to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?

[Hols12345]

They advertise on Facebook as Young Vibes, Your Child Freedom Formula, Peaky Parents, Anxiety, Our Formula, and various other names.

They use a 'high ticket' sales technique, where they offer a webinar and then urge you to book a call. The call is a high-pressure sales call.

They have changed their name quite a few times over the last year, after they were investigated by the Advertising Standards agency - www.asa.org.uk/rulings/tomwill--holdings--ltd-g21-1116080-tomwill--holdings--ltd.html, and they were featured in a BBC radio 4 documentary www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zt9y

There are a few threads on the child mental health boards - here's one. www.mumsnet.com/talk/child_adolescent_mental_health/4239684-your-child-freedom-formula-has-anyone-tried-it?page=1

On the threads there are people from 'both sides', including some who have been through the program, so it's well worth having a read if you are thinking of making the call.

Misleading stats on Young Vibes website.

@TeenDivided these are Sam's books under a different name. And yes she reviewed her own books! I did comment on there about this but not sure if it got deleted?

@TeenDivided just checked and my post is still there

Yes, I saw someone had commented.
I thought it worth explicitly recording it here as trustpilot stuff doesn't always stay up, and in my view at least it is evidence of bad faith running into this year.

Wow, is it two years? For some reason I thought it was three. I wonder what happened to the mum who started all this off? I can’t remember her username. Hope she and her kid are ok.

The new Young Vibes website has a sort of disclaimer ;

What if my child has been diagnosed Autistic?
Parents with children diagnosed with Autism must watch all the videos and make an informed decision.

Let’s hope there’s also none if this ‘must be the whole family or it won’t work’ bollocks as well!!!

Ha. Shame she’s taken down her video where she claims that autism doesn’t exist. I can’t find it anymore. Also in that video she said that ‘we’re all a little bit on the spectrum’.

@BruisedSkies especially as autism is being looks at so much now, with links to joint hypermobility, EDS and the knowledge of how it presents in females. I have read recently about how much it is missed in females as they have always been treated for anxiety or depression instead.

Like I've said before, the programme will work for some people but Sam should be so much more careful about what she says, the language used, how she says it and who she takes money from to be on the programme.

Yes, I’ve been reading about that too and how it is in girls.

I’m not an expert but what I do definitely know is that we’re not all a little bit on the spectrum. From what I understand, that’s highly offensive to autistic people to say that.

I took these screen shots of the video transcript.

This was the video where she talks about ADHD actually. Hopefully I screen grabbed the ASD one as well.

@Hols12345 sigh

Does she know anything at all about these diagnosis?? None of that makes any sense. Autism and ADHD are not a choice, do not go. Yes the anxiety can be reduced and this will certainly help reduce stimming, but it is every day events that cause the anxiety and stimming.

You certainly wont take that anxiety away completely ever. And medication is not taken as a matter of course once diagnosed autistic or ADHD to my knowledge.

I remember that video very clearly! And thinking wow that’s controversial. Sam or the mentors know nothing about neurodiversity. One of the other things I worry about is Sam treating people who are anxious, because of neurodiversity, but them not realising. A skilled clinician would be able to identify this and send them down the right referral route, it happens all the time. Whereas Sam will be telling them it’s just Adrenaline!! Her lack of knowledge is Dangerous. People need skilled and professionals to help them unpick and understand themselves.

@Chuppy222 I’m glad you remember the video too. I can’t remember which of their many websites it was on. You’re so right about how it could be dangerous if autism could just misdiagnosed as anxiety and adrenaline.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001kvf8?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Really interesting podcast if you're interested. This organisation Lighthouse has no links to YV as far as I'm aware but very interesting (and shocking) to learn about the techniques they use.

Recent emails mention autism a lot. In my experience a diagnosis of autism does not come easily. There is a lot of documentation from schools, GPs and parents, and a thorough assessment by PROFESSIONALS before a diagnosis is made.

Just because a person is referred for assessment does not mean they will get diagnosed, it is because the assessor is the FULLY TRAINED PROFESSIONAL who can diagnose properly.

YV or ST or whatever this company wish to call themselves now really need to have a proper understanding of these other diagnosis! The narrative in emails really shows a lack of understanding and they do not seem to grasp the implications of this.

Parents are at their absolute wits end when they turn to companys like this. They don't know which way to turn first.

PLEASE, PLEASE take a step back, ask for others opinion and try to make an informed not rash decision.

Have you got an example of an email they sent?

@BruisedSkies some screenshots attached

Thanks @3xteens Her wording is always so unusual. ‘Autistic referral’.

This is so ridiculous. Of course anxiety is a MH condition. My DD worrying whether she can safely eat crisps with her fingers, or safely use a fork that touched the outside of her glass is not a physical condition, it is her brain not feeling safe.

re Autism v Anxiety. There clear is overlap as autism based anxiety exists. Though she doesn't seem to believe that?

FFS!

I'm not surprised but I'm somehow still shocked by the contents of these emails.

Criteria for Autism diagnosis:

“Persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction” and “restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests” (this includes sensory behaviour), present since early childhood, to the extent that these “limit and impair everyday functioning”.

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/diagnostic-criteria/all-audiences

Autism is not a "mental condition" (as Sam puts it)

There is no medication prescribed for autism.

Sorry, my previous post wasn't clear. The screen shot is from one of the emails (thank you @3xteens )

The info in the post about diagnostic criteria is from the National Autistic Society.

‘It’s traits present as autism, it is RECOVERABLE’
sounds like she’s giving false hope to families that she can cure autism!!