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 :)

Re relaxation/ meditation we've had really success with ds by doing our own version of a relaxation cd. We lay in the dark and I do a dreamy voice and start with 'your toes are feeling really warm and dopey. That lovely sleepy feeling spreads into your feet, then your ankles and knees start to feel relaxed' etc etc until last of all 'the muscles in your face are relaxed and you are ready for a lovely sleep'. He is asleep within minutes of me finishing. The idea is that eventually he will be able to repeat the ritual to himself if he can't get to sleep but we've been doing it for over a year and he still needs/ prefers me to do it. Has made a big difference to us though as he's always been a pre 6am waker ( doesn't seem to be anything we can do about this.) so anxiety keeping him awake at night too was disastrous.

I agree completely looklikerain.
It's toms b day tomorrow! 10! :)
We are having a family b day tea (big family so there will be 20 of us) and then he is meeting up with send friends on Saturday for - wait for it - a nerf battle.
Sigh.
Can't say I'm looking forward to that! :)
Ds2 is still not on top form but compared to this time last week, is much better.
Gp what's to see him again in Friday. It's his asthma check too.
I am so tired I can barely think straight so will go whilst my posts are still legible!

Hope Tom has a lovely day Badvoc :)

Happy birthday for yesterday Tom! I meant to come on yesterday to send birthday wishes but it was 'one of those days' and I didn't get the chance! Did he have a good day, Badvoc?

So ds has been doing Lumosity for a few weeks now, not always with good grace but has at least sat in front of the computer each evening (apart from sleepovers and school trips). I have now had to start sitting with him after realising one night that he was sometimes pressing random keys! He didn't do too badly with the random keys though! Badvoc, have you been given any indication of what scores they should be achieving? I'm wondering whether I need to give him a target to achieve bribe him. Tinker!

I have my Pink Ribbon Walk tomorrow - eek! Lots of chat with my walking partner this week about very important things like what we will take for lunch/snacks and what we will wear! Fingers crossed it won't rain.

Good luck for tomorrow daft :)

happy walking!!!! x

Good luck Daft!

DS seems to be over whatever it was that had him off colour this week, so we're throwing ourselves back into things. We've got 2 weeks until our next Skype with Robin.

Rainy day here so DH taking DS swimming for the morning and I'm off shopping with DD, who desperately needs some new clothes. We're off on holiday in a month so I need to buy some summer stuff before it all disappears from the shops!

Ladies ? Sorry I haven?t posted this week but I?ve been on antibiotics and they turned me into a zombie. I have finished them but still exhausted and feeling quite dopey. Thanks for all your responses and thoughts, it?s so helpful to get other ideas and perspectives from you all. [Thanks] [Thanks]

Def going to ignore finger sucking and keep the nap going until August when we?ll start to wind it down. Reading all your replies has really helped me think through how our DS is. Sometimes its good to stop and think rather than hare around doing _IYSWIM? I?ve dug a book I bought ages ago about Kelly Bear and his feeling and he?s enjoying that. Any other book ideas? He is doing really well at his exercises and is really enjoying school. Our great news is that DD is talking away ? her op made a real difference and she seems much more relaxed and confident ? it?s as if she?s grown up in a week. We?re not going to do any more SALT over the summer and see where we are in September.

Badvoc Happy Birthday Tom! I can?t believe that he is 10. It seems ages old.
I suspect you are right about time and we different parts of the brain being targeted by different exercises. Hope you are all feeling a bit better this week.

Brightstars ? I think you are right that he uses finger sucking to chill out. Don?t tell Robin but we have occasional ice creams too! I think NT is neuro typical but don?t quote me on that.

Harriet ? DS sounds like your DS1 and DD like your DS2! Mine is much easier at home and I think everything else does seem quite over whelming. He is an incredible sleeper and is often asleep before the light is out! I downloaded a couple of the Relax Kids tracks when he went through a patch of nightmares and they really helped ? especially with getting him back to sleep. Have a wonderful holiday.

Lookslikerain ? I think Robin is a superman too! Interesting again about the similarities. That?s why I love this thread so much ? we have so much in common with our dcs and it makes it such a helpful, supportive place! Glad DS is on the mend.

Shopping ? more similarities! Very heartening to hear that your DS has moved on from bashing. Fantastic about your review with Robin too ? that is absolutely fantastic that he can?t see any autistic traits ? you must be delighted? How much longer have you to go with TH?

Daft ? well done you on the walk - how did it go? I?m laughing about the ?what to wear? chat. I went on a walking trip earlier this year with 20 ladies and all we talked about was gear and what to wear!

I?m really looking forward to our summer meet up and wonder if we should get a date in the diary before we all get too booked up with other things. Badvoc ? do you know when you are coming down?

Ruggles, I'm hoping just 6 more months. I'm not sure if luminosity is the last programme but think it might be. Would be amazing to have a melt down free life by Christmas!

That would be an amazing Christmas present - to you all!

Hi all.
Well, ds2 was admitted to hospital again on Friday and was discharged earlier today.
I am back tomorrow for my heart monitor fitting and then back tuesday to take it back.
I think I might just move in :)
Ds2 is better, but we had to cancel toms b day nerf battle so I felt like the worst mother in the world :(
Hopefully doing it this weekend instead.
On,y 4 weeks til end of term....can't come soon enough for me! X

Nit sure when we are coming down yet...August at some point.

