Each year I receive several emails from colleagues about 'retained primitive reflexes.' I am also seeing an increased number of reports from local 'health care' providers who are documenting these alleged problems so I thought I would write a summary of my opinion on this topic. Predatory 'health care' providers including some OTs, PTs, chiropractors, and behavioral optometrists are creating a new 'market' for treating this alleged 'problem.' Parents should be very wary of these practitioners and other professionals should challenge these practices whenever they are seen. The following is the kind of information that causes concern and was provided to me by a colleague as a sample from a student's IEP: The student continues to demonstrate the following retained primitive reflexes that at times interfere with his ability to demonstrate appropriate adaptive responses: Fear Paralysis Reflex, Moro Reflex, Palmer Reflex, Tonic Labyri...
I was happy to see the American Academy of Pediatrics publish their new policy statement about sensory integration. I know that a lot of people are up in arms about this policy but in my estimation the AAP presents a very fair and balanced assessment. Defenders of 'sensory processing disoder' are quick to point out that some more recent research was not included in the AAP review. I was disappointed when I read Dr. Miller's letter to the editor where she talked about the 2007 RCT. This was a great study and I think they did an impressive job of looking at limitations in previous studies but it was only a pilot study and it lacked statistical power, there were noted blinding problems, and it relied on GAS which many people believe opens up issues of expectancy and confirmation bias. My point here is not to rip apart people's efforts because actually it was a good step forward in our research. The problem is that we can't point to studies like th...
History: According to Frick (2002, p. 358), auditory training has been used in Europe since the mid-1900s to address sensory processing disorders and these techniques have been recently popularized in the United States. Frick has based her Therapeutic Listening program on the work of Dr. Alfred Tomatis and Dr. Guy Berard, both of whom are French physicians. Both the Tomatis and Berard programs are delivered by specific machines using earphones but these devices do not have FDA approval and have been banned in the United States (Barrett, 2003). Frick (2001) states “With the advent of new technology, similar altered music has become available on compact disc. The discs do not replace either the Tomatis Method or the Berard Method. The compact discs do provide a less intense way to access both the auditory and vestibular systems to impact neural function and integration and are easily available to clinicians in a variety of practice arenas.” The CDs referenced on Frick’s webpages are ass...
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