I have been a pediatric occupational therapist for over ten years. I have worked with children from birth to high school age. I currently work for PAEC( Proviso Area For Exceptional Children) and Oak-Leyden Developmental Therapy Services. I have had the opportunity to work with children with developmental delays, sensory processing difficulties, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, selective mutism, developmental coordination disorder, ADHD, dysgraphia, dyslexia and visual perceptual difficulties to name a few. I also have experience working in a hospital in inpatient rehabilitation, skilled care, and acute care setting with adults.

I was first introduced to RMTi in 2019, when I read “Movements that Heal” by Harold Bloomberg and Moria Dempsey. I was intrigued and started incorporating the movements into my work and seeing results. I felt it was the missing piece in my treatment with children. I then went on to take several reflex integration classes and RMTi classes as I was eager to learn more.

The success I have seen with incorporating reflex integration and RMTi techniques into my practice has been a game changer and very gratifying. Seeing faster progress with handwriting, fine motor skills, visual motor skills, children who struggle with sleep being able to sleep through the night, and sensory processing skills has been really amazing.

As a school based therapist, I incorporate RMTi into my treatment sessions by starting with reflex integration exercises and RMTi movements before working on handwriting, fine-motor or visual motor activities. This strategy has been very beneficial as students who usually do not like writing, willingly participate in writing tasks.

I decided to complete the study to become an RMTi consultant because there are so many children and adults who can benefit from reflex integration and RMTi techniques but there are very few consultants and instructors in the USA to provide this much needed service. So I am looking forward to expand my reach in the near future to the birth to 21 population outside the school system.

My biggest take away from reflex integration and RMTi is that reflexes are our friends and not our foes. Reflexes exist to help us develop and function optimally so if they don’t fully do their job then it impacts how we interact with the world around us. Reflex integration is an essential part of therapy to obtain great results. Reflex integration provides insight into the why behind some of the challenges children face.