INPP - The Institute for Neuro - Physiological Psychology

Diagnosing NDD

A full Neuro-Developmental assessment will detect the presence of primitive reflexes and balance problems. Detailed tests assess Central Nervous System maturity. Both types of test aid INPP in the diagnosis of NDD / Neuro-Developmental Delay.

Standard neurological tests will reveal the continued presence of aberrant Primitive and Postural Reflexes.

Individual reflexes affect specific areas of functioning: one reflex can interfere with the control of the hand when writing; another can affect balance and control of eye movements so that the eyes ‘play tricks’ on the brain, making the letters appear to move on the page.

These are the medical facts which form the basis of our work at INPP:

• During life in the womb a group of reflexes called the primitive reflexes emerge.
• Primitive reflexes should be present at birth in the baby born at full term.
• Primitive reflexes are inhibited by the developing brain during the first year of life.
• Primitive reflexes are gradually replaced by Postural reflexes. Postural reflexes develop in the first 3½ years of life to provide the basis for automatic (unconscious) control of balance, posture and voluntary movement.
• It is an accepted medical fact that retained primitive reflexes beyond the first 6–12 months of post natal life indicate immaturity in the functioning of the Central Nervous System.