Josh 9-year- old boy and his reading scores

 

Sometimes the solution to low reading scores is not more reading! See how we got to the real block in Josh’s ability to perform at grade level. Fun fact, we never opened a book!

 

A chiropractor had been seeing a 9-year-old boy named Josh and noticed a resistance to movement in the neck muscles. It was later learned that Josh was also having difficulty writing and reading at grade level even after several months in Edina Public Schools “success club,” which is an ambitious program designed to get every student in the district reading at grade level. The chiropractor referred the child to Sage Education and Therapy and we completed our intake evaluation that revealed this child had a retained ATNR (Asymetrical Tonic Neck Reflex) that was making it impossible for him to perform his best at school. The ATNR is implicated in crossing the midline needed for smooth proficient reading and holding one hand steady on the paper while the other hand writes. Josh is an otherwise typically developing child and very bright, however, when the body hinders rather than helps the learning process, teachers and parents are often left puzzled as to how to help. We created a treatment plan to get the retained reflexes integrated and worked on crossing the midline and hemisphere integration. Josh and his mom worked very hard between sessions with the “home play” program they were given and were proud to report that his reading scores were 3 grade levels higher than when he started treatment with us.  Once the physical mechanics of the body are in optimal tiptop shape, children can learn with ease and joy and regain confidence in their abilities!