Welcome back for post 3 of the primitive reflexes series!
We have completed the primitive reflexes that emerge before birth. This post will discuss the reflexes that emerge at birth or shortly after.
Lets get started!
Landau Reflex (Superman Pose)
- Onset: 3-4 months
- Integration age: 12-24 months
- This reflex is elicited by holding the baby horizontally in the air and the infant will respond with total extension (straightening) of the head, neck, arms, and legs
- Significance: facilitates extensor tone which is important for postural development
- If not integrated: the child will have difficulty completing activities that require proper posture (feeding, classwork, maintaining proper posture when seated at a desk, etc)
- Onset: 4-6 months
- Integration age: 8–12 months
- This reflex is elicited by placing the infant in a crawling position and extend their head; in response the infant will flex (bend) at the hips and knees
- Significance: facilitates a quadruped position which is a static position to prepare for crawling
- If not integrated:
- The child will fidget while seated
- Difficulty maintaining a proper posture without slouching
- Poor muscle tone
- Difficulty sitting up from a supine position
Righting Reactions
- Helps us assume a position by maintaining the normal position of the head in space
- Helps maintain our head-trunk alignment and trunk-limbs alignment
- Helps babies initiate rolling from side to side
Neck Righting (on body)
- Onset: 4-6 months
- Integration age: 5 years old
- This reflex is elicited by placing the baby on their back and rotate the head to one side; in response the baby’s whole body will turn to follow in direction of the head maintaining body alignment
- Significance: precursor to crawling, facilitates rolling side to side, and changing positions from supine to side lying
- If not integrated:
- A child may have difficulty kneeling
- Have difficulty getting out of bed
- Eventually have difficulty standing from a seated position
- A child may have difficulty kneeling
Body Righting (on body)
- Onset: 4-6 months
- Integration age: 5 years old
- This reflex is elicited by placing the baby on their back and bending one hip and knee toward the chest; in response the baby will turn just their trunk and spine in order to maintain head and body alignment
- Significance: facilitates trunk and spinal rotation; moving the body in segments vs moving as one whole unit
- If not integrated:
- Difficulty rolling side to side
- Difficulty changing postural positions
- Difficulty maintaining a standing position
*Attached to each reflex name is a video showing how to elicit each reflex!*
