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 :)

Greener I am sorry you are so upset, but have been there.
Get the book the brain food plan by robin pauc - available on amazon.
Have a read through and begin the supplements and dietary changes.
Then phone robin and have a chat to him...that doesn't cost anything! :)
I think we have all pretty much done it in that order.
If you decide to go and see robin -
To begin with it will be some simple exercises each day. Takes about 5 mins.
Then computer programmes to help with convergence and tracking.
Then lumosity brain training programme.
At least, that been our experience, obv some dc get different exercises depending on what their issues are.
The way I see it, TH does the child no harm.
All it can do is either help or not.
And it helped us immensely.

Greener Good luck and we all have bad days/weeks/months. That's why this thread is so useful. Everyone understands! The advice I gleaned from somewhere on this thread was to try the diet/vits/exercises (from the book)for 3-4 months and see if you notice any difference. If you do, TH could be worth pursuing. I made a weekly chart to make sure I remembered protein breakfast/ vits and exercises every day, and I also noted any changes (good or bad). Then you will have something concrete to go on when you think about progress at the end of the 3-4 months. Also, doing it like that might mean you got through the 'proper' program quicker (having already done the first part) thus maybe less appointments.

I second that if money would be difficult you should follow the book for 3-4 months and note any changes you see. We saw clear measurable changes in ds in 6 weeks and then made an appointment with Robin. The reason most people follow the same pattern of exercises is Robin's approach starts with a back of the brain and works forward. Your dd's control and social issues are frontal cortex ( as were my son's main issues) and it is lumosity towards the end of the programme that directly targets this part of the brain. However we found the earlier exercises, by strengthening his cerebellum, helped with lots of the control and anger issues quite quickly.
Re vitamins - these are expensive, don't taste great and made ds feel queasy. We have done the programme without them. We have, however, made a lot of diet changes and have followed the omega 3 recommendations to the letter. You can get vegepa on repeat from amazon and save a bit.
Re cereal for breakfast versus processed meats as bright stars ( I think) mentioned earlier - processed meats are not recommended by Robin. A high protein diet may occasionally contain processed meats but sausages should be very high meat content and bacon should be dry cured ( so not too processed). The recommended breakfasts are things like egg, mackerel, chicken. Other than porridge, most cereal is highly processed too. The idea is that protein, particularly before school is meant to help the brain's synapses to boing messages to one another. Carbs are great for energy but aren't necessarily brain food. I give ds scrambled eggs with home made wholemeal bread - he gets some carbs and protein that way.

Apologies it was fishoils, not brightstars who mentioned processed meat.

For breakfasts, we do eggy bread (mainly), egg mayo on oatcakes, beans on toast and sometimes Greek yogurt and nuts. DS is able to 'keep going longer' in the afternoons. Agree that fish oils seem to be important.

Evening all. Just popped in to say hi and catch up with everyone. Welcome to lots of new faces too . We've been having a full on time with school, exercises, speech therapy stuff but really pleased at how DS is getting on. He's just started in Reception and its now 11 months since we first went to see Robin. Looking back we have seen enormous changes and I am incredibly grateful to everyone on here who has helped and encouraged us. We have a long way to go, but my DS's daily life is much easier and he is no longer anxious about things. It's easy to lose track of the benefits as there have been many, gradual improvements. One of the best bits has been his balance and spatial awareness. He was considered dyspraxic and was always falling over, clumsy and sitting down on people etc. His balance is now incredible - school keep commenting on it, which is really great. He's dry at night, loves riding his bike and is learning to play different sports - this was all beyond us a year ago. His imagination has come to life, he loves painting and drawing and he is happy to play with other children. He still has problems with being impulsive, lashing out and finding life incredibly tiring but I am sure we will get there - Robin tells us that this is one of the last areas to see improvements.

