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 :)

Well we're booked in for this weekend! Have to say I'm a bit nervous because my expectations are probably higher than they should be although I'm trying to prevent that. I don't mind waiting for results but would really like to get some in the end.....do many people come on this thread then disappear without trace because things don't work our for them? Great to see everyone's good news this week!

Not that I know of Harriet. There are lots of lurkers who follow the programme but for whatever reason dont post.
:)
I think there have been 2 posters who have done TH and had to discontinue due to their dc other health conditions, but I dont think I have come across anyone who is unhappy with the results of following the programme.
I am sure if there are they will come on and correct me!
You won't see improvements straightaway, so it's probably best to get your head round that before you start...that being said I think all of us have seen improvements by our second appt (approx 8 weeks)
Some quite staggering ones!
In our case my sons bowel problems stopped more or less overnight after starting the diet.
He started growing faster.
Within 3 months he was making great improvements at school (he was dx severely dyslexic 3 months prior to starting TH)
They are now discussing taking him off he SEN register prior to him starting middle school in sept :)
ThEre have been children who have gone to TH non verbal and within a month start talking :)
Every child who goes to TH is an indvidiual and although their problems might be caused by DDS, their reaction and result from the programme will vary.
I think our next appt will be our last. So it will have taken 18 months.
You will have times you feel fed up/upset/doubt yourself. There will be those who think you are a bit mad :) but it gets a LOT easier to ignore those people when it kids start making progress :)
Good luck x

I shan't be posting tomorrow as its my uncles funeral.
My aunt has phoned - she wants us to walk into church behind the coffin.
It will be hard for my dad :(
Hope you all have a good weekend x

Will be thinking of you xx

Big hugs Badvoc, I hope it all goes off ok. xx

Morning all. Firstly, before I start what might be a long post, badvoc I hope it goes ok today. Thinking of you.

I think I'm having a bit of a wobble. It's not so much that I don't think TH works, or even that I haven't seen any changes in my DS. I think it's just that now he has this official autism diagnosis, and I know Robin says he can't treat autistic children, I'm convincing myself that actually it won't work for us. I'm being daft, I know. Nothing has really changed, in that we still don't really think he is autistic, DS is continuing to improve. It's just that I'm wondering if the changes would have happened anyway, and maybe Robin got it wrong when he met us. Also, I know it's still early days (only started 7 weeks ago).

Some if the improvements we've seen:

• DS is calmer with far fewer tantrums, in fact, hardly any now
• happy to come to the table for lunch/dinner, or get his nappy changed. Previously these were things that would get a huge tantrum because he didn't want to stop what he was doing. Now, not so much as a complaint
• he's eating like a horse. Some days more than I eat, and he's only 3! And trying new things. Ate a carrot stick last week. I nearly fell off my chair!
• he's consistently telling us when he needs a nappy change, and asks for you to do it. He had NEVER done this before
• his language has improved LOTS, and it also seems to come more naturally to him now
• he's started asking us "what's that?" all the time. Doesn't seem just like a learned phrase, but that he actually wants to know
• he's been trying to talk to other children, though they don't usually understand him. In fact, he's been interacting with other kids lots more than before and seems to really enjoy their company
• starting some very basic pretend-type play (not v imaginative) and lots of pretending to be things like a robot etc. I think this has come because he started watching Peppa but again, he'd never copied anything before

When I write it all down, it seems like loads. It's just that individually, each thing isn't that big, and could have happened anyway. Though together, that's probably less likely. I so don't want to be getting my hopes up if it's not going to work. We're due to Skype Robin soon so I'll be able to quiz him then.

So please now form an orderly queue, and tell me I'm being silly and looking for problems that aren't there... You have my permission to give me a slap round the face!

Lookslikerain - don't worry, you've hit the nail on the head! All of these changes are enormous, incredibly positive improvements and you should be feeling really proud BUT they creep up on you and because you are so close to it all, you sort of don't notice it happening! As you say, as soon as you write it all down it seems like loads .

I think we all have wobble days - it's in our nature to keep thinking things over. I keep writing all our stuff down as it really motivates me, especially on bad days or when family have been questioning it. It helps push me forward. I know that back in Oct/early November, before we started, I would have given my eye teeth for some of these improvements plus the hope it gives you that things can improve and get better.

Not sure how old your DS is, but your list has lots of similarities with ours. Things like imaginative play is a huge achievement - my ds is doing really well with this now - he wasn't interested before TH, but it started quite slowly with some copying and now he is off in his own way and making up stories for us to play and telling white lies.

Looking back at the original list we went to TH with, lots of the behaviours have changed, but I don't notice them until I look back - for example, he doesn't walk on tiptoe any more, rarely flaps, is no longer afraid of new experiences (bouncy castle, trains, buses, people, new foods) or loud noises. He doesn't tantrum as much and when he does they are much milder and shorter. It's easier to reason with him. With DD it has been different, but its as if she has come out of her dreamy state and started communicating with the world more - started talking a few weeks after starting her exercises. We can't understand much of what she says, but its there and coming on leaps and bounds.

