimulus). Perception is the recognition of incoming sensory information (vision, hearing, touch, smell, moment, balance) while cognition is the ability to process the information and consciously choose to respond appropriately.

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Primitive and postural reflexes play an important role in the organization of brain and motor (movement) development in the first years of life. These include visual and auditory processing, vestibular regulation (balance and eye movement), motor control, psychological development, learning, and behavior. Integration of a primitive reflex will suppress limited motor functions while implementing new movement patterns allowing new neural structures to develop. Each reflex has a myriad of responsibilities in the developmental process. If a primitive or postural reflex fails to integrate, poor organization occurs within the nerve fibers and interferes with the development of the higher (executive) functions of the brain. Primitive reflexes integrate into postural reflexes which enable the maturing child to interact appropriately within their environment.

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When these reflexes are not fully operational or integrated, cognitive overload frequently occurs. Cognitive overload is when the brain must work much harder to process incoming information (stimuli,) which places a high demand on the nervous system (stress). This will result in mental and physical fatigue, causing a loss of concentration and the ability to focus while responding appropriately to present information. This can increase frustrations, causing serious struggles in school, home life, and social interactions. These problems do not go away when a child grows up into adulthood and can continue causing frustrations in their work environment and the ability to achieve their life goals.

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Areas that are impacted by unintegrated reflexes are speech (verbalizing and communication), auditory and visual processing, cognition (thinking, remembering, judging & problem-solving), focus, concentration, movement (motor planning), vestibular activity (balance & eye movements), behavior, reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), math (dyscalculia), hand-eye coordination, timing, sequencing, spatial reasoning, working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. 
 

Movement is the instrument designed to complete the developmental stages for future learning. Reflex integration gets to the root of the problem by addressing the neural connections that are weak or currently missing.