I know it can all seem really frustrating at times. The worry of these situations can be overwhelming and like some of you, I don't get much back from Robin apart from reassurance. Do hang in there though. It is worth it. xx

OK - thank you everyone.

I'll keep going with it and post on here if we have any questions.

Hi Greener, hope you've had a better day today. I assume psychologist didn't have anything helpful to say?

I think most people here have started stairs and teeth brushing (or age equivalent) pretty much from the start, along side diet/suppliments.

Hi ladies,

Has anyone had any experience with the GAPS diet (dairy, gluten free)?

It has been an eventful week. More seizures for ds, so he has been off school and a trip to a and e for dd fo a suspected scaphoid fracture. Waiting for a decond opinion on the x-rays before we know for sure her wrist is ok.

Also, Ds' 12th birthday today. He has had Dominoes pizza and Colin Caterpillar cake but at least no fizzy drinks!

Apparently, he had a 'party' at school today and was stood on a table to do a speech (he said he had to thank everyone for coming!) when teacher walked in. 'It was ok mum, I jumped down before he saw me!'

So proud!

Sorry, no experience of Gaps diet but there are some on here who did it. I think - Badvoc, indigo and others. Maybe check earlier TH threads, I'm sure it was discussed.

Ds, thankfully takes tablets, so I don't have to disguise the vitamins. Again, it has been discussed in earlier threads. I seem to remember orange juice worked but may have that wrong!

Kids eh?! Hope DDs wrist is ok. You sound remarkably cheery considering! How do you do it?!

Wine!

Better than whine. All I seem to do!

greener, fishoils and brightstars,

its interesting to hear your POV on the TH programme. I did post on previous TH threads that it wasnt working for DS and in the last year every time we spoke or visited Robin he was ever so enthusiastic and said 'stick with it and you will see results'.

What bothered me most is not that it isnt working for DS and some others but the fact that when we first visited he mentioned his fees being £250 for first appointment, £150 for second and £70 for third then is all free. I found it strange and questioned why was it free and he said he is not doing it for the money, he is retired and made his money and now he is doing it for the pleasure of seeing children improve.

The MN thread had changed his business plan I assume and shortly after Indigo commenced the thread he put the paypal bookings on his website where all appointments after 3rd were chargeable at £70. I am not crazy nor deaf as I wasnt alone at the first appointment but in all honesty Indigo, Badvoc and few others (I havent followed this thread) deserve a commission of his earnings following this thread on MN.

This of course is just a personal opinion, for those of you that is working GREAT, I couldnt be happier for you and your children.

In no way I want to put people off trying the programme, MN is fantastic resourceful toolkit. Robin is the most amazing positive person I have met and I could happily pay have him wisper in my ear every day that I am doing an amazing job with DS but I (and he) knows his progress is not necessarily due to TH.

Most kids will improve just with diet and supplements (cut out the junk, give lots of proteins and fruit and veg, multivitamins, omega and zinc and magnesium) and engaging eyes is just fantastic and so cost effective. If this is not enough then balance out the positive and negative opinions on this thread.

Mango I do a semi GAPS as its really hard to do the full GAPS with DS. But I juice organic fruit and veg daily, make chicken stews and empty the bone marrow, reduce the carbs and increase the protein and the fruit and veg and DS only drinks water water water.

You can aks any questions as I know the book upside down :)

Mango...we don't follow the gaps diet but know people who have with amazing results.
Blueshark...I first went to see robin in dec 2011. He was clear from the start about his fees. Perhaps your visit preceded mine?
I can assure you that I have never received ANY "commission" from any company/person I have recommended on this and other threads - including TH, AIT and RRT, headsprout, apples and pears etc.
I am so happy that this - and the other threads - have helped so many.
And that is/was my only motivation.
And I am sure I speak for indigo too.

wasnt suggesting you did Badvoc I was only saying you should :)
I have also recommended many things that worked for me too and thats what MN is about, sharing ideas and experiences

however surely if I didnt get the pricing right I questioned the 'free' follow ups which makes me think I wasnt deaf!

