The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR)

What is The TLR Reflex?

The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex helps with stability; it helps us develop muscle tone, balance, posture, and coordination throughout the whole body. This reflex is about where the head and body are in space and the interaction of the senses. It causes the limbs to bend when the neck is flexed, and to straighten when the neck is extended.
Often when the TLR Reflex is not integrated, there is more rigidity in the leg muscles and tensions in the neck.

In school, the TLR reflex helps with coordination, spatial awareness, orientation to sequencing and time, and vision. When not integrated, this reflex can also contribute to attention problems and can affect hearing and auditory processing due to the fact it helps integrate the vestibular and proprioceptive centers of the body.

Some symptoms of a non-integrated TLR

• If flexion does not integrate, the child may be weak and floppy and will often stand and sit with stooped posture
• Retained extension could result in a child who appears stiff, with rigid and jerky movements
• Balance problems with changes in head position (walking up or down stairs, riding a bike, looking up at the board or to paint the ceiling)
• Overall coordination problems
• Fear of heights
• Difficulty in sequencing order and time 
• Weak muscle tone; weak neck muscles; tension and pain in the neck 
• Difficulties holding the head up 
• Posture might be forward resulting in low energy 
• Weak eye muscles, difficulty with vision 
• Skipping words or line of print when reading
• Very tight, rigid muscles; tendency to walk on toes