Anne Byrne profiles Martin McPhillips who is involved in exciting new treatments for children.
Born: 1955, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh
Educated: QUB. BSc honours psychology; Edgehill College, England, postgraduate teaching diploma (special needs); QUB PhD to be completed next June.
Career: taught in a number of comprehensive schools in Britain in special needs units; freelance (1987-95) teaching movement in a number of school and colleges, including Leeds College of Music, to musicians, dancers, athletes as well as special needs children; research fellow at QUB school of psychology.
Publications include: Effects of replicating primary-reflex movements on specific learning difficulties in children: a randomised, double-blind, controlled study. Lancet 2000, 355:537-41; The role of persistent primary-reflexes in reading delay, Dyslexia Review, vol 13, no. 1, autumn 2001.
Claim to fame: developed the Primary Movement Programme, which replicates the primary reflex movement of the foetus and newborn body, in a bid to help children with specific learning disabilities.
Family: married to Patricia, a musician; two children: Marcus, 12, and Maeve, 9.
Primary Movement: non-profit making charity which trains teachers in primary movement techniques (tel: 048 90 222182).
QUB School of Psychology: Obtained a 4 (research of national/international importance) in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise; obtained a maximum score of 24 in 1999 QTA (quality of teaching assessment).
