Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required; however, Masgutova recommends attending the Dynamic & Postural Reflex Integration course first, whenever possible, to help provide broader context prior to attending other foundation courses.

Description

Skin, our largest organ, forms the boundary between our physical being and the outside world.  It also houses the tactile system, which allows the body to access tactile sensations from the outside world.. Due to congenital issues or trauma (in utero, at birth, or anytime after birth), tactile system challenges can result.

The MNRI Tactile Integration program uses neuro-tactile techniques to stimulate different receptors in the skin, working to appropriately engage and integrate the tactile sensory system within the complete mind/body system. When the tactile system is integrated, the brain stem relaxes defensive reflexes, and opens the entire system to an experience of safety in which emotion and behavioral regulation improves and healthy motor, communication, and cognitive development can proceed.

Professionals, parents and caregivers interested in learning more about the MNRI Method and its various programs are encourage to attend this course early on, given the fundamental role it plays in emotional and behavioral regulation, and overall maturation and development. The Tactile Integration course explores in great detail the physiology and psychology of the tactile system, the developmental effects of over- and under-sensitive receptors, and the importance of an appropriately integrated tactile system to the process of integrating all motor reflex movement and patterns.

Objectives

The general MNRI Method and role played by the Tactile Integration Program

Tactile integration and how it relates to motor reflexes and other important body systems

The neurophysiologic and psychological dynamics of the tactile system

The role tactile integration plays in establishing a foundation for motor, communication and cognitive development, and emotional and behavioral regulation

MNRI techniques designed to assess, activate, and integrate tactile sensitivities

How to create MNRI tactile integration programs for individual clients

How to incorporate use of MNRI Tactile Integration course content into daily client and home practice

Course Presenter

Suzanne Amanor-Wilks is a Neurodevelopmental Learning Specialist. She originally trained at the University of London’s prestigious Institute of Education achieving her Postgraduate in Education. She also trained as a Montessori teacher in early childhood Development and Education as well as in TEFL (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language). Suzanne worked in the classroom for over twenty years, gaining thorough experience and deep insights into child development and child-centered education and is an Orton-Gillingham and Lindamood-Bell specialist.

Suzanne went on to complete extensive training in Brain Gym, Health Kinesiology, and Touch for Health in order to understand better the body-brain component in education. She then took advanced training in HANDLE (Holistic Approach to Neurodevelopment and Learning Efficiency) and completed her career in Neurodevelopment by training with Dr Svetlana Masgutova in the Masgutova Neuro Sensory Motor method of Reflex Integration. She spearheaded the growth of the MNRI program in Minnesota, sponsoring classes for many years and organizing the pioneering Family Conference in 2009.

Suzanne currently works in private practice in Lakeville and Edina, MN. She assists both children and adults in diverse areas from neurological challenges and learning disorders, to movement coordination and flexibility issues, to emotional balance and improved cognitive function. She uses her training in child development and her innate sensitivity to perceive the needs of the whole child at many levels and runs summer school intensives in Phonics and Montessori.

Suzanne consults and lectures, and has worked extensively with autism, ADHD, neurological challenges, with the adopted child and with many emotional-behavioral challenges.