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 :)

:(
How helpful of your pils!
I am not sure there is anything you can do tbh, other than keep up with the supplements and exercises until the additives have left his system.
My fil is terrible for this btw...I have recently discovered he has been giving ds2 strawberries with sugar on against my express wishes.
I am unsure what to do about it. If anything. They won't listen :(

Thanks for the kind wishes, feel prepared now. Will let you know how it goes.

Good luck x

Hi Samantha, good luck for today. We all worried about our first appointment, I'm sure. It s a bit of a leap of faith, isn't it? Hopefully, you will find your appointment quite simple and not like many other medical-type meetings we have all had before - not least the setting is completely different!

Badvoc- you really havent had a good week with feeling poorly! Hope the sun is shining where you are and it is helping. Hmm, to other people/in laws giving dcs things - I think if it doesn't happen very often, I would leave it but if your fil is doing it a lot, it might be worth challenging (or get your Dh to do it!). I had to stop mil from buying dd any more cappuccinos after she bought her one a few years ago. I thnk dd wanted a 'babyccino' but mil hadn't heard of that but still thought a proper coffee would be ok for a 5yr old!! Good luck for your dad's tests. When ds was going through all his Neuro tests, I kept consoling myself that it was better to know what we were dealing with x

Harriet - Robin has said to us that tics can worsen. I think he said with HemiStim but as ds hasn't had tics, I can't remember. I'm sure if to email him, he can reassure you. He has always replied very promptly when we had issues and tweaked what we were doing when necessary.

Ruggles - I always feel like two steps forward, one step back! Perhaps the change/lack of routine during half term has unsettled your ds too? Sorry to hear about your dad. It is fantastic to hear that he is making plans - must be good for him to have something to focus on/aim for. Good luck for dd tomorrow with her grommets. Hope it all goes smoothly.

Shopping - hope you get the new house sorted by Wednesday and fingers crossed for movin on from HemiStim at the next appointment.

Dd has been away since Friday on a Brownie PGL. She is only 8, so it is quite a big thing to be away from home for so long! She is back tonight so I am looking forward to hearing how she has got on. When I explained what abseiling is (she thought it involved boats!) she said "I'm not doing that"

We went to Whipsnade Zoo yesterday. It was fab. Ds has always loved animals and dd would have complained at all the walking (it is the biggest zoo we have been to!) so it worked out quite well. Lots of very cute baby animals and unhealthy food.

Off to build the new BBQ purchased in Asda yesterday. Ds hoping for it to be ready for us to use today so he can wind up his sister about missing out.

Enjoy the sunshine all x

Quick question about hemi p. DS1 thinks he has to find Wally keeping one eye shut? Is this correct and if so does it matter which eye :) thank you muchly!

Ooh...don't know.
Tom didn't close an eye!
Perhaps e mail robin?

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie, I hope it's okay to just jump in on your thread! I posted a new thread but was advised to put it here too. I have read several threads about this clinic but can't find any posts about this in relation to tourettes and ocd. I have just read robin paucs books and am considering this route for my son. My 7year old has tourettes, adhd and ocd. We have been following a strict diet (following advice from lots of different books) and supplementing with vegepa fish oils and various other vitamins / supplements for about a year now and have seen amazing results with regards to the adhd. However, it has had no impact on his tics. Anyone out there seen an improvement in tourettes symptoms by going down the Tinsley house route and what else does he have to offer other than diet and supplements (for tics)? Thanks in advance.
:-)

Hi again! :)
My son had OCD prior to starting TH. He doesn't now.
Wrt Tourette's, I don't know.
Have you phoned and spoken to robin?
It's free :) and may answer your questions. Most of us started out by phoning him and having a chat.
He is very easy to talk too.

Hi again badvoc :-) that's brilliant about your sons ocd! My son's is getting worse, he's hoarding junk and has bizarre little rituals. His tics are bad at the moment too. I know we are on to something with the diet and supplements. I am definitely in control of his adhd but really need help with the other stuff!

