MONI LEBON
NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPIST
What happens during an assessment?
The first step is an initial consultation, which includes a 60-minute screening assessment. During the appointment, I will guide your child through a series of simple movement activities and body positions to check for the presence of retained primitive reflexes and whether the postural reflexes have fully developed.
The assessment also looks at areas such as balance, coordination, eye tracking and the body's startle (adrenaline) response.
Parents remain present throughout the session, and I work very much at the child's pace. There are no invasive procedures, and no tests that can be passed or failed. The aim is simply to understand how the brain and body are working together and whether there may be developmental gaps that could be affecting learning, behaviour, emotional regulation or coordination.
What happens after the assessment?
If the assessment suggests that intervention would be helpful, a personalised home programme will be created. The reflex integration work may include tactile skin stimulation and specific movement-based exercises designed to help the nervous system revisit missed stages of development.The exercises are simple to carry out at home and typically take between 5 and 10 minutes each day.Follow-up reviews are usually scheduled every 6 to 8 weeks to monitor progress and make any adjustments as needed. Throughout the programme there is ongoing communication with parents and children to reflect on how the exercises are supporting progress in everyday life.The full process typically takes around 18 months. A short three-month break is often built in after approximately one year of input. This allows the body time to settle and helps confirm that improvements are being maintained before completing the final stages of reflex integration.
How does the treatment work?
The programme is a gentle, non-invasive form of neuro-developmental therapy designed to support the maturation of the nervous system.
Through a combination of tactile skin stimulation and specific movement exercises, the programme aims to revisit early developmental stages that may not have been fully completed. These activities provide the brain and body with opportunities to strengthen and refine the neural pathways involved in movement, balance, coordination and sensory processing.
As primitive reflexes become integrated and postural reflexes mature, the nervous system is able to work more efficiently. Rather than constantly responding to outdated survival patterns, the brain can devote more resources to higher-level skills such as attention, emotional regulation, organisation, learning and social engagement.
The therapy aims to improve communication between different parts of the brain and body, helping sensory information, movement and behaviour work together in a more coordinated way.
The programme aims to support development in areas such as:
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Balance and coordination
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Sensory processing
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Eye tracking and visual skills
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Motor planning and body awareness
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Speech and language development
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Attention and concentration
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Emotional regulation
As the nervous system becomes more mature and integrated, children often find that everyday tasks require less effort, allowing them to engage more fully with learning, relationships and daily life.
What to expect from treatment?
Neuro-developmental therapy aims to support the maturation and integration of the nervous system. As the body becomes more organised and efficient, families often notice improvements in areas such as attention, emotional regulation, coordination, confidence and learning. Changes are usually gradual rather than dramatic. Many parents only realise how far their child has come when they look back and compare current challenges with those they were facing months earlier.
Positive changes families often notice:
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Reduced impulsivity and improved emotional regulation
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Better focus and attention
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Greater ability to stay on task
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Improved confidence and resilience
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Smoother social interactions and friendships
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Better balance, coordination and body awareness
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Improved handwriting and fine motor control
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Greater independence and organisation
Auditory Processing & Sound Therapy
(Johansen IAS)
Johansen Individual Auditory Stimulation (JIAS) is a gentle, personalised sound therapy programme designed to support auditory processing and sensory integration. It can be particularly helpful for individuals with attention difficulties, sound sensitivity, language-based learning challenges, and autism. Where appropriate, this may be recommended alongside neuro-developmental therapy as part of an integrated approach.
