ATNR

What Is It? Tests for ATNR Exercises To Do Studies When a baby reflex is not integrated, in can cause learning problems later on. Here are some symptoms of a Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) in an older child. A retained ATNR can cause difficulties with:

horizontal tracking eyes struggle to cross the midline binocular coordination eyes cannot work together for convergence saccades the rapid eye movements required for reading cerebral specialization the brain remains symmetrical and doesnt develop a dominant side un-established hand dominance child switches between hands, is ambidextrous, doesnt develop a dominant hand until 7 or 8, or uses one hand for fine motor and another for gross motor mixed eye dominance child ends up reading with both sides of the brain letter reversals confusion with place value like the difference between 21 and 12 no intuitive sense of right and left he has to figure it out each time

What is the ATNR?

Definition When the head turns to the side, the arm and leg on that side extend, and the hand on that side opens. Simultaneously, the arm and leg on the opposite side bend (flexion), and the hand on the opposite side forms a fist. When should it be integrated? Emerges at around 18 weeks in utero and is inhibited or suppressed between 6-8 months after birth, while awake. It persists till three and a half years while asleep. (Aung Kyaw Sein. Persistent Primitive Reflexes: A Prognostic Study on School-aged Children with Intellectual Disability, 217) ATNR with Line Diagram ATNR on a Wriggling Baby Coen the Fencer

Checking for ATNR Schilder Test

You may find it helpful to do this test on a neuro-typical child first, to get an idea of what the response should look like. The Schilder Test is as follows: 1. Explain and demonstrate what you are going to do. Tester stands behind the child and gives the instruction: In a moment, you will close your eyes and I will turn your head slowly first to one side and then the other, all you have to do is to keep your arms in exactly the same position as they are now; only your head moves. 2. Child assumes test posture.

Stand upright with feet together Arms held straight out in front at shoulder level Wrists are relaxed and hands floppy Eyes are closed

3. Test the child

Slowly turn childs head to one side until chin is over shoulder Pause for 10 seconds Move head back to midline, and pause. Slowly turn childs head to other side until chin is over shoulder Pause for 10 seconds Repeat on both sides

Indicators of the reflex include

movement of the arms in the same direction as the head turn dropping of the arms elbow bends swaying and loss of balance

Adapted from: Philips and Sheehy, Prevalence of Persistent Primary Reflexes and Motor Problems in Children with Reading Difficulties, 2004.

Test Ease in Crossing Midline

Check the childs ability to make a lazy-8, and check how she normally writes a regular 8. SeeCorpus Callosum for a description of test.

Test Ear and Eye Dominance

See the Ear Dominance and Eye Dominance pages respectively. A child with a retained ATNR will often not have established dominance, so you could expect the child to choose L on some of the tests, and R on others.

Test for Unestablished Hand Dominance

Present all objects at midline (belly button). Do not let child know you are checking which hand he uses. Hand preference (uses the same hand 60% of the time) should be established by age 3-4, and hand dominance should be established by 5-6. Lack of established hand dominance is a symptom of a retained ATNR. Print out the below list, and circle which hand child uses. Gross Motor L L L L R R R R Touch your nose Hold up three fingers. Sword fight with a stick Tap two pencils together 3x. Which hand is moving? If a child over the age of 5 moves both hands,

that is a strong indicator of unestablished dominance. Fine Motor L L L L L R R R R R Six chocolate chips in a row straight out from belly button pick each one up and eat it Open container Twirl top Sort beads divide them in piles based on shape and color Blow bubbles which hand hold the wand

Skilled Activities L L L L L L L L L L L R R R R R R R R R R R Throw ball Eat with fork or spoon Drink with cup Cut with a knife (no fork involved) Cut with scissors Hammer Sew Comb hair Sweep with broom (upper hand) Toothbrush Write

The writing hand is the worst way to check, because it is so often culturally influenced. So check which hand is used for multiple activities. Mixed hand dominance could be caused by being genetically left in a right-handed society, or by the prenatal environment, or by an unknown cause, or by a retained ATNR.

What To Do About Retained ATNR Exercises

If you see symptoms of a retained ATNR in an older child, you can attack the problem from multiple angles. Itd be best to work from all three angles concurrently. 1. Work on Integrating Reflex Directly Integration of Infant Dynamic and Postural Reflex Patterns, by Svetlana Masgutova, Ph.D. If your child has more than one retained reflex, it is worth getting this manual. The Robot, as shown by AdahCampany, also known as the Lizard Bow and Arrow, as shown by KeiserNeuro ATNR Marionette, as shown by PlanForLearning Hippy Sitting, as shown by PlanForLearning Say Hi, as described by Grinden. This is similar to Eat the Ball, as shown by eentaliges30. Lie on back with arms and legs parallel to sides. Turn head all the way so the ear touches the floor, and greet the imaginary neighbor on the left. Then turn head back to midline, pause, then turn head all the way to the right. Repeat.

2. Work on Increasing Communication Between Hemispheres See Corpus Callosum. 3. Work on Vision See Convergence See Horizontal Tracking Pursuits and Saccades

Studies on Retained ATNR in Dyslexia and ADHD

These three sites show the following: 1. Those with poor reading are more likely to have a retained ATNR. 2. Work with specific exercises, and the ATNR integrates. The study used the INPP movement sequence. 3. As the ATNR integrates, reading improves. Prevalence of persistent primary reflexes and motor problems in children with reading difficulties Three groups of 41 children were drawn from a representative, cross-sectional sample of 409 children (aged 9 10 years) The three groups represented the bottom, middle and top 10% respectively of readers from the total sample population. The relative persistence (on a scale of 0 to 4) of the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) and the prevalence of motor difficulties were assessed for these 3 groups. It was found that the lowest reading group had a significantly higher mean level of ATNR . 17% of children in the lowest reading group had extremely high levels of the ATNR while 24% showed no presence of ATNR. Effects of replicating primary-reflex movements on specific reading difficulties in children: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial Children (aged 811 years) with persistent primary reflexes and a poor standard of reading were enrolled into one of three treatment groups: experimental (children were given a specific movement sequence); placebocontrol (children were given non-specific movements); and control (no movements). The experimental group showed a significant decrease in the level of persistent reflex over the course of the study whereas the changes in the placebo-control and control groups were not significant. Primary Movement Program and Dyslexia Researchers from the Dept of Psychology, Queens University, Belfast began research into the effect of such movements on the performance of dyslexic children and completed in 1999. It involved dyslexic children between the ages of 8 and 11. There were three groups; one experimental, one control and one placebo. After one year on the program, the reading ages were retested using the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability. The control and placebo groups had average increases to their reading ages of 7 months