Learning, Behavioural or Sensory Challenges: Taylor & Trott Pyramid of Learning

What it includes / means:

• The CNS (brain and spinal cord) is the organ system that receives, processes, integrates, and transmits neural signals.
• At this foundational level lie regulation, arousal systems, autonomic balance (e.g. sympathetic/parasympathetic tone), sleep/wake cycling, internal homeostasis, and neural connectivity (e.g. myelination, synaptic pruning, brain plasticity).
• If the CNS is “disorganised” or immature in certain pathways, then sensory input and motor output cannot reliably be integrated.

In relation to reflex integration / developmental therapy:

• Primitive reflexes are deeply rooted in subcortical and brainstem circuits. If retained beyond their typical developmental window, they can indicate immaturity or poor regulation in the CNS.
• Reflex integration protocols (repetition of patterned movements, neuromotor stimulation) aim directly at modifying and reshaping neural circuitry at this fundamental level — essentially “rewiring” or promoting maturation in the CNS.
• In our therapy program, when we target reflex integration,we’re working “at the base,” attempting to normalise or integrate residual primitive reflexes, thereby reducing “noise” or interference in the neural substrate.
• We also target the Vagus Nerve (especially the dorsal and ventral branches in polyvagal theory) is a major pathway for parasympathetic input, affecting heart rate, respiratory regulation, digestive function, social engagement, emotional state, and tonic regulation of arousal.(e.g. hyperarousal, fight/flight dominance, poor vagal tone).
• Better vagal tone (i.e. more flexible parasympathetic regulation) supports efficient sensory processing (less flooding or shutdown), supports attention, emotional regulation, and stress resilience — all of which enhance performance in higher tiers of the Pyramid.

Therapeutic goals & effects (flow-up):

• A more stable and responsive CNS means sensory signals can be more cleanly registered.
• Better autonomic regulation supports attention, emotional control, and readiness for higher tasks.
• The removal (or reduction) of reflex interference means that sensorimotor pathways are less burdened by “default” dysfunctional reflexive activity that competes with choice of movement or processing.

Sensory Systems

What it includes / means:

• This tier comprises the body’s input channels — tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory (and some modern models include interoception)  .
• These systems deliver data about touch, pressure, skin receptors, joint/muscle position, balance/movement, spatial orientation, movement in space, sound, smells, tastes, and internal body states.

In relation to reflex integration / developmental therapy:

• Reflex integration helps refine how the CNS receives and responds to sensory input. When reflexes are retained, they may amplify, distort, or bias certain sensory pathways (e.g. over-reactive tactile defensiveness, or under-responsiveness to proprioceptive input).
• Therapy might embed sensory stimulation (e.g. deep pressure, movement, joint compression) in a controlled way to “teach” the sensory systems new thresholds (sensory modulation) and better integration, once reflex interference is lessened.

Therapeutic goals & effects (flow-up):

• More efficient registration and modulation of sensory input (i.e. the ability to filter, amplify, or ignore sensory signals).
• As the sensory systems become more stable, the sensory motor tier (next) can function more reliably; fewer “sensory surprises” or dysregulation events will pull resources away from higher-level tasks.
• Better sensory integration is foundational in supporting motor planning, postural responses, bilateral coordination, etc.

What it includes / means:

This tier involves the integration of sensory input with motor output to produce coordinated, adaptive movement. The key subcomponents often listed are:

• Reflex Maturity (i.e. primitive reflexes integrated)
• Body Scheme (internal sense of body parts and their relationships)
• Postural Security / Stability
• Awareness of Two Sides / Bilateral Integration
• Motor Planning (Praxis)
• Ability to Screen Input (i.e. filtering and selective attention to sensory signals)

These skills allow a person to move skillfully, adjust posture, coordinate both sides of the body, and plan new movements.

In relation to reflex integration / developmental therapy:

• Achieving reflex integration is often a prerequisite to reliable motor control (because retained reflexes may “fight against” motor impulses, or cause stiffening, asymmetry, or interference).
• Once reflex interference is reduced, therapists can layer movement challenges that foster body awareness, bilateral integration, and motor planning.
• The idea is that reflex integration clears “noise” so that the sensory motor system can operate more freely, with better plasticity.

