Background
Maturation of the nervous system in children occurs spontaneously due to the influence of the stimuli arriving from the environment. The integration of primitive reflexes is an indicator of neurological maturity. Objectives. The aim of the study is to compare neurological maturity of preschool and early school age children based on the degree of primitive reflexes integration.
Material and methods
One hundred thirty-five children (64 boys and 71 girls) were involved in the study and their primitive reflexes were tested by S. Goddard’s tests. The children were divided into 2 groups according to age. Children aged 4–6 years were assigned to the preschool group and children aged 7–9 to the school age group.
Results
The study shows that spontaneous integration of reflexes occurs with age and is fuller in school age children than in preschool children. The least integrated reflexes among the surveyed children are asymmetric tonic neck reflex (ATNR) and tonic labyrinthine reflex (TLR). Reflex TLR and symmetric tonic neck reflex (STNR) in flexion forms are the best integrated reflexes in the study group. Between the 2 groups, the biggest difference exists in the integration of TLR FLX: The full integration was reached by 95% of children in the school age group and 65% of children in the preschool group. The total lack of integration of ATOS left hand and TOB erectile reflexes were observed in 8% of preschool children and 3–4% of school age children.
Conclusions
Introduction of screening tests and treatment of reflex integration at the stage of preschool and early childhood may be a part of the prevention of developmental disorders. Conducting wider populations studies showing the presence and impact of persistent primitive reflexes in various spheres of life of healthy children, would help to define age standards for the reflexes integration. Key words: children, integration, primitive reflexes, neurological maturity