Anyway, compared to other interventions TH is a value for money, if it works of course. And it has worked wonders for you Badvoc and lots others. And you gave me lots support at one point when all went wrong.

I was just supporting the ones that felt it didnt work for them.

And it's great to hear different experiences. Much better to be aware that it doesn't work for every child when weighing up the options. Also prevents us newbies from having unrealistic expectations. Thanks to everyone who posts. Without this and other threads, I would still be floundering about in the dark, thinking there was no 'alternative' to even try.

It is important to have a balanced view of anything we choose to follow with our dcs.

No approach works for everyone, otherwise people like Badvoc would not do so many

It is important to start these things hoping it will help not assuming it will. As we have said all along, TH does no harm - except to our bank balances but even that is less than some other approaches or specialists we have paid to see - and it has done a lot of good to so many of us. Some of it is basic stuff we could all do on our own but much of it we would not be able to do without Robin and Engaging Eyes would not have been developed without the TH link!

I've been reading this with interest. It is good to hear the 'other side' too.

We've seen loads of changes and improvements in our DS (3.5 years) since we started in February, but I'm not naive. I know that a lot of them could have come on their own and he might have been this good without us spending a penny. I would love to put all my hope in Robin and 100% believe that we can 'fix' DS's challenges, but there's no way I could ever do that just I'm case it didn't. And that's also why we keep up with the SALT and don't just dismiss his dx.

It's also easy to keep that skepticism as my DS was dx with autism, and when I first read Robin's book, he says he doesn't treat autism. While I completely understand how my DS met the diagnostic criteria for this, it's never felt like exactly the right dx for him. Robin agreed and here we are. Granted I'm no expert, but I do have experience of autism so hopefully I'm not just a mum in denial looking for 'cures' and willing to give my cash to anyone who says they have one.

In case it helps anyone, this is our experience. Since we started, DS's speech has exploded. We'd previously been doing private speech therapy which seemed to be working and we were gradually coaxing more words out of him but since TH, it's really sped up. And prior to TH, new words/phrases would be ones we'd focused on with him. Now he's coming out with LOADS of stuff that we haven't been focusing on. He does full, long, complex sentences, has conversations with us, asks questions, and has a funny little sense of humour. More and more pretend play (there was none before), answering people when they talk to him, responding to his name... And he was pretty quickly dry at night (getting him to actually do anything in the toilet is another matter but he's in a dry nappy every morning).

I think I've also developed a healthy skepticism as far as what the nhs tell me. On diagnosis, they categorically said there was no need to look into dietary changes or supplements as he didn't have a restricted diet. The diets/supplements changed him almost overnight, and it was really noticeable when he was ill and off them for a few days.

Yes, this might all have happened anyway but I'm happy enough to continue. Like others say, it can't hurt. The cost works out at less than £10 a week, which we can afford at the moment. And often I feel like the price is justified just to make me feel like I'm actually doing something.

Daft...how true! :)
People told me headsprout would teach ds to read.
It didn't.
People told me that toe by toe would teach ds to read.
It didn't.
People told me that ait would teach ds to read.
It helped.
People told me rrt would teach ds to read.
It helped.
I tried TH out of desperation.
It worked :)
I am very happy we did ait, rrt and TH.
And I would unreservedly recommend ALL of them :)
Blue shark....I wish! I would be a few ££ better off by now :)
I think what really made me try TH was he realisation that going to somewhere like DA would cost ££££ over many years - well, until exams were over anyway. The TH fees didn't seem so high after that :)
I was also very very keen to try and get the bottom of ds issues rather than mask them or just get him extra time in exams etc.
The irony for me is that so much of what robin recommends it just commons sense and is recommend by so many others...omega oils, less junk and additives...and yet TH is seen as really "alternative" which it really isn't IMO.

Lookslikerain...am so happy for you and your ds :)