Part of the plan is specific neuro developmental exercises to stimulate e parts of the brain that are either not developing or misfiring.
Do phone robin
This stuff works :)

I'm definitely going to phone him, thank you :-)

Hello everyone,

We went to see Robin on Thursday, but I haven't had time to post since then! DD was delighted with him, and I think he was mildly intrigued with her because she manages to combine a selection of the usual symptoms (easily distracted, poor gross motor co-ordination) with no reading problems whatsoever.

Anyway, we've come out of it with, as expected, a raft of supplements, stairs and left leg left hand toothbrushing. Oh, and protein breakfasts?!? If anyone can give us tips on this that don't involve eggs every day (which will bring constipation for DD as sure as, well, eggs is eggs) but isn't bacon and sausages, I'd be very grateful.

Interestingly, though, we've been doing the toothbrushing and vegepa for about three weeks and one thing I have noticed is that DD - who is 6 - has suddenly started getting one of her toys to talk. She's always had a good imagination, but has never done that before. But then I don't know if that would have happened in any case.

Robin did say that, although the squint and 3D vision may not ever come right (because DD has had two ops on her eyes), but he is expecting her to make speedy progress. We will see, not least because I have no idea what to expect - back there in 2 months. Mind you, if she starts concentrating, she could be dangerous...

Intheark, my ds has the same as your dd. all the DDS symptoms except reading problems. His reading age was 8 when he was 5 and hasn't struggled with spelling or anything either. Interestingly he still had convergence problems - Robin said it was really unusual for a child who had convergence problems to be able to read so well.

My ds had sever dyslexia, was dyspraxic, had OCD some asd traits and anxiety!
Not that you would know that now....:)

shoppingbags - that's really interesting. DD's reading age is also well above her chronological age and her ability to concentrate on a book (to the point of not hearing us) is also very good for a six year old. Just doesn't work for anything else!

Hi everyone - what a busy weekend! We've been at PIL's and Badvoc and Lookslikerain, I'm part of your gang! PIL's look at it like I'm depriving DCs of everything nice (while trying to understand and do what I've requested) but being unable to prevent a quick piece of toast and jam, or an icey-pole! Arghghg!
Hi Samantha and Sparklebomz - good luck with starting out. Sparklebomz I don't have any success story to give you but am perhaps a test case for you! We don't have a diagnosis of tourettes but DS1 does suffer tics which Robin was very confident he'd get rid of. They are in a period of getting worse at the moment which I'm hoping is temporary - and during a bit of research on that found an article in a paper online about a boy with tourettes who got a lot better with Robin's help. Def good idea to call him though - we see him in 2 weekends time so will report his advice back then.
Ruggles - I wonder whether the bananas behaviour has anything to do with Engaging Eyes? Who knows but DS1 who has had tantrums a plenty in the past but had kind of chilled out a bit became a complete and utter monster. Last Monday he had an utterly horrific public melt down in the park screaming, lashing out, uncontrollable. Thank god DH was there as I can't physically control him these days. Not sure he's EVER had one that bad before. This was the culmination of about 2 or 3 weeks of volatile behaviour. But this week (touch wood) things have really calmed. And in the past day or two he's started being really rational - when asked to do something he doesn't want to do rather than just starting to yell and losing the plot he says 'I'm just going to finish x and then I'll do it'. Perhaps a turn....
Have a good week all....my little DS2 has to have an op on Tuesday (adenoids and tonsils out), poor little chap.
Oh and Ruggles DS1 has had 2 sets of grommets. The going under is not a lot of fun for us parents but fwiw, the grommits op is completely painless and he bounced right back....with great hearing. Let me know how it goes. xx

protein breakfast ideas: brown pita stuffed with cheese and grilled in oven served with slice of ham. think baked beans on toast works though DS won't eat. he's accepted fish fingers, bizarrely! and loves a big bowl of greek yoghurt, a teaspoon of honey and a handful of sugar free granola (the food doctor brand).

Thanks harrietv, I will be watching for your posts re the tics. Hope they improve soon. Anyone else on here any experience with tics and TH?

