TINSLEY HOUSE SUPPORT THREAD - PART 3!!!! :)

[Badvoc]

Well, here is the shiny new thread for all of us either doing the TH programme, doing part of it, or thinking about doing it! :)
A brief synopsis of stage 1 of the programme can be found in the books "is that my child?" Or "the brain food plan" by robin pauc;

Stage 1 of the TH therapy consists of:

1. Daily Multivitamins

• Omega
• Zinc & Magnesium

1. Healthy eating

• High protein, low sugar, no artificial sweeteners, additives etc.

1. Specific neuro development exercises done 3 times a day

• Takes about 4-5 mins

And that's it :)

Stage 2 involves computer programmes to sort out eye tracking and convergence which over 80% of children with reading/writing problems have.

• www.engagingeyes.co.uk

We are coming to the end of our time doing TH I reckon...certainly by the end of the summer I think. It has been in many ways much easier than I thought at the beginning but of course takes commitment and time.

I am so glad we "took the plunge". It has made such a difference to ds and to our lives :)

Tom phoned me very excited....he has won a top trumps championship at school!
(Which I didn't even know he was in!)
He may get the chance to go to London if he wins an online championship!
:)

I have sent you a PM Daft!

Yay, go Tom! A particular success in our house is 'Plop Trumps' but maybe not suitable for a school!

Prince, have replied!

Turns out Ruggles used to teach in ds' school!

Ha! :)
Small world, eh?.....

I wrote a lovely long post last night and lost it. I was too tired to do it again so will try now.

Badvoc sorry to hear about your AF. I had one episode four years ago and, after an eccocardiogram as an outpatient, the cardiologist thought it was unlikely to happen again and stopped my beta blockers. I have since been to A&E twice with "panic" as I suffer from ectopic beats and when they have been bad I worry that it's AF again.

Ds3 has had a good week at school. His home/school diary said he is "working well". I know he has told the teacher he is taking "magic tablets to make him work fast" but, as the teacher won't speak to me until the parent appointments, I can't discuss it with her. She probably thinks we are giving him ds1's Ritalin! I am counting the days until the end of term and a new teacher.

Jinty...thank you.
It was pretty scary I have to say :(
Just want to get the appts out of the way tbh.
I hope the next term goes quickly for you and the new teacher is a better one x

I gave up with MN last night, it was so frustrating!

How are you feeling today, Badvoc?

Just had my t-shirt arrive today for my 10 mile Pink Ribbon walk in 3 weeks ... Eek! I need to do more training!

Jinty, have replied to your pm

ooooh I have to know now too! Sorry Daft....PM here I come!

I am ok thank you. Still feel a bit odd, but that's perhaps to he expected?
Been to choose toms new bike for his b day :) it's so huge! I could ride it!
Well done for doing the ribbon walk daft...I am v impressed.
Not sure what was up with MN last might but I gave up to and watched a very interesting documentary on Thomas Cromwell :)

Tom and I are snuggled up on the sofa watching green valley on DVD.
Poor ds2 has had a horrid hayfever attack and had been crying because his eyes are itching so much :(
Sigh.
Will be interesting to see if Tom is as badly affected this year....

Do any of you have DCs who have suffered tics and can offer some reassurance? DS1 has had some since Y1....eye widening, throat clearing. We ignore, they pass. But in the past few weeks they're getting worse. When we went to see Robin he was kind of stretching his face down, opening his mouth, I remember mentioning this. But I've noticed his eye widening one returning and in the past couple of days he's now doing this kind of pucker up thing. It's really quite pronounced tonight. I feel some quite big changes are going on in DS1 at the moment - the positives I've mentioned, and am trying to see it as part of the process, focus on the bigger picture. But I'd quite like to know that by the time he gets to xyz bit of the brain, he'll stop doing it! I don't want him to start being teased. :(

Hi Harriet - haven't any direct experience of tics, but Robin has mentioned them to us a couple of times. He said that sometimes they appear or worsen during the programme as different parts of the brain start working harder. This sounded super scary to me (!) so I asked quite a lot about it and he was very reassuring that it was a temporary thing. Sorry not to be more help, but I'm sure someone will be along soon with some more info.

