Why I Don’t Believe in “Weak Right Brain” Kids: A New View on Primitive Reflex Integration

For years, many models have talked about kids with autism, ADHD, learning differences, or trauma as having a “weak” or “underdeveloped” right brain.

In my clinical work, that is not what I see. The children I work with are not low right‑brain; they are living in right‑hemisphere and survival overload—emotional overwhelm, sensory flooding, fight‑or‑flight activation, reflex immaturity, developmental trauma patterns, and subconscious dominance.

The problem isn’t a weak side. It’s an overloaded survival system.

The right hemisphere is deeply involved in emotional processing, body sensations, nonverbal communication, and rapid detection of threat and safety. 

When early stress, trauma, and unintegrated primitive reflexes shape this system, children often look “too much,” not “too little”: too sensitive, too reactive, too hyper‑vigilant, too easily flooded.

Instead of a quiet or underactive right brain, what often shows up is:

• A right hemisphere that is constantly scanning for danger and emotional cues

• Limbic and brainstem survival circuits dominating behavior (fight, flight, shutdown)

• Primitive reflexes and developmental trauma patterns keeping the system stuck in protection mode 

In the HELA Method™, this is not labeled as “weakness.” It is an intelligent, overworked survival system that has had to do too much, for too long, without enough integration and support.

Reflexes live in the whole body, not just one side

Another place where my clinical experience diverges from some models is reflex work.

Some approaches emphasize stimulating reflexes more on one side of the body to “build up” a weaker hemisphere. What I see, session after session, is that primitive reflexes live in both sides of the body, both hemispheres, and the midline system between them.

Healthy integration needs:

• Bilateral movement

• Crossing midline

• Rotation and dissociation between upper and lower body

• Core and midline engagement that invite both hemispheres into better communication 

For that reason, HELA reflex work is bilateral by design.The goal is not to “fix the left” or “strengthen the right,” but to help the entire nervous system organize, coordinate, and regulate as a connected whole.

What the HELA Model focuses on instead

Rather than chasing a “weak right brain,” the HELA Method™ looks at:

• How much of your child’s day is governed by survival states (fight, flight, freeze)

• Which primitive reflexes and movement patterns are still running the show

• How trauma and early experiences have shaped the body’s sense of safety

• How both sides of the body and both hemispheres can be invited back into relationship

In practice, this means gentle, nervous‑system‑safe work that combines:

• Reflex‑informed movement

• Bilateral and midline activities

• Touch, breath, and co‑regulation

• • A deep respect for your child’s pace, history, and dignity 

Your child is not a “weak right brain” problem to be fixed.Your child is a whole nervous system that has adapted to survive. With the right sequence of safety, movement, and connection, that same system can learn to organize for joy, learning, and relationship—not just protection.

If you’d like to experience how this looks in practice, the HELA Moro Reflex guide and mini‑course are one place to start, showing how we work with survival reflexes in a way that honors the whole child and both hemispheres.