What Can the Timing of Early Movement Patterns Tell Us About Autism and Social Development?

DR. ROBERT MELILLO'S 2026 RESEARCH PAPER EXAMINES HOW NEUROLOGICAL TIMING, PRIMITIVE REFLEXES AND EARLY MOTOR SKILLS RELATE TO SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND AUTISM.  

A blog highlighting a new way to understand the early indicators of autism.

When we think about autism, our minds usually jump straight to social oddities, communication difficulties or unique behavioural traits. But recent science suggests we should be looking more closely at how a child moves.  

A 2026 study published in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience by Dr Robert Melillo and Professor Gerry Leisman suggests that the earliest clues of neurodivergence may actually hide in infant motor patterns and primitive reflexes. 

The researchers propose that movement, primitive reflexes and social development may all be connected through one vital factor: timing and coordination within the developing brain.

You can find the article here.

WHAT NEURAL TIMING IS AND WHY IT MATTERS

Think of the brain like a massive orchestra. For the music to sound right, every musician must play the correct note exactly on the correct beat. Neural timing is the brain's ability to precisely synchronise electrical signals, track time intervals, and coordinate movement, thought, and sensory processing all at once in real time. 

One important point to realise is that the brain does not mature all at once. Different networks develop at different rates, and the two brain hemispheres (left and right) must learn to communicate seamlessly. Melillo and Leisman suggest that differences or "imbalances" in this timing influence how early movement is organised. 

That matters because movement is one of the first ways a baby interacts with the world. Long before speech develops, babies are moving and turning towards parents, reaching, rolling, crawling, and matching facial expressions. Movement and social development are happening together from the very beginning.

HOW PRIMITIVE REFLEXES FIT IN

Primitive reflexes are automatic, involuntary movement patterns present early in life. They act like a "starter kit" for the nervous system, helping a baby survive in the womb and navigate their first few months of life. For example, when an infant automatically grasps your finger or startles at a loud noise, that is a primitive reflex. 

As the brain matures, higher areas of the brain are supposed to take over. This naturally "integrate" or quiets the reflexes so the child can develop conscious, voluntary control over their movements. 

In the study, it is highlighted that persistent or asymmetrical primitive reflexes serve as a visible window into the brains internal clock. If these reflexes remain highly active past infancy, it suggests a developmental asynchrony, meaning certain brain networks are communicating slightly out of sync or maturing at different speeds.  Retained reflexes do not cause or diagnose autism on their own, but they are a valuable piece of a much larger developmental puzzle and one factor that we can easily pay attention to. 

THE MOTOR (MOVEMENT) - SOCIAL LINK  AND HOW IT ALL TIES TOGETHER

One of the most fascinating concepts in the paper is what the authors call motor-social coupling. This explains how a physical movement instantly sparks a social interaction.  

Imagine a simple back-and-forth exchange between you and your baby: The baby looks at you and kicks their legs out of excitement (the motor/movement component), and in response you smile, widen your eyes, and change your voice to say, "Look at you!" (the social/emotional component). Your baby then processes your expression, matches your energy and smiles back.  

These rapid, microscopic exchanges rely on split-second neural timing. If a child's internal neural timing is slightly delayed or uncoordinated, it can make it harder for them to smoothly read, match, and respond to these fast moving social cues.  Over time, these tiny, missed beats can cause the brain to build and connect its pathways differently, altering how the child interacts with the world.  

WHY THIS MATTERS AT UNTAPPED BRAINS

At Untapped Brains, we look beyond a diagnosis. Knowing a child has autism, ADHD, or dyslexia tells us what behaviours they exhibit, but they don't tell us how an individual child's brain is uniquely processing information. 

Our comprehensive neurological programs look closely at the foundational building blocks of brain development through movement, balance, coordination, sensory processing, primitive reflexes and hemispheric function (how well the left and right sides of the brain share information) and timing.

The ultimate goal is to pinpoint your child's unique functional profile, mapping both their strengths and areas that need a bit more support to connect in real time.  

As a licensed Melillo Method practitioner, Janie applies this exact scientific framework. The Untapped Brains programs use targeted sensory-motor and neurodevelopmental therapies specifically designed to stimulate pathways and improve the timing, efficiency and connectivity of brain networks.

Brain development is a beautiful, interconnected web. A neurodivergent diagnosis isn't caused by one broken skill or isolated movement pattern, instead, the subtle differences we observe in how a child moves, balances, reacts and processes their world early on can provide us with the clues we need to help unlock their full potential.

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If you have questions about your child’s motor development, primitive reflexes, balance, sensory processing or overall development, check out our programs and discover how we can help restore and optimise your child's brain and body function. It all starts here!