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The Brain Development Podcast

Primitive Reflexes and Brain Development: Understanding the Root Cause of Childhood Challenges with Dr Renee O'Conor

July 23 · 34 min · Episode 58
0:00-34:26

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Ever feel like traditional therapies are only scratching the surface of your child's developmental challenges? In this enlightening conversation, host Lara sits down with Dr Renee O'Conor, a family chiropractor and functional neurology practitioner, to explore how the brain grows from the bottom up. Using a powerful tree metaphor, Dr Renee explains how the brainstem acts as the root system for all emotional regulation, sensory integration, and higher-level learning. The discussion covers the critical role of primitive reflexes—such as the Moro, Fear Paralysis, and Spinal Galant reflexes—and how early factors like C-sections, poor latching, or head lag can indicate unintegrated neural pathways. Dr Renee shares moving clinical success stories of non-verbal children finding their voices and offers an empowering message for parents to trust their instincts and seek true root-cause solutions.


Key Takeaways

  • Sequential Brain Growth: The brain develops from the bottom up, inside out, back to front, and right to left, requiring a solid brainstem foundation before higher cognitive skills can stabilize.

  • Reflexes Drive Regulation: Retained primitive reflexes like Fear Paralysis and the Moro reflex keep a child locked in a fight-or-flight state, triggering anxiety and emotional outbursts.

  • Early Infant Indicators: Birth history factors, including C-sections, breech births, persistent head lag, and difficulty latching, frequently point to early neurological gaps.

  • Symmetry in Sensory Input: Asymmetrical feeding patterns or restricted physical movements limit a child's visual and spatial processing capabilities as they grow.

  • Parental Intuition is Key: Parents should trust their instincts when sensing developmental delays, regardless of changes to official milestone guidelines.


  • Timestamps

  • 00:00 – Introduction to Dr Renee O'Connor

    03:55 – The Tree Metaphor: Bottom-Up Brain Development

    10:07 – Primitive Reflexes & Birth Trajectory

  • 14:03 – Fear Paralysis and Moro Reflexes in Anxiety

  • 17:18 – Early Warning Signs: Head Lag and Latching

  • 23:10 – Clinical Transformations & Non-Verbal Breakthroughs

  • 28:21 – Trusting Parent Intuition & Seeking Answers


Dr Renee O'Connor is a family chiropractor, functional neurology practitioner, and the founder of True Potential Chiropractic and the Brainsync Program in Pakenham, Victoria, Australia.


For more than 23 years, Renee has dedicated her career to helping children and their families navigate the challenges of neurodevelopment, learning, behaviour, and emotional regulation. But what truly drives her isn't just her professional training—it's the thousands of families she's had the privilege of walking alongside.


Today, Renee combines over two decades of clinical experience with advanced qualifications in chiropractic, childhood neurodevelopment, and functional neurology. She holds Bachelor degrees in Clinical Science, Chiropractic and Human Biology, is certified by the International Board of Functional Neurology in Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders (IBFN-CND), is a Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics, and is a member of Focus Academy.


Social media;

www.tpchiro.com.au

@true_potential_chiropractic

www.brainsync.com.au

@brainsync.com.au


SOCIAL/IMPORTANT LINKS

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@braindevelopmentuk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Lara Barnes a successful woman in tech found herself managing behavioural, learning and speech difficulties with her son, she learn functional neurology and how to change the brain to correct his symptoms and build his left brain. The Building the Brain Podcast is for parents needing to understand how to help their children and show them what can be done to change little lives to allow them to shine and be their best version.


This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