The Method

Facial Reflex Integration

Facial motor reflexes first appear in infancy and remain active throughout life, supporting a broad range of needs essential to:

Human survival, including breathing, rooting, eating and general neurovascular function
Accessing and managing visual, auditory, and other sensory system input
Different coordination systems in different combinations – hand, mouth, ear, eye, tongue, neck, and cranial coordination systems
Nonverbal (emotional expressions and cognitive activity) and verbal communication (articulation)

The MNRI Facial Reflex Integration Program techniques work to activate and engage reflex actions, movements and patterns necessary for the maturation of more complex motor reflexes and the development of advanced communication and cognition. Facial reflexes not only affect function in the facial area, they also affect function though out the whole brain-body system. The engagement and maturation of facial reflexes can be impeded by congenital issues or traumatic events that occur in utero, at birth, or anytime after birth. Depending upon the number of oral-facial reflexes and related primary motor reflex patterns impacted, a broad array of associated life challenges can appear. MNRI Facial Reflex program techniques have been used with great success for children experiencing various delays in communication development. Parents and professionals working with children or clients with challenges in communication are encouraged to attend the MNRI Facial Reflex Integration course to learn more about the potential impact of the program techniques. Summarized below are the reflexes and coordination systems addressed by the MNRI Facial Reflex Integration Program techniques:

Primary Motor Reflex Patterns
Asymmetric Tonic Neck (ATNR)	Pavlov Orientation	Symmetric Tonic Neck (STNR)	Tonic Labyrinthine
Babkin Palmomental

	Additional Oral-Facial Reflexes
Mouth-Food	Biting	Mouth Closing/Opening	Rooting/Oral Searching	Teeth Clenching
	Chewing	Nourishing	Swallowing	Yawning (Shallow & Deep)
	Gag Reflex	Puckering	Sucking
Breathing	Inhale/Exhale Cycle
Head Righting & TMJ Position Regulation	Head Righting – Ocular & Labyrinthine	TMJ/Vestibular Leveling
Visual Reflexes	Convergence/Divergence	Eye Freezing	Eye Tracking	STNR for Binocular Vision
	Corneal/Eye Blinking	Eye Leveling	Pupillary/Accommodation
Auditory Reflexes	Acoustic Reflex	Binaural Hearing & Auditory Processing	Primary Sound Articulation
Primary Motor Coordination & Cognitive Systems	Mouth-Hand, Hand-Mouth	Pavlov Orientation	Oral Orientation	Mouth-Eyes-Ears-Hands