NEW Tinsley house support thread -part 2!!

[Badvoc]

Hello everyone!
Thought I should start a new thread as we were nearing 1000 posts! :)
Indigo is no longer posting as you all know, but I think it would be such a shame for the support thread to go too.
I know I find reading about all the ups and downs we all experience very helpful and it's so great to hear all the progress :)
So.
We go back to TH next month and can't wait. So interested to see of the tracking programme has worked. I think ds1s reading speed has improved and he is now reading proper chapter books!
He continues to show less anxiety, OCD behaviour and stress.
He is eating better and is generally a much happier chap.
Looking forward to hearing from you all over the next few weeks/months...X

Shoppingbags,
thank you it is really good to hear from some one who has experienced similar. We are also going to move him from his current school but it will not be until the Summer as we are waiting until I have finished my degree in July to move out of London. My husband will then have to commute to work so currently looking for Schools and houses in Surrey or Kent.

His teachers are lovely I must say but his needs are just not met. We recently had parents evening and they said it has got to the point where he is completely refusing to do any writing or learning he just wants to read.

How did you go about finding the right school for him? I am concerned about picking a new school as I don't want to get it wrong. He reacts really badly to any kind if change. How long into the TH Programme was it before you started to see changes in your sons behaviour at school?

I think we have decided to definitely go ahead with TH now. Can I just ask anyone who already had a diagnosis of something whether it ADD,ASD or one of the many, what did those at CAMHS have to say about it? As they are now recommending our son be medicated and we have said no it is not what we want. I am wondering what their reaction is to places such as Tinsley House.

We have never told anyone at school unimama.
We did tell school about rrt and ait but frankly they couldn't have been less interested and the only reason I told them was that he needed time off school for the appointments.
I would imagine their reactions would be quite negative, but I can't speak from experience.

God now I'm doubting myself again. I have just had a look at searches for all the reviews of Robin and have read all the skeptics and negative views. The fact he is only a Chiropractor and not a specialist or neurologist. And doctors saying he is just taking advantage of people for their money.

I have already heard from Badvoc and Shopping both whom have presented me with their experience and i am very grateful. Is there any more? Have others had doubts? I just want to do the right thing for my son.

Badvoc do you think maybe I should start a thread so those doing the TH Programme can see it and give me any advice as I am aware this is the TH support thread and don't know if I should keep posting on here if we have not made the jump yet.

You can post wherever you want unimama.
Yes I had doubts. Of course.
And in truth I went to robin as a last resort.
i can't speak for anyone else.
As for him "taking advantage of me" obviously I don't feel that way.
IMO I think TH and similar approaches will be pretty mainstream in 5-10 years.
There are already school trials ongoing.
And if you look into it omega supplements are already commonly advocated for treatment of asd/ADHD.
The was a programme called "food hospital" on ch 4 last year and it featured a young man with ADHD.
They recommended omega supplements and less junk food and more protein!
And it worked for him too.
It's hardly new or alternative tbh.
But I understand your concerns.
I would council you the same I would anyone else...phone robin and ask questions and see what you think.
It's what I did. It's what most of us did.
Good luck x

Unimama, there will always be nay-Sayers with something new and 'alternative'. That's why in this thread we tend to suggest people start by just reading the book and trying the diet and initial exercise plan. They cost very little and can do absolutely no harm to your child. This is what I did last May. Within a month of starting the supplements, diet and stairs exercise we noticed that ds had stopped flapping completely and was concentrating much better in his swimming lessons. His old (crap) school reported he was much calmer and more compliant, although they believed that was down to their excellent work with him. This gave us the confidence to make an appointment with Robin and try the whole programme.
Re changing schools we moved ds from a small village primary to a large, selective, academic prep school. We told the school very little about ds' history other than he had been diagnosed with aspergers traits. They had a number of pupils with the same diagnosis so were unfazed. The old school did its best to put them off ds, sending a report that exaggerated his poor behaviour and didn't mention how academic he is. Luckily the new school trusted its own selection process.
We did lots of TH work and other stuff over the summer holidays and ds' behaviour improved straight away when he started his new school. We haven't looked back.
We still have a number of areas to work on though. His concentration is still below average so that's our current set of exercises from Robin.
Sorry, long post. Hope it helps though.

Unimama, I have been sceptical all along (used to work in medical/educational field) but came to the conclusion that anything suggested by Robin, although time consuming, was not going to be harmful to ds but, if it worked, could be very beneficial. Dietary changes, supplements and a couple of simple exercises for the first couple of months really helped to calm ds' behaviour and that was enough for us to keep going.