DS had a couple of days off Target Practice while we were away and stunned me today by reaching level 9. I am so proud of him.

Wasn't the weather lovely at the weekend!

Thanks Ruggles - that's very reassuring! We see Robin in 2 weekends time after a week of long overdue half term so I'll talk to him about it then. But that sounds good - I kind of know things can get worse before they get better, you just don't really want them to happen to your DC!! Makes me feel I'm frying his brain!!
That's great with Target Practice well done little Ruggles!! DS got to number 16 once!! Hasn't done it since but we're now up to generally managing a level 12 so it's fab to see the progress kind of wiggle up. He did some (for us) utterly awesome writing homework this weekend - have been on a high all bank holiday due a couple of adjectives and a correctly spelled 'could'!!! :D

Harriet...no experience of tics but I know from this thread that tics do sometimes get worse before they get better.
Great news about the writing homework.
We saw some family from Singapore last night that was haven't seen for 2 years and both boys were fab, but Tom was a star. He drew pictures, chatted and actually sang a song for them at one point!
He is also doing well on lumosity. We have downloaded the iPad app so it's much quicker now.
He has lots of induction stuff next term for high school...and I am feeling so much calmer about it now :)
He is also talking of going away with dh for a boys weekend!!
Amazing.

I hope the quietness of the thread means you are all having great fun over half term!? :)
It's rain rain and more rain here sadly.
I am ill - just for a change eh? - luckily dh has taken the dc swimming after work yesterday and today so at least they have had some exercise.
They requested a pj day today so that's what we have done.
Went into town yesterday to the shopping centre (big place, Tom had never been before) and he was fine. No problems at all :)
They are at my pils tomorrow and I must try and get some housework done :(
Feel so tired and washed out. My throat is ulcerated and very sore.
Hope you are all ok x

Badvoc, so sorry that you are not feeling well - especially over half term when there is so much you want to do... Forget the housework today and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet whilst they are out. Good news for Tom with the shopping centre.

Harriet - great news for you too. I get so excited about these things!!

We've had a week of birthdays which has been great but so much rain too. The forecast for today is much better, but looking out the window now I'm not convinced. Its our village fete tomorrow and I'm sure we're going to be swept away.

We had lunch with lots of friends on Wednesday and DS was (to quote a friend) 'impeccable' and he even went on the back of trailer without me. I was so proud of him. DS is doing really well with Engaging Eyes now. We've got used to it and he has really improved. DD just gets the giggles now with her exercises and between the two of them we are having to use lots of carrots and sticks to get it all done each day. I've found half term so much easier as we get them all done first thing (when we're all at our best...)

Thank you.
Yes, half term is much easier wet getting the TH stuff done.
Nice and sunny here today.
What a shame all I want to do is crawl back into bed :(

Spoke too soon!

Yesterday DS went bananas and hasn't really touched down since. Not sure if it was something he ate on Thursday or just one of these things, but he has been bouncing off the walls as if under the influence of drugs. He hasn't been able to relax, listen to instructions, hasn't cared about anything or anyone. Plus squeaking lots and and talking in a silly voice... Needless to say we are thoroughly fed up and I felt as if I needed a vallium pill by early afternoon.

On a positive note, a really strong reminder of how much things have changed for us. We very rarely have such bad days, whereas back in the autumn we had lots of these. Also, he hasn't been aggressive which is another positive.

No idea what triggered this - he's had a bit of a rash on his legs since Thursday.

Planning a day of walks on the beach and meat and veg meals tom.

How's everyone else?

PS - my Dad isn't doing so well and I have a horrible, sinking feeling about it all. .

