Primitive Reflexes
The Moro Reflex
The pattern
An Early Startle Response
The Moro reflex is an early startle response that helps babies react to sudden changes in their environment. As the nervous system matures, this response typically becomes less prominent during the first several months of life. When considering primitive reflexes, we look at how a child's movement, sensory processing, and regulation relate to their overall development and everyday participation.
A persistent Moro response may present with challenges such as:
- ADHD
- Sensory processing disorder or overwhelm
- Sleep disturbances, difficulty settling down to sleep
- Easily triggered, reacts in anger or emotional outbursts
- Shyness
- Poor balance and coordination
- Poor stamina
- Motion sickness
- Weak immune system, asthma, allergies and infections
- Hypersensitivity to light, movement, sound, touch & smell
- Vision/reading/writing difficulties
- Difficulty adapting to change
- Cycles of hyperactivity and extreme fatigue
- Easily distracted, difficulty filtering out extraneous stimuli
Everyday life
What Some Families Notice
A child may have a big reaction to being startled, seem sensitive to sudden noise or light, or look as though their body stays on high alert. Those experiences can have many explanations.
The whole child
Looking Beyond One Pattern
We consider sensory processing, emotional regulation, daily routines, and movement together. Research on retained reflexes in older children is still growing, so one response cannot explain the whole picture.
With PEAK
Care in Context
If reflex assessment is clinically appropriate, we include it in the full occupational therapy evaluation. We choose any activities after getting to know your child, not from a reflex label alone.
A startling moment is not a diagnosis. The question is how your child manages the rest of their day.
What Parents Might Notice at Home
Some families notice their child jumps at a door closing, pulls away from bright light, or needs time to settle after an unexpected sound. A busy morning may leave little room to recover before the next activity. Those moments may be connected to many things, including sensory demands or tiredness; they cannot show by themselves whether an early startle pattern has persisted. Tell us when reactions happen and what helps your child feel comfortable again.
How This Fits Into an Evaluation
At the evaluation, we can ask about noise and light in daily routines and observe how your child moves and responds during play. If clinically appropriate, we may consider the Moro pattern alongside sensory processing and regulation. We look at the whole child, rather than using one reaction to label them. After evaluating, we choose any movement activities that fit the child and explain the reason to parents.
Research on retained reflexes in older children is still growing. A strong startle response is not a diagnosis, and changing that response is not a promised outcome of therapy. We may talk with you about the places your child finds hard to manage and the activities they enjoy, so a care plan reflects their real day. For more on sensory experiences, read the guide below.
When Your Child Is Sensitive to Noise, Clothes, or TexturesQuestions Parents Often Ask
Does jumping at sudden sounds mean the Moro reflex is retained?
No. Children can startle for many reasons, and one reaction cannot establish a retained reflex. We consider the full picture if you raise this concern.
When does the Moro response usually change?
It typically integrates in the first months of life, though development varies. An older child’s sensitivity to sound is not proof that the reflex remains.
Can PEAK work on noise sensitivity without naming a reflex?
Yes. We can consider sensory needs and daily participation during a full OT evaluation. Activities are chosen for the child afterward, not from a label alone.
A place to begin
Start with a Conversation
Ask us about the startle reactions you see in everyday life.
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