Primitive Reflex Integration Plus
Building Blocks for Brain Development
We help families who have a child with sensory or behavior issues overcome those challenges so they can thrive as they learn and grow.
If you can count to four, Joanna can probably teach you how to do a cartwheel. She spent much of her childhood doing cartwheels and much of her adult life teaching children (and a few adults) how to flip and twist. She loves how the human body works, and has always been passionate about helping children figure out how to make their bodies do what they want them to do.
After earning her Bachelor of Arts in French, she found herself continually drawn to teaching, tutoring, and coaching gymnastics. She taught all aspects of gymnastics for almost 20 years, including preschool, beginner through advanced recreational classes, and competitive teams.
Joanna’s fascination with how the body and the brain work together led her to begin post-graduate studies in Occupational Therapy. That, in turn, led her to pursue a career where she could integrate brain and body function. Since 2014, she has worked exclusively with school-aged children where she has focused on improving brain function through physical activities and specific sensory stimulation. This led to an interest in primitive reflexes and their impact on daily life. She has continued to study and practice primitive reflex integration.
Her ultimate goal is to help as many kids as possible to reach their highest potential. She loves to hear a child say, “I did it!” or “I did it all by myself!” For fun, Joanna follows collegiate gymnastics and volunteers at the University of Denver’s home gymnastics meets. She also has an extensive collection of rubber ducks.
Angie has worked with children with special needs for over 26 years. Along her journey she has become adamant about examining the issues children struggle with at a foundational level.
As a parent of a child with ADHD, she has made it her mission to explore every avenue to help her son. Learning about hemispericity and primitive reflexes has not only changed her son’s life, it has guided her to fine tune a path for supporting other parents.
Angie is a specialist in understanding complex behavior concerns that stem from primitive reflex retention and sensory regulation struggles. Angie earned her Bachelors degree in Child Development and her Masters degree in Early Childhood Special Education. She has provided behavioral guidance for parents for the last ten years and plans to continue as a virtual consultant for families in the US as well as abroad.
Her ultimate goal is to empower parents and help them have a deeper understanding of their child’s functional development so they can conquer a brighter future together.
Shannon has always been fascinated with the relationship between brain development in early childhood, and how it affects human behavior. As a parent herself, she is amazed daily by the changes and growth her own child exhibits, and what our brain is truly capable of. Through education and her work experience, she has grown quite passionate about understanding and helping children who struggle with behavior, emotional regulation, and social skills.
Shannon earned her Bachelor's degree in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Northern Colorado. Since then, she has worked in a variety of settings all aiming to help and support children with behavior and academic challenges and their families. She has the unique experience of working both on the medical side of helping this population, as well as the non-medical approach through primitive reflex and sensory integration work.
She quickly came to recognize the need for more validation, support and guidance for parents of children struggling behaviorally and academically. As a parent coach, Shannon helps parents to gain a better understanding of why their child does what they do, and how to grow with them as their child’s brain strengthens and develops. Specifically, she coaches skills in communication, setting boundaries and expectations, accountability and how to support your child moving forward with their new abilities.
Shannon is eager to empower you as a parent, and help you build on the foundation of skills you are already implementing in your daily life.
Sara has always been interested in puzzles. She loves figuring out the best ways of putting things together and finding the most efficient process to achieve a goal. Her path has taken her from Lighting Design for the Theater to Retail Management to Data Analysis, Operations, and Product Management.
Thanks to Joanna, Sara has become fascinated with primitive reflexes and how the brain functions. ATNR is her favorite! Her goal is to keep PRI+ running smoothly from an operations perspective in order to serve as many children and families as possible.
In her spare time, Sara loves to play with her two dogs, do jigsaw and word puzzles, cheer for the DU gymnastics team, and root for her hometown Baltimore Ravens and Orioles. If you are up for a real adventure, challenge her to a game of Scrabble!