Ruggles...sorry it's been such a hard day for you. Good that you can still see improvement in that he is not violent. I wonder if he is coming down with something? Viral rash?
Is your dad ill? Sorry, I don't remember you saying. It's so worrying isnt it?
I have to take my dad to hospital 3 times next week :( he is having a barium meal one day and then also having an HG tube in for 24 hours so have to take him to have it inserted and taken out.
I have a sinking feeling too...both his mother (my GM) and my late uncle had Parkinson's and now my dad is having trouble swallowing sometimes.
I hope your sinking feeling is unwarranted x

Hi I'm hoping to get some help. We are going to see Robin at TH tomorrow for first consultation and wondered if anybody could tell me what to expect roughly? I feel the need to prepare both myself and my son.

Hi.
Firstly, don't worry! :)
It's basically lots if questions about pg, birth, and first few months and then developmental milestones since so it's a good idea to jot a few things down.
Then he will do a very short physical examination.
He is great with kids, it's not distressing for them at all.
Good luck x

Samantha - welcome to the board! Just as Badvoc says, Robin will ask you some questions about you and your DS. He does lots of different tests which my children really enjoyed - they think they are games. Robin has this amazing way with children - he really makes a connection with them. I wrote down all our worries so that I didn't forget to ask about anything. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Thanks Badvoc - another day today. DS and DD have had a mild rash, so it could be that or possibly something they ate or maybe even Piriton (they hardly ever take it) I am so pleased that he didn't try to hit anyone but just bounced! Really hope today is better before back to school tom.

Dad has just finished cancer treatment and is feeling exhausted with it all. He's quite elderly and frail. He's having a knee op in July and in the meantime hoping to go to Canada on holiday...

DD is having her grommets put in tom. It is all go here!

Morning all, haven't been around much lately, we are moving house so it's all abit manic. Spent 5 hours at the new house yesterday and only managed to get the kitchen clean. The whole house is filthy. Good job we're not moving in til Wednesday as there's a lot more to do.
Welcome Samantha, hope it goes well at Tinsley House today, come back and let us know how you get on.
Badvoc, sorry you're still not feeling well. Lets hope a few days of sunshine will help.
Ruggles, sorry to hear you had a bad day with ds. We still find days that are full of fun and excitement often end in tears. Ds stayed at my sister's Thursday night, had a brilliant time followed by an enormous tearful melt down Friday afternoon. But as you say, it shows how far we've come as these used to happen several times a day.
I'm losing motivation with hemi p and t. We've been doing it for nearly 4 months, ds is bored and because I know his concentration is so much better I'm struggling to persevere. We haven't done it for over a week. Appointment with Robin a week tomorrow and I'm hoping we will move on to something new.

Ruggles...I am sorry to hear about your dads treatment.
I do hope he manages to get to Canada!
Odd about the rash...maybe they have hay fever?
Ds2 is certainly suffering ATM.
Will be thinking of your dd tomorrow x

Hello all! Haven't managed to get on for a while. It's been wedding season here. We had a third wedding in as many weeks yesterday! Thankfully that's the last one until August. And then I think we've got another one after that too.

Anyway, need a quick bit of advice, then I'll get back on later to catch up on the thread.

PILs looked after the DC yesterday. I had prepared lunch, dinner, snacks etc so I knew DS would get what he needed. However, DS wouldn't eat any dinner so my PILs helpfully gave them both ambrosia custard for pudding, despite having eaten nothing. It wasn't even my custard as I don't buy it anymore because it has bad colouring in it; they'd brought it with them! Anyway, DS is bouncing off the walls this morning! His mood is sooooo volatile. He's throwing a tantrum at anything, crying for nothing. I feel bad for him as he's all over the place.

Is there anything I can do to get it out of his system faster? Take him for a big walk? Or is it something I just have to wait to happen on it's own? We were going to go out for the day but I'm rethinking that.