How Primitive Reflexes Helped My Child’s Dyslexia

Nate had struggled his entire life with Dyslexia and reading comprehension. For years I looked for a solution, anything that could benefit his learning. I had studied different techniques and programs that had been known to help Dyslexics, but it all seemed to be helping some of  the symptoms of Dyslexia, not the root of the problem. We could practice phonics and site words all we wanted, and he would improve a little, but not as much as we hoped. Problem was that the improvement was slow and as he grew, so did the gap between what he should have been able to read, and what he really could read. The thing was, he was super smart. He had a gift with three dimensional and spatial type work. He could be an amazing architect, engineer or sculptor if he could just get through all the paper work of high school. I knew he was smarter than his reading abilities were showing he was.

Problem was, school is all about reading, so it was making him feel like he wasn’t as smart as the other kids. It was killing his confidence and making him hate school. It drove me crazy because I knew how intelligent he was.

He wasn’t a quitter, and didn’t give up, but struggled all through high school. He had been in IEP programs and struggled with Dyslexia, Auditory Processing and over active Sensory Processing. Toward the end of his years in high school, I found something that would change our lives. I began studying and learning information on neuroplasticity (the brains ability to rewire), Sensory cognitive exercises (to build better connections in the brain) and Visual Therapy.

The exercises, and Vision Therapy, were helping him a lot with reading, and I was so happy about it, but there were still a few areas we needed to work on. He still struggled with Auditory and Sensory issues.

Then I learned all about Primitive Reflexes. I dove in and learned everything I could, reading books, searching websites, and even attended a lecture about it. We eventually tested and found that some of his Primitive Reflexes had not integrated as a baby. These Reflexes were well known for causing visual problems, reading issues and some of his physical problems with his hips, back, knees and gait which he had struggled with since he first started to walk.

"This is very common in Dyslexics that did not crawl as babies"

I was so excited! Finally, solutions that were doing more than just putting a band aid on the problem. I had looked so long and hard for something that actually worked, and we had finally found it.

More About Testing for Primitive Reflexes 

Within a couple of months after starting the Primitive Reflex Integration Exercises, these other problems started to improve. He noticed being able to understand and remember verbal instructions better. He noticed a big improvement in discerning one person’s voice in a crowd and not being as sensitive to noisy rooms. He noticed his reading and comprehension improving. He even started buying his own books and reading for enjoyment. This was a big leap of improvement. He used to avoid books and even avoid looking at open pages because they would make him feel nauseous. I was over the moon! I only wished I had found all of that information sooner.

At the time I write this, Nate is 22 years old now and doing great. He is positive about his future and continues to work at self-improvement exercises. He is successful at his job and supports himself. Nate recently became an investor and part owner of Solve Learning Disabilities, LLC. Check out other Dyslexia Interventions.