#369 - Unlocking Classroom Success with Reflex Integration with Dr. Tessa Grigg

All Things Sensory by Harkla

In episode of All Things Sensory, we sit down with the incredible Dr. Tessa Grigg - PhD, Dip Tch (Primary) Dip Tch (ECE). She has a wide range of experience within the Early Childhood Education field. She has taught in a Primary School, supervised a preschool with specialist work in the sensory-motor area, worked as a Child and Family Therapist, taught adult students in teaching and child development, and owned and operated a GymbaROO centre for nine years. Tessa is the "Tessa" in Tessarose Productions, a business that has produced music for children for over 30 years. Currently, Tessa is a certified Rhythmic Movement Training Practitioner and runs a Kinesiology clinic for children and adults. Following the completion of a PhD focused on children's primitive reflexes, Tessa now works part-time as a lecturer at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and is the Research and Education Manager for GymbaROO-KindyROO in Australia.

We chat about:

• How Tessa’s career path led her to primitive reflex research

• The surprising effects of natural disasters (like earthquakes) and the pandemic on reflex development in children

• Her fascinating classroom-based research showing how simple, rhythmic movement interventions can dramatically impact learning, emotional regulation, and behavior

• Why crawling and skipping might just be two of the most important activities your child can do daily

• How to bring reflex integration into schools and homes without overwhelm

Whether you’re a parent, therapist, or educator, this episode is filled with practical tips, lightbulb moments, and hopeful reminders that everything can change when we meet kids where they are.

LINKS

Tessa's Research Articles

https://jneuroscience.com/jnen/articles/v9n1/jnen-103-tess-grigg.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29529872/

Visit Tessa’s website

https://www.gymbaroo.com.au/

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