What Happens in a Reflex Session?
Your therapist has made a recommendation to check out Wendy Nelson at Sense Enabled because she’s a neurodevelopmental specialist working with reflexes and sensory processing challenges. Great, wait, a neurodevelopmental what? You’re not even sure how to pronounce it, let alone understand what that means but it certainly conjures up images of someone rummaging around inside your skull. What does she do? What does a session look like? Are there sharp objects involved, cause it kinda sounds like sharp objects should be involved?!
Let’s start with a definition for neurodevelopment: is the brain’s ability to develop the neurological pathways for normal functioning enabling it to learn, focus, develop memories and social skills. For us humans it is an ongoing, lifelong process beginning in utero and continuing throughout our lives into old age. But for some of us and a variety of reasons these pathways may have atypical development or be working inefficiently. My job is to find these challenged pathways and improve the connections, especially those between the body and the brain, to make learning and life easier. So, if the inability to sit still in a classroom is interfering with your ability to focus and learn it is my task to figure out why and help in the development of calmer, more efficient neural pathways.
How do you do that? Well I do it using holistic, movement-based activities designed to improve the brain’s pathways and neurological connections. Many of these activities look like simple children’s games and employ rhythmic, repetitive movements but for those facing these issues they can anything but simple or easy. My findings are based the combination of a comprehensive patient history and an observational assessment of posture, movement and behavior done in the office with my client. My primary methods are grounded in reflex integration and sensory processing methods to both assess and address these challenging behaviors.
What does an assessment/session look like:
Filling out the patient history form and sending it in at least 24 hours before the appointment. We will go over questions, yours and mine, before starting the actual assessment.
Wear clothing comfortable to move in as we will be on a massage table, sitting in chairs or a yoga mat on the floor. Clothing should be fairly tight to the body so I can observe posture and movement.
Reflex Integration Example: If I am checking for a Babinski reflex I will ask the client to lie on the table. I will run my thumb up the center of each foot from heel to toes. Then we will review together what the response to that touch means and how we will proceed. If there is no response we move on to the next reflex check. With a response we will go over what that means and learn the activity to be taken home for your home program.
Initial assessments last 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the client’s tolerance and questions. A regular maintenance session is an hour.
An initial assessment includes checks for the 8 primary reflexes and possibly some oral reflexes. It will include designing, learning and reviewing the home program.
A regular maintenance session addresses those reflexes we have found to be persistent and adjusting the home program or learning new activities
A sensory screening follows the HANDLE protocols looking at: visual tracking, binocularity, audio processing, gravity issues, interhemispheric integration, differentiation, lateralization, tactility, low tone. It includes designing, learning and reviewing the home program.
At the end of any session we will review the activity sheets for the home program and go over any concerns or questions. Home programs are done 3- 5 days a week and take 15-30 minutes depending on the client. Most home program activities are sprinkled throughout the day rather than being done in one chunk.
Most clients come once a month but others are weekly or bi-weekly depending upon their needs.
I am available by phone, text or email to answer concerns or make changes to a home program between each monthly session. I view myself as a family’s resource and welcome your questions.
My holistic methods are grounded in training and philosophy that nothing stands alone. I believe that small changes can make a big difference in the lives of challenged individuals. My work dovetails well with other therapies, like speech or vision, because once the brain understands what you’re asking of it things happen more easily and with less frustration. And while we may play with hula hoops and balls there no sharp objects involved!
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or join us for our community meeting on Tue July 14th at 6pm online where we’ll be talking about to expect in a session.
And remember every body should be a comfortable place to live in!
