Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Holden.
Hi Joanna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been drawn to teaching but did not want to be stuck in a classroom, so coaching and teaching gymnastics was always a “side gig” while I was working another job. Then I became fascinated with the brain-body connection: Why is it that I could work with a small group of new, budding gymnasts for a brand new session. Two of the girls would come in already knowing how to do a cartwheel. A couple of them learned within the first few classes. And several of them would struggle through every class, trying to make their bodies do what they wanted them to do. If I was using a variety of teaching methods and giving them every support I could think of, why were those kids not able to make it work?? Where was the disconnect?
Years later, I started graduate school for Occupational Therapy, where I hoped to find some answers to those questions. Unfortunately, I got sick in the second semester and was not able to finish the degree. The schooling, however, opened my awareness to something called Primitive Reflexes.
Fast forward to 2017. I had been working as a Sensory-Motor Coach at a company where primitive reflex work was almost an afterthought. A chiropractor friend of mine approached me and asked me to help her with one of her client’s daughters who was having a myriad of challenges: executive functioning, extreme phobias, bullying at public school had restricted her to online school, personal hygiene dysfunction, few friends, etc. Dr. Shelly and I applied our unique approaches with chiropractic and primitive reflex integration, including the use of cold laser technology, to helping this 15-year-old girl, and she began to thrive. It was amazing to facilitate her growth and success. So we started our company that focuses on primitive reflex integration for children!
After a couple of years, Dr. Shelly moved out of state, and my business partner and I bought her out, rebranded, and relocated to our current office in Littleton. We’ve been here for almost 7 years now, and our mission is to help as many families as we can!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh my goodness. The first main challenge was called COVID-19. We had just barely re-opened in the new location when the pandemic started. Since we are not considered medical or “essential”, we had to close our doors for 13 weeks. All the momentum we’d built came to a screeching halt!
The silver lining is that we discovered—and proved—that using the cold laser technology was effective and lasting! The clients who had started before the shutdown did not lose a single bit of progress, even without any appointments for 13 weeks. Their results were still holding strong, and we were able to pick up right where we left off without having to backtrack.
Another obstacle is that most people are not familiar with primitive reflexes or what can happen when they don’t integrate like they’re supposed to. Someone once told me that I have the burden of educating people about this. Quite honestly, I view it as an opportunity! I have the privilege of letting people know that there are DRUG-FREE, NON-INVASIVE methods for treating symptoms of ADHD, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia and other learning differences that they’ve likely never heard of before!
As you know, we’re big fans of Primitive Reflex Integration Plus (PRI+). For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We help families that have a child with ADHD, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, or other challenging symptoms or behaviors go from meltdown after meltdown to manageable!
We have an 8-week exercise-based program that helps primitive reflexes go dormant, like they are supposed to be, so the child can feel confident, strong, and ready to learn!
We are known for changing the trajectory of families’ lives. By the time they come to us, they feel like they’ve tried everything, and it either didn’t work or it didn’t last. Our program provides personalized, long-term, long-lasting results that changes our clients’ daily lives. We want all our clients to have friends and feel comfortable in their own skin.
What makes us different? First of all, we are not a kid factory. We see a limited number of clients so that we can truly dedicate our time and effort on making a difference for each family. Secondly, we get the parents involved. It is possible to do this kind of work without including the parents or family, but we have found that the home environment has to shift as the child’s brain changes and grows to provide continuity and support for the child. For so long, parents have had to choose their battles with their challenging child. Once that child is ready to re-engage, so to speak, the parents need to have the tools to guide them through that growth. Most other businesses who do this work forget about that part. Additionally, we utilize a tool called cold laser technology, which creates lasting results while eliminating the need, for the vast majority of our clients, for additional at-home exercises. Almost all of the “work” is done during our twice-weekly sessions at the office.
I am so proud of the progress we see in the families we serve. Two 14-year-old twins, who were suffering from severe anxiety that showed up as school refusal, were able to return to public high school and have now graduated! One 6-year-old girl who had issues with textures of her clothing was finally able to wear socks without them bothering her anymore. Another 5-year-old was able to start spending the majority of his school day back in his regular classroom rather than needing to be separated from his peers for poor behavior choices. A ten-year-old boy found his confidence! A recent 12-year-old boy discovered his love of participating in local theater! One family went on a vacation for the first time ever–without being held hostage by their children’s behaviors and meltdowns!
We always start with a complimentary consultation, usually by phone, to see if our program is a good fit for the family reaching out. If we are not the right fit, or if it’s simply not the right time, we have a comprehensive referral network of professionals and we help the family find their options. From there, the next step is to schedule an evaluation. That’s where the data comes from: Does the child have any retained primitive reflexes? Is there a hemispheric imbalance that needs to be addressed? What does the child’s nutrition intake look like? What are the main challenges and what are the short and long-term goals? We present a complete report, called the Results & Recommendations Report, to discuss whether or not to move forward from there.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Owning a business is truly a marathon, not a sprint. Building trust takes time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pri-plus.com
