“Here I stand, and here I’ll stay. The cold never bothered me anyway…”

Sound familiar? The global phenomenon and power ballad from Disney’s 2013 hit Frozentells a powerful tale of a princess learning to accept her past and her powers, letting go of her fear and finding empowerment through self-acceptance. Living authentically is a wonderful theme to introduce to children, yet possible only when a sense of security enables that confidence. 

Consider this lyrical verse: “Conceal, don’t feel. Don’t let them know…”. At the beginning of the movie and the song, Elsa describes a life where she was afraid to act. She hesitated to reveal her capabilities or to even connect with her family. This is actually fear paralysis at work. In her resistance, she’s showing a strong desire to withdraw. Thinking about our Babkin reflex, the ability to truly let go from our embrace (our cling of Moro) is not present. When our defensive reflexes are active, it is hard to feel safe in our connections to others and the world around us. 
 

The song “Let It Go” plays such an important role in the Disney movie, capturing Elsa’s character development from moments of isolation to soaring anthems that can’t help but make viewers cheer. As part of our therapeutic practice at Thrive, we involve our clients in a journey of knowing themselves from the inside out. We foster agency by allowing choices where they make sense. Clients decide their movement plan within the parameters that fit their needs. Through a greater self-awareness comes the ability to regulate feelings, find self-acceptance and a healthy release. Let it Go!

As connections to the higher parts of the brain form, pathways are established and reinforced. The cerebellum, home to nearly 70% of those neurons, plays a role in organizing those early primitive movements upwards from the brain stem. The better we build on these connections, the more we gain control over our movement. By encouraging exploration through practice, we’re helping children to learn coordination in their movement. Higher connections, like those to the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, come later, enabling us to act with more focus and consistency. 

The structures that make up our brain never work in isolation and it’s important to create strong connections that reinforce how each work together. Poor connections to parts of our brain may result in aggressive behavior or the inability to process sensory information effectively. Speech and language, as well the ability to maintain focus and attention, are two areas that are also highly reliant on neural linkages.

The Infant Palmar reflex is an early grasping reflex where the fingers of an infant curl inward when the inside of the hand is touched. This reflex is closely associated with the Moro’s cling stage, helping find calm through embrace. Infants often hold tight not only to adult fingers but beloved objects to self-sooth. The hands also open and close as an infant’s suck reflex activates, demonstrating a close connection between grasping and our developing articulation and connection with others. Our hands have the power to send signals of safety and security to our brain through their grasping movement. 

Squeezing a soft, pliable ball may be a temporary outlet for nervous energy, the repetitive sensory distraction a helpful resource during brief moments of stress. Fidget spinners emerged as another small, portable device for those dealing with anxiety, ADHD and some autism disorders by providing a focal point along with the pleasing sensory experience. The idea behind calming strips is similar, redirecting focus with new sensory input designed to stimulate nerve endings on the fingers that in turn sends calming signals to the brain. 

While these resources may offer effective soothing tactics for the short-term management of social and emotional challenges, it’s important to identify and work on the root causes for behavioral patterns. At Thrive Therapy, our ultimate goal is always to empower our clients to understand themselves better and unlock practices that not only manage but reinforce positive development. By practicing rhythmic movements that support connections to the brain, we’re training our bodies to deal with stress from within.

A child walks on his toes. A young boy shakes his hand and throws his pencil down, exhausted and frustrated by the exercise of writing letters at school. For older children, it may become hard to enter a conversation with a group friends, choosing observation or isolation rather than navigating a complex social situation. Shifts in routine may be hard for others, finding challenge in unpredictable outcomes. These emotional and physical manifestations are the result of immature grasping reflexes and represent how closely our sense of security is linked with the reflexes around one’s mouth, hands and feet.

The Palmar Grasp reflex integrates during the first year after birth and is thought to be part of early evolutionary development that enables some mammals to cling or grasp on to their mother early in life. The hands and mouth both play a significant role in the baby’s earliest exploration of the world around her. When the inner pads of the fingers or palm are stimulated, fingers curl inward. Oftentimes you’ll see infants grasp tightly to an adult’s finger when placed in their outstretched palm. 

If the reflex remains active, it may impact fine motor skills, muscle tone development and may lead to speech and articulation challenges. Young children often demonstrate a lingering reflex by needing to clutch a beloved toy or object in their hand as they move through their day. A retained Palmer Grasp reflex may result in tightly clenched fists as well, placing tension on the body overall and particularly upward toward the TMJ area. The Palmer Reflex plays a role in the development of facial expressions in directly as well. 

Similar to Palmar Grasp, the Infant Plantar reflex involves curling inward of the toes, and may also demonstrate evidence of early evolutionary cling. This reflex calls upon the longest neurons in the body, traveling down from the brain to the feet and toes. The toes curl in response to pressure applied to the ball of the foot. The reflex gradually integrates with the development of more complex foot movements as an infant’s toes begin to dig into the ground and develop through early crawling stages. These movements prepare the body to stand upright, navigating the world with increasing stability, balance and coordination. 

When the Infant Plantar is retained, there may be challenges moving through stages of crawling to walking. Later in life, challenges with running, jumping and overall balance may occur. This may manifest in stiff legs and sore shins. Children that lead with ‘toe walking’ may also have active Plantar reflexes.

Studies have also shown the relationship between grasping reflexes and language, a concept we’ll explore in a later blog post. Infants open their mouths and babble as toes wiggle, and palms often open and close when the Sucking reflex is at work. Active grasping reflexes may result in delayed speech development as a direct connection.

Emma was on edge, taking in the world around her with more than caution. Her eyes were darting, fearful and overwhelmed by everything around her. Noises were too much and she felt everything deeply. 

From 11 months of age, Emma had been shuttled between therapists and appointments. Her weeks were packed with up to ten therapy sessions, many of them a long car ride from home. Still, no one could explain fearful behavior, her tension. Emma’s parents struggled with naps, which were a routine battle for their overstimulated daughter. Her body simply would not relax.

Emma had support in the classroom, but conferences were met with concern. Every morning, she cried at drop off and counted the hours until she returned to her mom. At school, Emma was constantly revved up, prone to outbursts and overstimulation. She required frequent sensory breaks. Then, Emma found Thrive. Her mom was introduced to an acquaintance who suggested she might have delayed primitive reflexes. She was referred to a specialist nearby: Elizabeth Hickman.

“We had literally hundreds of appointments and no one was able to give me anywhere near the comfort and the understanding that Elizabeth has,” says Emma’s mom of discovering Thrive two years ago. “She was the first person to make sense of all of her history. It all started coming together.”

Elizabeth worked with Emma on calming her system and shaped her once weekly sessions around addressing her active defensive reflexes. Emma’s parents practiced rhythmic movement exercises at home, building on her weekly sessions and lessons they learned after attending a Thrive workshop. Slowly but surely, Emma found calm. Her mother watched in amazement as her child’s alert system was able to relax. To see their daughter, comforted to the point of dozing off after a Thrive session was a welcome new milestone.

Last fall, Emma’s mom sat in on a very different parent-teacher conference. Over and over again, her teachers echoed their amazement for this gifted child. She’s doing phenomenally, they said. She asks questions and waits patiently for help. Her problem solving is grade levels ahead. She is comfortable in her own skin.

When a child experiences overstimulation, prone to outbursts and has trouble self-soothing, both fear paralysis and Moro are active. Driven by the over-production of adrenaline, they are literally stuck in ‘fight or flight’ mode, as the body has not yet learned to reset to a place of calm and a feeling of safety.