To call this a "documentary" is a bold move. It's more like a "making of," the way it's repeatedly mentioned that a documentary is being made despite the contents being of little substance, shaky-cam in the practitioner's office, and the presenter inexplicably being filmed driving in her car.
I would like to know why the practitioner, Bob Allen, was initially reluctant to be included in this short. I am also desperate to know why this short is absent of any scientific data surrounding retained reflexes. It only had stats on ADHD diagnoses in prison populations which the "documentary" makers -speculate- could be due to retained reflexes. An RP accent does not an authority make.
I'm glad this alternative therapy worked for her son, but how are we expected to be persuaded with no evidence? I agree with "labelling the problem, not the child" and that retained reflexes could be responsible for developmental issues that affect reading and socialising. But what is it about the therapy that inhibits these reflexes beyond providing a safe, calming environment for x minutes a week over months or years?
A 2022 scoping review of a similar reflex integration method (the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration method, or MNRI method) labelled it a controversial therapy after finding a lack of rigorous studies, no randomised controlled study, and "significant flaws in the research." It's not holding up to scrutiny, yet practitioners are making a lot of money from their closely guarded methods.
I'm disappointed by the poor quality of both the film-making and the contents because I want reflex integration therapy to be backed by sound evidence, but none has been presented. Desperate parents will try anything, gullible people will believe anything. I'm glad it worked for some (what percentage of patients? Not mentioned, would you believe it!) but this has not convinced me the therapy is anything more than smoke, mirrors, and a drop of snake oil.
I would like to know why the practitioner, Bob Allen, was initially reluctant to be included in this short. I am also desperate to know why this short is absent of any scientific data surrounding retained reflexes. It only had stats on ADHD diagnoses in prison populations which the "documentary" makers -speculate- could be due to retained reflexes. An RP accent does not an authority make.
I'm glad this alternative therapy worked for her son, but how are we expected to be persuaded with no evidence? I agree with "labelling the problem, not the child" and that retained reflexes could be responsible for developmental issues that affect reading and socialising. But what is it about the therapy that inhibits these reflexes beyond providing a safe, calming environment for x minutes a week over months or years?
A 2022 scoping review of a similar reflex integration method (the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration method, or MNRI method) labelled it a controversial therapy after finding a lack of rigorous studies, no randomised controlled study, and "significant flaws in the research." It's not holding up to scrutiny, yet practitioners are making a lot of money from their closely guarded methods.
I'm disappointed by the poor quality of both the film-making and the contents because I want reflex integration therapy to be backed by sound evidence, but none has been presented. Desperate parents will try anything, gullible people will believe anything. I'm glad it worked for some (what percentage of patients? Not mentioned, would you believe it!) but this has not convinced me the therapy is anything more than smoke, mirrors, and a drop of snake oil.