It sounds as though the only option you have currently is to medicate your ds and you are against that. So what have you got to lose? Give it a go for a few months and see what happens and it could be perfect timing for beginning a new school once he has started to improve.

I seem to remember reading something by Ben Goldacre (i also searched on the internet before seeing Robin) where he apologised for some of the things he had said about Robin. I don't think that any of the detractors have tried the programme and whilst we have all had mixed results, we have all had some good results - I think it depends on the starting point. Certainly, all the concerns you have listed have been seen to improve in most of our dcs.

Ha!
Most people on MNSN don't have a lot of time for Ben goldacre! :)
I get quite frustrated with the assumption that what we are doing is alternative tbh.
I really don't think it is.
Less junk food, no E numbers, supplements (which a lot of parents give anyway daily) and a few simple exercises.
It's hardly dancing round the garden with a tin foil hat on!

Oh, you haven't got to the tinfoil hat bit yet then, Badvoc?

I think it is very natural to ask questions about something that doesn't seem to be 'mainstream', particularly when you are paying good money for it!

I have told ds' support teacher and his neurologist (because I felt they should know). Neither of them were shocked or poo-pooed it (to my face!).

A friend of mine has been taking her daughter to a Behavioural Optometrist. She has been working on similar things in terms of eye convergence, just without the dietary changes and cerebellum exercises. I think what they charge is similar to Robin.

Hahahaha
No not yet.
I could pull it off as a fashion choice though :)
Seriously, though, daft is right, what robin does is not disimilar (although less effective) than what a behavioural optometrist does.
and wrt the money side of things, I would have been paying ££££ for years for ds to go to DA or a tutor, so actually I feel that I am saving money tbh.

Unimama - my DS2 is under CAMHS and we have had medication suggested for him although this is a route we do not want to go down yet. We did tell them about TH and they made no real comment apart from being slightly patronising My Son also sees a dyslexic tutor and she was more open to it. I am also sceptical but have decided to give it a go and the appointment is booked. Our dyslexic tutor advised me that if I don't try things then I'll never know if it could work and it's not as if I'm taking him somewhere to saw his head open and poke at his brain
I'd rather feel down that we gave it a go and it didn't work than regret for not trying everything I could to help.

I think that's an important point.
First do no harm as the saying goes.
Supplements and a higher protein and less junk diet will do your child I harm at all whereas it could help immensely.
I share your doubts about strong meds like Ritalin etc.
The exercises are simple and take about 4 mins per day.
The vision exercise programmes are the same.
It's really not that taxing.
The trick is to make it part of your daily routine.
So, in a minute ds is going to do his lumosity games which take about 10 mins in all.
And that's it.

I am probably quite cynical but as others have said I figure it is going to do no harm and I think it does all help.

I don't think DD is going to be cured, but I think it may help a bit. And if I didn't do it I would always be wondering what if.

I am going back to see Robin on Sunday and will ask more questions about what changes he is expecting to see and how long they might take. I didn't really take it in last time I went

And frankly I am so bored of meeting professionals that assess and watch DD and don't actually do anything to help, it is good going to someone who seems a bit more positive.

On that note - I had a message from the Ed Pysch today who saw DD on Monday. She didn't have DD's file with her and couldn't remember anything off the top of her head, but I'll get a report in a couple of weeks. Didn't think I could add anything of worth obviously. Being only her Mother and all.

Sigh.

That's crap, prince, sorry.
I had to chase up toms EP report too. Maddening!
It's his parents evening on Monday.
Mum back at the docs again today and its turns out that she has had a heart attack - get this - "at some point" !!!
So she is now on beta blockers.
Sigh.
And my dad is still no better so he is having to go back for tests.
I guess I am at that age now....my parents are getting frail :(
On a brighter note my cousin is getting married :) in July. That's cheered me up no end. He deserves some happiness.
Dh back later on at least.

Oh, and prince, ime professionals only give any credence to mothers in order to blame them :(

I'm really sorry to hear about you mum badvoc - that must be very scary. Do you feel she is in safe hands?

I hope you get spoiled for Mother's Day. You and everyone else.

Well, as predicted I have got the kids lurgy...bluergh. Very sore throat and swollen glands.
Not sure wrt mum...I think that she has been faffed around so long wrt her clot etc.
She had a lot of MH issues as I was growing up and IMHO doctors assume that it's always nerves etc that is causing the problem.
It's worrying.