Yes please to a summer meet up. We are around for the whole of August.
Badvoc, poor ds2, how's he feeling today? And poor Tom. Hope you all have a better week x

Badvoc - I am so sorry that you've been back at hospital again. I really hope that everything is ok. You must all be exhausted. Good luck with your heart rate monitor.

Badvoc, your poor ds2. I hope he is improving. Have they decided what is wrong now? Fingers crossed Tom can have his delayed birthday Nerf fight this weekend - although it sounds as though you will be exhausted by then after such a busy week!

I completed my walk, got soaked a few times! We arrived at the finish line to see dd and my friend's dd, dancing in the rain to the band that were playing! They then started handing out medals to all the walkers - was very funny

I was thinking back to a year ago when I couldn't see ds being responsibe enough to make his own way home from school, use the tube and cross roads. He is doing all this now, and today will come all the way home without me meeting him half way! It really is a sign of how far he has come. Of course, he may have got to this point on his own, who knows. His scores on lumosity have started to pick up again too.

Hi
They have said he has had/got pharyngitis (sp?)
And oddly I spoke to someone tis morning who had it when she was 17 and she had all the symptoms ds2 had/has so that's out my mind at rest to an extent.
He is still not 100% but needs to build himself back up again.
He has lost 2kilos :(
He has gone to pre school this morning so fingers crossed...on,y 4 weeks left of term!
Wonderful news daft :) so pleased for your ds.

Hi all - back from holidays....a rather damp Cornwall but so nice to get away from it all! Shopping and all...I can't tell you how great it is to have this network...I've literally never had anyone to discuss all this stuff with and to find out that there are other parents who also have the 'too wound up to sleep' and have tried meditations etc is so fantastic!! All these little things which just make life a bit harder for DS (and me! )....it's amazing to be able to discuss and feel a bit more 'normal'.

Lookslikerain - we used Christiane Kerr and Charles Vlad - they're a bit weird and hippy which I'm really not, but did make a difference. PM me if you'd like me to send you one to try.

Badvoc - awful. Hope everyone picks up and you dance out of hospital after your heart monitoring and don't go back for a long time. Poor you.

DaftMaul - well done on your walk!! and hooray to DS.

Oh and had our first checkup with Robin - DS really has taken to him and was so chatty (which is very unusual), and so nice for me to see, he really didnt' gel with his INPP woman. Still doing engaging eyes and teeth but says we can start winding up the stairs as he tested v well on the bashing him on both arms. So nothing wildly exciting but things moving in the right direction. DH pleased and supportive (helped by good parents eve!) if slightly concerned DS and myself are joining a cult (he doesn't come to meetings, just hears us saying all these glowing things about them!)

Afternoon all.

Badvoc - how did you get on? Hope it all went ok.

Harriet - glad you had a good week away. I totally agree that just being somewhere else is good. Glad that your review and parents evening went well too!

We have our first parents evening tom - fingers crossed.

Hi everyone.
Took the heart monitor back today and have got my appt for the heart echo...5th July so not too long a wait.
It was a pain to wear overnight so I am pretty tired.
Tom only has 3 more weeks left at primary school!
Not sure if I told you all, but he won the school top trumps championship, has passed his cycling proficiency and had a photograph he took exhibited in a show at the local college :)
We have lot of certificates up a the moment! :)
He also - and I can scarcely believe this myself - is talking about learning a musical instrument when he goes up to middle school in sept!
Dh and I have been begging him since year 3 to start learning an instrument...it's one of my big regrets....I can bash out amazing grace on recorder but that's about it.
I know that many of you are struggling ATM with the daily exercises, supplements, and general organisation the programme requires.
I know how that feels.
But I can tell you it feels life changing and amazing not to be constantly worried/distressed about your child.
And that feeling is worth every minute of every exercise we ever did.

Badvoc ? thank you for such an uplifting, inspiring post. Tom is just amazing and I love hearing about his antics! He sounds such a well rounded, happy lad and I?m looking forward to meeting him in the summer. I think about him and the other TH stars when we?re needing a bit of a push. . Did you manage a good sleep? That?s good news about your appointment on the 5th. How is DS?

I slept like a twig. DH was away and I did some online sale shopping ? I managed to do so much that I went to bed with a retail buzz (have never managed that online before?) and then DD kept me awake with her cold and cough ? yes, we have another cold ? big sigh.

Hi ruggles.
Ds is at pre school and is due to do a full day today.
We will see.
I am exhausted.
Utterly.
Sorry to hear about Dds cold. Viruses suck.

I'm not surprised you are exhausted - all of this must be totally draining and leave you feeling washed out. Really hope DS got on well today and that you are feeling better too.

We have some good news - some really good news. Just back from Parent's Evening and we had some really positive feedback on DS. There is still a long way to go and he's not too into the formal learning but all of the chat was how
'He is starting to... '

'as he becomes calmer he's starting to make friends... ' and
'He is now happy to give it a go... '

Also, he's good at numbers, sports and helpful with other children!! This is so different from where we were in October and November. Then at his old nursery he couldn't sit still, refused to do most activities, was very anxious and so dyspraxic that he couldn't catch a ball and kept sitting on top of other children by mistake. It is just amazing to hear so much good news about him. Not a hint that any of his challenges are beyond the normal range for the class / age range. DH and I have just done a happiness jig around the kitchen.

So pleased for you :)
That all sounds very very positive.
Plenty of time for him to get into "formal learning" :)

...oh, Tom is walking home from school tomorrow with his friend for the first time in prep for sept! It's a fair way, across a major road. Fingers crossed!
:)