Primitive Reflex Study in Poland, 2017

INTEGRATION EXERCISE PROGRAMME
FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING
DIFFICULTIES WHO HAVE PRESERVED
VESTIGIAL PRIMITIVE REFLEXES
Celestyna Grzywniak
Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland

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SUMMARY
The main goal of the research was to determine the usefulness
of the Integration exercise programme stimulating development
in children with learning difficulties who have preserved vestigial
primitive reflexes. Their symptoms included weak motor and visual-
motor coordination, lowered visual and auditory analysis
and synthesis which resulted in difficulties in reading and writing,
disrupted emotional development, psychomotor hyperactivity,
weak concentration and other symptoms.

104 children with learning difficulties and other accompanying
symptoms took part in the experiment. The children were trained
in the shape of the Integration exercise programme at school
under a therapist’s supervision and additionally at home under
parental supervision. The children who went through the whole
programme were qualified to the experimental group and those
who resigned from the programme after a short period of time
– to the control group. A pre-test and a post-test, before and
after completion of the Integration exercise programme, was
used to evaluate the results.

It was found that the Integration exercise programme is useful
in therapy involving facilitation of development in children with
learning difficulties, who exhibit various symptoms. Almost all
the obtained results were statistically significant. The Integration
exercise programme is particularly effective in the case of children
exhibiting a whole set of symptoms along with learning difficulties,
problems with concentration, weak emotion control, weak
motor development, abnormal muscle tension, weak motor coordination.
The Integration exercise programme widens the range of methods
stimulating development and the range of possibilities to
apply the therapy practiced in psychology, pedagogy and physiotherapy.

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