Blimey!
Just been offered a job!
From sept as a childcare assistant at my friends pre school.
3/4 morning per week.
How exciting!
And she also specialises in kids with sen/sn :)

Fantastic Badvoc. You fancy it?

Yes I do :)
It's not much money obv but that's not why I would be doing it anyway.
I am thinking of starting my own pre school in 2 Years time possibly (gulp)
Will see what happens...

Brilliant news then. I'm going to look for some work for September too. Probably supply teaching initially til I get my confidence back. Scary but exciting too.

Congratulations. That is great news. Well done.

Thanks! :)
Have a good weekend everyone! X

Great news Badvoc!
Unimama, our son is almost 4 and we've been doing TH for nearly a year now. Meeting Robin was honestly one of the best things that happened to us at a horrible time, he's helped us look beyond a label and help ds start developing into the person he's meant to be - not 'changing' him, just letting his best qualities shine.

I cant 'prove' that it's down to TH but the progress has been so startling and we're delighted with that.

Ds was diagnosed with high-functioning ASD last april. He's now interacting brilliantly with us, making lovely eye contact, joking around, sharing his day and his thoughts. Everybody notices how far he's come, so quickly - it is undoubtedly far beyond expectations.

Is he magically 'cured'? I'm not saying that but he is doing SO well, I'm already no longer worried he won't be able to live an independent life. I"m so glad I don't feel like I did a year ago, that's for sure.

Hi guys, I haven't been posting much these days. When I was in total despair about my DS I was on this thread all the time- it was my lifeline. Now, things are so much better and much as I love the thread I am able to manage very well without it iyswim.

For those of you who are feeling sceptical about Robin and /or Neurodevelopmental therapy generally, we have all been there. My DH was totally against us going to TH. He thought Robin would be a fraudster/ quack/ weirdo/nutter and my FIL said I was deranged/ fruit cake etc etc... However, when I read Robin's book I knew that all my son's problems were described and explained within those pages. TBH I was put off by Robin's constant references to his clinic and his writing style was not entirely palatable, but hey, he is a Functional Neurologist not William Shakespeare. I was a complete gibbering wreck when I first spoke to Robin but he has always listened to my worries and always reassured me. Fast forward to today ( 7.5 months into the programme) and my husband thinks Robin is amazing. We have the option of skype appointments now but much prefer to go and see him despite a relatively long drive ( 3.5 hour round trip) Personally, I believe that Robin knows more about the post natal development of the brain and developmental delay ( dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD, Tourettes, Tics, OCD, ASD, Aspergers, Autism.....) than any of the so called " professionals"

For those of you who want endorsements from the medics- you simply WILL NOT get it. Likewise, you will not get double blind placebo controlled trials.

The treatment sounds simple, and yes ( in theory) it is, but it is NOT EASY. Compliance was a massive issue for us initially and the start of the programme was definately the hardest part.

So, my recommendation is to read either " Is that my Child? or " Brain Food Plan", then ring Robin and( if you can afford it) go and see him. If you can't afford it start off with Omega, Vitamins, Protein Breakfast, Diet and Stair Exercise.

I have NEVER for one moment regretted TH. I have had many periods of doubt, but it does work- it just takes time and effort and a huge leap of faith.

( Have just read this back and sorry if it sounds like a rant but just want as many children to get the help they need and deserve)

Very well put BP :)
I think one of the things that really frustrates me wrt the - as I see it - misconceptions about TH is that it is expensive and difficult.
I realise for some of you it has been, but for us it really hasn't. Ds has been very compliant. Not always happy! :) but not too bad.
Fact is you can do part of the TH programme for the cost of a paperback book, some supplements and eating more protein and less junk.
The whole idea at it's somehow really woo irritates me.
Take supplements (which many many kids do anyway) eat less junk and more protein (which lots of people are advocating now) and do some simple neuro developmental exercises.
Is that really seen as alternative and weird!?
Maybe I am a hippy and just don't realise it :)
I hope we have answered some of your questions unimama.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do x
Btw....I will not be able to make an Easter meet up :( dh is away with work and we have different holidays to all you southerners!!;)
Anyone what to arrange a Windsor meet up at Easter?
IB is keen to go.
I will arrange a summer meet up later on in the year.
Parents evening in Monday!
Will update you all.
Thank you for all your help and support over the past few difficult weeks
Things still aren't great...dad has to go back to hospital for more tests and mum is now on beta blockers :(
On a brighter note, ds2 had his first full day at pre school last week and loved it :)