We do "posh" cheese on toast...sliced toasted muffins, tomato sauce and grated mozerella baked in the oven for 10 mins.
Omelette with cheese and other fillings.
Beans on toast
Fish fingers and beans.

Hi all! Haven't been able to catch up for while and the thread has really moved on. Some ups and downs, but you all sound like you're moving in the right direction.

sparklebomz I don't have any experience of tics. My DS is 3 and has a dx of autism which I'm quite about and one day in the future I shall make someone eat that report... Good luck!

We're still plodding along well. DS has had his come down from the PIL/tinned custard incident. He was much calmer by dinner last night. He did plenty running around the garden yesterday. I don't know if that helped work it out his system but he enjoyed it. I'm quite annoyed they gave it to him, especially as it wasn't even something from my cupboards. They actually brought it themselves and he hadn't even eaten any dinner. There were so many other things they could have given them, a banana, a bowl of porridge, even a bowl of bloody shreddies would have been better! They are from the school of thought that children must ALWAYS eat a 'good' dinner, and all meals for them involve a pudding, often used as a bribe to get you to eat the main course. I don't suppose I'll ever change them but I will be more careful the next time they look after the DC.

DS has started commenting on things and protesting when he doesn't want to do something. Last week he said "you shut up, mummy!" when I said he needed a nappy change. I was ! Okay, I know telling me to shut up isn't good, and I did tell him that, but the fact that he said something to tell me he didn't want it, rather than a tantrum or making a fuss was great. Just need to work on moving away from "shut up"... He's been telling his sister off when she makes a mess, told me "enough mummy, stop" when I was making noise and he was watching telly. I know it sounds like a silly thing to be happy about but I love it!

badvoc hope you're feeling better. You're whole family have had a rubbish time of it recently with health. Hopefully some good weather will come along soon and sort you all out!

Oh, and someone was talking about breakfasts up thread. We've just discovered (homemade) sausage rolls which DS really enjoyed. I'm going to try them as a breakfast with beans. We also do (homemade) chicken nuggets/beans, fish fingers (not homemade)/beans, and sometimes cheese on toast, but DS sees cheesy toast as a lunch, not a breakfast! Hth.

Thank you for all the breakfast suggestions everyone. Cheesy muffins sound particularly good!

Another question, if you don't mind. How quickly did you see progress with either the stairs or the toothbrushing? We've been doing the standing on one leg for a few weeks now without DD getting apparently any better at it.

inthesark we've been doing the stairs since he end of February. Progress is slow but it's coming. He can now do it well up and down but still with both feet on each step. My son is only 3 and not good at keeping eyes shut or arms by his side so, awful as this sounds, we blindfold him and tie his arms down. Since we started tying his arms down, he's progressed really quickly. Robin told me at our recent Skype that its better if you take time and get it right. He said to me that sometimes parents rush it, and as it's a building block to the later stuff, you need to get it right.

It was a while tbh...maybe 3/4 months?
Hard for me to remember - its long time ago for us!
Tom told me that he and his friend got a certificate from his teachers for being the funniest and most helpful children on their recent trip < boast, boast>
He only has 6 week left of primary school! How did that happen!?
I really want to give him a good summer - he deserves it, he has worked so hard :)

sparklebomz - both my ds suffer with tics, eldest was diagnosed with Tourettes when he was 8 and went through 2 1/2 years of fairly nasty motor tics. They died down dramatically when he reached about 11 and I'm pleased to say that since we started TH in March they are virtually non existent! We are just starting engaging eyes and I know this can cause tics to reappear but touch wood nothing so far.

Youngest ds had minor tics, and OCD and anxiety and the tics again have really diminished. The OCD and anxiety take longer. My Husband who has suffered with Tourettes all his life (only motor, no vocal) is so impressed that he is now on the programme too!

Has anyone flown through target practice with no problems? DS2 has problems with convergence and as we started target a I was dreading it as I have read some of the problems others have had with it (temper tantrums, unable to do it etc) However he has got full marks on virtually every one and we have stormed through it! I should be pleased but instead I'm left wondering whether his eyes were that bad to begin with? Us Mums can never be happy can we, always have to worry