Aren’t Retained Primitive Reflexes just Autistic Disorders?

This article provides helpful information about how retained reflexes impact Autistic Disorders. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.

One of the most common questions we get when explaining the signs of retained Primitive Reflexes is “Well isn’t that just Autism?”

Retained Primitive Reflexes impact a number of diagnoses. However, most kids with a number of diagnoses have multiple retained reflexes that impact the following:

Motor development
Sensory processing
Behavior
Emotional grounding
Speech and language development
Cognitive function
Peer interaction

There are many more signs and symptoms that come with retained Primitive Reflexes, but these are a few that are often associated with one or more diagnoses you may find in children as they grow and develop.

Retained Primitive Reflexes are not specific to one disorder; however, they share a developmental pathway, which can cause trouble with a number of abilities in children and adults.

By their very nature, retained Primitive Reflexes create symptoms of learning challenges that cross diagnostic boundaries with different diagnoses such as:

Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Dyslexia
Sensory Processing Disorders
Dyspraxia
Auditory Processing Disorders
Cerebral palsy

A number of disorders lead back to underdevelopment of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and are often referred to as neurological disfunction or neurodivergence. When one or more reflexes fail to mature or integrate, neurological conditions such as an autistic disorder and others may exist.

How Autistic Children are impacted by Retained Primitive Reflexes

Multiple retained Primitive Reflexes are frequently found in children with autism when compared to other diagnoses. While retained Primitive Reflexes create neurological gaps early in the brain and motor development, they are not a cause of Autism. Researchers believe retained Primitive Reflexes can contribute to the severity of a diagnosis of autism based on the differences of how sensory and motor brain systems develop.

Because Primitive Reflexes are hard-wired into the brainstem at birth, they support the child’s development in the first six months of life. Children with autism tend to experience disconnections in the brain during an early stage of life, which can cause retention of the reflexes and prevent them from integrating at certain stages of development.

There are many signs of retained Primitive Reflexes in children with autistic disorders. You may find several of the following most common in children with these disorders:

Persistent rocking (most likely a sign of hypoactive vestibular systems)
Toe-walking (underdeveloped vestibular system and retained reflexes)
Non-verbal
Limited or no eye contact
Extreme sensory overload or sensory seeking behavior (impacted by retained reflexes)
Repeats themselves or stories in each conversation
Need for special and consistent routines
Delayed motor development

The signs and symptoms listed above are just a few found in children with autism, but there are several others depending on the child and their unique circumstances.

Retained Primitive Reflexes and Autistic Disorders

A child with an autistic disorder should be tested for multiple retained Primitive Reflexes by a professional who is familiar with integrating retained reflexes. When integrated, children can build neural connections in the brain that creates recovery of the CNS for improved areas of learning and development.

Unintegrated reflexes typically place constant stress on the nervous system, especially in children with autistic disorders. As a result, the brain must work harder to accomplish tasks that have not become automated due to retained reflexes.

The impact of retained reflexes is often found in the spontaneous reactions and behaviors of children with autism.

Some of the most common reflexes retained in children with an autistic disorder are as follows:

Moro Reflex

The Moro reflex is the most common reflex retained in children with autism. The Moro reflex often causes cortisol and adrenaline to be released, which automatically weakens the immune system.

You may find children with autism are extremely sensitive so sensory stimuli within their environment. Or, the child may be under stimulated and crave more sensory input to calm their bodies.

Children who have a retained Moro reflex and also have an autistic disorder, may have the following symptoms:

Dislikes social situations and chooses to withdraw
Can be overbearing or controlling
Emotional ups and downs due to an underdeveloped nervous system
When startled, arms extend upward in surprise
Uses noise-canceling headphones to drown out noise
Sensitive to textures, foods, and smells
Hyposensitivities and craves movement, foods, extreme textures, loud music

Integration of the Moro reflex can be one of the hardest and takes the longest because children with autism tend to retain it more severely than their counterparts. However, when integrated, vast improvements can be made to the nervous and sensory systems.

Fear Paralysis Reflex

Children with an autistic disorder who also have a retained Fear Paralysis reflex often lack the ability to think and respond logically. Many of these children tend to be in constant fight or flight mode because the brain prevents them from assessing a situation and then deciding how best to respond. The Fear Paralysis reflex causes the child to respond inappropriately in stressful situations.

Kids who have a diagnosis of autism and a retained Fear Paralysis reflex may react in many of the following ways:

Hitting
Biting
Pinching
Screaming

For this reason, children with autism typically don’t understand healthy boundaries. Their emotions and reactions my turn aggressive when they feel threatened, which is usually triggered by a retained Fear Paralysis reflex.

