Dear Chris………..Thank you for your review and positive comments of our book, Stopping ADHD, on your website “Myomancy.”

As you say, the exercises used to mature the STNR are unique, developed by Dr. Miriam Bender, our mentor at Purdue University, where, in the late 60’s and early 70’s, she refined her research of the effects of the immature STNR on behavior and learning. Dr. Bender was the first to see the immediate connection between the effects of the immature STNR and a child’s difficulty in academic situations, especially in sitting down, sitting relatively still, and in writing. It was Dr. Bender’s conclusion that, of all the primitive reflexes, it is the lack of integration of the symmetric tonic neck reflex (STNR) that most directly affects the tasks required for success in school. This is why she aimed her work toward that reflex in particular, training us and entrusting us with the continued implementation of her program.

We test children (and adults) for the STNR, and if we find it immature, train parents in the exercises designed by Dr Bender to mature the reflex and to develop the higher gross motor and fine motor levels. This is what Dr. Bender did at Purdue University during her research and we have found it successful for the past almost forty years.

Our book was written with the express purpose of showing parents how to do the exercises with their children, and we have had many letters, phone calls, e-mails and even flowers thanking us and testifying to the success of the program completed from following the directions in the book. We have produced a video/DVD to supplement the book and demonstrate how the exercises should/shouldn’t look, which we are also told is helpful to those who cannot come to the Miriam Bender clinic in the USA

Thank you, again, for helping us spread the word about this program, which we feel can make life significantly easier for children and adults.

Patricia A. Cook, Ph.D.

Nancy E. O’Dell, Ph.D.