Before suspecting dysgraphia, be aware that your child’s writing difficulties may be linked to uncontrolled archaic reflexes. Let’s find out together what this means and what games and movements graphic therapists need to incorporate it.
What are archaic reflexes?
Also known as primitive reflexes, archaic reflexes are involuntary, unconscious reactions of the nervous system to sensory stimulation. Some of them appear in the womb, others at birth or in the first few months of life. Essential, these archaic reflexes protect us, enable us to move around or facilitate the coordination of our movements.
Systematically integrated in a three-phase pattern (emergence, activation and integration), they can be disrupted for a variety of reasons – whether stress, overwork, difficult childbirth or lack of stimulation from baby, etc.
What does this have to do with writing?
Whatever the cause, any disturbance in the integration of archaic reflexes can lead to learning difficulties – particularly in voluntary movements linked to writing, influencing pencil holding and posture. Among the reflexes most likely to interfere with writing are the grasping reflex and the asymmetric tonic neck reflex (ATNR).
With grasping, the child has difficulty holding the pencil correctly: beyond the potentially painful clenching, he or she will tend to grip it in the palm or, on the contrary, with the fingertips. With RTAC, hand-eye coordination is impaired, disrupting the development of laterality and sitting posture: the child will find it difficult to place his paper correctly, will continually change position, will “break” his wrist and will use only one eye to read…
How does the graphotherapist test these defects?
When a child has difficulties with handwriting, a graphotherapist uses a few games and movements to test the child’s archaic reflexes, in order to determine whether the problem lies at this level, or whether it could be a functional disorder such as dysgraphia.
The professional will test the grasping reflex, which often results in the development of a tridigital grip, with thumb flexion as the writing motor; the hand traction reflex, which translates into tension in the forearms; poor integration of the RTAC, which translates into clumsiness in writing, laterality, difficulty in crossing the midline, etc. the symmetrical tonic neck reflex (ST NR), which results in poor sitting posture, weakness in the arms and difficulty copying, due to neck movements between the board and the desk; Babkin’s palm-mouth reflex, which results in mouth movements when writing, tension in the hands and clenched jaws; and the Galant’s spinal reflex, which results in difficulty sitting still in a chair, and the urge to squirm and wriggle…
On the basis of these observations, the graphotherapist will be able to determine the origin of the disorders and suggest appropriate re-education. Don’t hesitate to consult the professionals on the Ora-visio platform, to clear up any doubts you may have on the subject!