In addition, children with autism and a retained Fear Paralysis reflex may display the following:

Hyper or Hypo sensitivities to sensory stimuli
Deer in the headlights response
Depression and anxiety
Shyness or isolation
Lack of eye contact
Delayed responses when in “danger”
Floppy muscle tone and poor motor skills

The Fear Paralysis reflex is another most commonly found retained reflex in children with autism. Due to retention, kids with autism have trouble with learning social behaviors and communication. Researchers found a common symptom of a retained Fear Paralysis reflex in autistic children is selective mutism, which could be a contributor of lack of speech in stressful situations.

ATNR Reflex

A retained Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) reflex can create problems for children with autism in a number of ways. Retention primarily impacts the child’s ability to cross the midline of the body, which can create issues when learning to read and write.

Children with a retained ATNR reflex tend to have low muscle tone and underdeveloped vestibular systems. This could be one of the reasons a child with autism may stim or rock back and forth. It is a way for them to increase their mobility of movement to provide them with additional vestibular input. However, children who are sensitive to movement typically experience an underdeveloped balance system, which makes some autistic kids avoid tilting, spinning, and rocking.

The ATNR is responsible for many developmental and neurological abnormalities. These neurological disconnections can impact many of the following areas:

Movement and coordination
Binocular vision
Balance
Joint and bone alignment

In addition, a retained ATNR reflex can prevent children from learning to track words on the page and hold a pencil correctly. You may also find the child lacking interest in sports or learning basic skills like riding a bike or swimming.

STNR Reflex

A child with a retained Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) may have trouble when they were a baby learning to crawl and move on all fours. Many children with autism experience setbacks with developing milestones and either skip specific motor movements, or find other means to compensate for underdeveloped motor skills.

Kids who have a diagnosis of autism and a retained ATNR reflex may have difficulty with the following:

Impulse control
Memory
Focus and attention
Eye-hand coordination
Postural development and core strength
Ability to cross the midline of the body
Visual disorders

TLR Reflex

A retained Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) reflex is primarily tied to delays in balance and vestibular development. When this happens, it most commonly impacts a child’s walking ability, gait, and postural development. As a result, a retained TLR reflex often causes a child to walk on their toes or is known as a “toe-walker.” Children with autism who also frequently walk on their toes are more prone to having a retained TLR reflex.

Retention of a TLR reflex indicates developmental or neurological disfunctions that create a multitude of complications. Some of these challenges may include the following:

Trouble with movement (trips, falls over, gets dizzy, poor coordination)
Behavior (big emotions, tantrums, meltdowns, aggressiveness)
Balance (toe walking, vertigo, lack of mobility)

Kids with autistic disorders are more likely to have poor muscle tone. When sitting on the floor, they may frequently sit in the W-position or display stiff, jerky movements, which is a sign of poor muscle strength in different areas of the body. The child may also run into furniture or objects because the TLR prevents development of spatial awareness.

Speech and language issues are also more common in children with a retained TLR reflex. As a result, this can cause trouble for children with autism to develop speech and language skills automatically. Retention is also one of the contributors to kids repeating stories and conversations.

Some children with a retained TLR have trouble learning from past mistakes and can’t comprehend cause and effect, which leads to repetition of dysfunctional behavior.

Retained Primitive Reflexes Roadmap

For more information on the signs and symptoms of six retained Primitive reflexes, complete the form below to download a free copy of our Retained Primitive Reflexes Roadmap. When you’ve completed the form, check your email inbox for the download link, including your junk and spam folder. If you do not see the download link come to your email inbox, please email us at info@ilslearning.com.

Reference Materials

Melillo, R., Leisman, G., Machado, C., Machado-Ferrer, Y., Chinchilla-Acosta, M., Melillo, T., & Carmeli, E. (2023).
The relationship between retained primitive reflexes and hemispheric connectivity in autism spectrum disorders. Brain Sciences, 13(8), 1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13081147

Melillo, R., Leisman, G., Machado, C., Machado-Ferrer, Y., Chinchilla-Acosta, M., Kamgang, S., Melillo, T., & Carmeli, E. (2022). Retained primitive reflexes and potential for intervention in autistic spectrum disorders. Frontiers in Neurology, 13, 922322. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.922322

Hirose, N., Tashiro, Y., & Takasaki, T. (2025). Effects of a 12-week exercise intervention on primitive reflex retention and social development in children with ASD and ADHD. Children, 12(8), 987. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12080987

Leisman, G., Melillo, R., & colleagues. (2026). Associations between retained primitive reflexes and cognitive performance in autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 129, 202744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2025.202744

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Aren’t Retained Primitive Reflexes just Autistic Disorders?

How Autistic Children are impacted by Retained Primitive Reflexes