The connection between the muscle groups is what struck me for my son. For example, when he did the "duck walk" with his feet turned outward, his arms and hands turned outward as well. I, however, can turn my feet in and out to walk without there being a connected movement in my arms. He had the connections on other items too.
This also makes sense to me because when my son was much younger, an unusual number of his facial muscles were connected to his eye movements. If his eyes went to the left, then so did his mouth, and plenty of other facial muscles too. It was quite odd, like a small child with the random facial expressions of Tourette's syndrome. One of his VT exercises then was to follow a pencil with his eyes while also singing the alphabet. It was very hard at first, but eventually he got it. Along with the other VT, that issue went away. Thank goodness! People will overlook things in a younger child that they then react to as offputting in an older child/adult.
On the research front, I've observed that there is little in the way of major scientific studies on the topic of retained reflexes. That's why I'm inquiring about people's direct experience. Portia's example with the startle reflex, for example, sounds a lot like my son.
To be honest, on the retained-reflex point, I'm not particularly worried about the research not already piling up 10 feet high. I've learned so much from helping my son work through sensory issues and other learning difference challenges: a) The more scientists learn about how the brain works, the more we realize that we haven't explored and documented scientifically, b) OT, VT, etc. often ask the child/parent to do what look like random, kooky things that turn out to have an impact. c) A general theme that is reiterated again and again in scientific brain research is that how interconnected are physical and mental processes, and that what seem like smaller physical points often manifest in big and surprising ways. d) Even pediatricians and specialized educators don't always know about valuable interventions, so it's up to parents to be alert and determine if something is appropriate for our child.
If I wait for the funding/research to scientifically document every intervention that has improved life for my son, then he would be 50 before we took steps to address anything. Since we are already stuck doing VT, working on these reflexes won't cost us much more in terms of $, and adding 5 minutes of "starfish" or some such to our eye exercise routine isn't a big deal for us. After a few months, we can decide if we are seeing progress and results.
Every family has to evaluate the investment of time and $ for themselves. Forums like this are very helpful in doing that. Thanks!