Therapeutic goals & effects (flow-up):

• More stable postural control, improved coordination, better bilateral use.
• Increased motor planning capacity allows the client to execute novel or complex movements (e.g. navigating obstacles, crossing midline, timed tasks).
• As sensory motor functions stabilise, perceptual-motor functions (next tier) have a more reliable scaffold on which to build.

What it includes / means:

This tier sits above sensory motor and refers to how we interpret and act on sensory data within perceptual contexts. Key subcomponents typically include:

• Eye-Hand Coordination / Visual-Motor Integration
• Ocular Motor Control (fixation, scanning, smooth pursuit, saccades)
• Visual-Spatial Perception
• Postural Adjustment (dynamically adjusting posture during tasks)
• Auditory-Language Skills (listening, phonological processing, auditory discrimination)
• Attention Center Functions (sustained and selective attention)

This is where perception and action meet in more refined ways (e.g. reading, writing, catching a ball, interpreting spatial relationships).

In relation to reflex integration / developmental therapy:

• If prior tiers are stable, one can meaningfully engage with tasks requiring precise sensorimotor-perceptual coordination (e.g. eye–hand tasks, visual scanning, auditory discrimination).
• Therapy may embed exercises such as tracking, copying shapes, visual-motor games, rhythmic auditory-motor tasks, etc.
• Because reflexes are integrated and the sensory systems better regulated, these perceptual tasks do not become overloaded by foundational instability.

Therapeutic goals & effects (flow-up):

• Improved academic-related sensorimotor tasks: writing, drawing, copying, graphomotor tasks.
• Better auditory processing for language, phonological awareness, listening.
• More stable attention and capacity to persist in tasks.
• Increased efficiency in perceiving and acting in space sets the stage for the top tier.

What it includes / means:

• This is the “tip of the pyramid” — what is often observable, what clients and caregivers see as difficulties. It includes academic learning, behavior, daily living activities / self-care, executive function, intellectual skills, social–emotional regulation, adaptive functioning  .

In relation to reflex integration / developmental therapy:

• One can certainly still work at this level (e.g. teaching compensatory strategies, tutoring academic tasks, behavior strategies), but without addressing lower-level deficits, progress is often inconsistent or slow.
• In a reflex integration–based model, the assumption is that improvements in the lower tiers will cascade upward and enhance performance at the cognitive/functional level.
• As clients’ sensorimotor and perceptual systems stabilize, they have more “neural capacity” available for higher-order processing — less interference, less “noise,” less compensatory burden.

Therapeutic goals & effects (flow-down / flow-up):

• Better attention, working memory, executive control, self-regulation.
• Improved behavior, emotional regulation, resilience.
• Enhanced academic learning (reading, writing, maths) because the “platform” is more solid.
• More independence in daily living tasks — dressing, hygiene, feeding, etc.

How the Pyramid Aligns with Reflex Integration & “Flow-Up” Effects

Because reflex integration operates at a foundational neural level, the Pyramid offers an elegant explanatory model: by addressing interference in the CNS and early sensory systems (via reflex integration, sensory modulation, and movement therapies), we progressively remove barriers at each tier, permitting smoother upward flow of development.

In practice, this means:

• Reflex integration reduces “background interference” that might otherwise “hijack” sensorimotor or perceptual systems.
• Once reflex interference is minimised, your clients can better register sensory input, respond adaptively, and engage in more refined motor and perceptual tasks.
• Over time, that structural stability “frees up” resources in the brain (reduced neural noise, less competition), enabling more efficient cognitive, executive, and learning functions.
• The client’s progress in daily living skills, behavior, and academic performance can thus be more reliably sustained, because the foundation is intact.

Relation to Vagus Nerve / Autonomic Regulation

Refining neural regulation (which includes improving vagal function) is inherent in the lower layer work — and that this paves the way for the “flow-up” effect on sensory, motor, perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Our programs achieve this through our unique therapy programs that are developmentally based on each individual, promoting integration throughout the Pyramid of Learning/sensory systems of the brain to improve functional outcomes in daily living, academic learning and behaviour.