Please don't feel funny about doubting but I would write it all down and keep looking back at your check list!

Good luck with your Robin appointment too.

Lookslikerain - ds has had input from various support services at school as well as doing TH since it was first flagged up that he was struggling at school (about 8mths ago).

He has since made pogress in many areas and got through his 11+. It is impossible to tell whether TH has helped any more than any of the other extra support but, do you know what? It doesn't really matter to me. The important thing is that he has improved.

I guess you could stop any input, supplements and diet changes if you want to prove/disprove TH has helped but I would keep going and listing the improvements and celebrate them. Whatever you are doing, it is working

Badvoc- Hope you your dad and the rest of your family are ok .

Harriet- So glad you are off to see Robin. Let us know how it goes.

Lookslikerain- The gains your DS are making are fantasic. As Daft says it is impossible to know how much of this is normal development and how much is TH but I don't think it matters. We all have doubts...all of us but my advice is to just "keep on keeping on" and try not to worry about it too much. I wish I had worried less.

Ruggles- My DD is 81/2 and my DS is 7.

Aww, you guys are fab! Thank you! And you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter where it's come from, it's there and that's all that matters. I'm definitely not going to stop. I think I've just had too many encounters with the nhs recently. I think I'm more positive when I don't have to see them... If I say, oh he's been doing XYZ that he's never done before, they just say, well autism is a developmental delay so he will keep learning new things. It just saps out my hope and positivity. And I'm a pretty pessimistic person generally so that isn't hard to do!

After I posted earlier, I went into our living room to hear DS say to his favourite teddy "you are my most special teddy ever!". I nearly cried, it was so lovely!

harriet good luck with your appointment. I was very nervous too but Robin is lovely and there was nothing to worry about. Let us know how you get on.

Am off to "keep on keeping on"! Thanks all.

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have been searching for Barleans Ultra pure EPA and can't seem to find any, other than the capsules with 50mg DPA. Has the pure EPA been discontinued? Would you recommend Vegepa as a replacement?

Hi Stardustmum, it looks as though the Vegepa EPA 90 would be the most similar to your Barleans product.

My ds takes one of these per day. He used to take 2x EPA 70 but we need to avoid evening primrose oil so switched.

If you do change to Vegepa, look at the TH website, there is a code for money off orders direct with Vegepa.

Hi everyone.
Thanks for the good wishes yesterday.
It was a sad day, obv and dad got upset at the crematorium but it was also nice to see my cousins again and meet their adult children!
Only 2 more sleeps til dh is home!
I am going to try and get back to the gp today as my ear is still not right...
Lookslikerain....that list is pretty impressive! :)
I am not a big believer in coincidences tbh.
The only thing you have been doing differently with your son is TH, right?
I didn't think that autistic children could make such huge leaps in such a short time? I have always thought that the definition of autism is a pervasive social and communication disorder? I have never heard it referred to as a developmental delay.
But - whatever you are doing - keep doing it!! It is working for your son.
Stardust...vegepa is one of the best EPA products on the market ATM. I get mine from amazon.
HTH

Daftmaul and Badvoc - thanks very much for the helpful advice. Xx

No worries.

Hello, we're looking at Tinsley House at the moment, so I thought I'd come and introduce ourselves.

We're in a slightly different situation as I was initially only looking at the eye exercises for the remnants of DD's squint. She's had two operations, and the NHS say that's all that can be done. But given that she has some kind of borderline hypermobility/low muscle tone it just seems obvious to us to try some exercises. Not least because we'd also like her to get 3D vision if possible.

So I emailed Robin and, apparently, the squint and low muscle tone are linked in poor cerebral development. So we are now thinking that we will probably give it a go? Has anyone else had experience of these sort of symptoms? DD is not dyspraxic as her fine motor skills are good, and she can ride a bike as long as it's not too heavy, but she still goes downstairs one at a time. She's also a good reader and speller for her age so not dyslexic.

Hello inthesark and welcome.
The founder member of this thread has a son with eye problems (nystagmus) due to vaccination damage.
He has done very very well on TH :)
My own son had no due problems other than the issues with tracki and convergence.
I would say if robin feels he can help, go for it!!
Good luck x

A good start is getting hold of the book(s) recommended above and check them out.
You can start stage 1 of the programme prior to seeing robin.

Could you please let me know what are the recommended books? Also why is evening primrose not good? Thx

Is that my child?
And
The brain food plan
Both by robin pauc

The supplements you need are high in EPA, not DHA.
Robin recommends vegepa.

stardust the vegepa chewables are the ones we use as DS is only 3 and can't swallow capsules. They are actually quite nice, very orangey. I may have tried a few

badvoc yes, they do describe autism like that, but I've also been told that in terms of his development, he will continue to develop but that it will be delayed. It means that no matter what you say he's starting doing, they have an answer. When I asked if they ever reassess kids and remove the diagnosis, she said yes, it does happen sometimes but it will be because they didn't have all the info when they made the dx. Talk about giving yourself a get out clause! Anyway, the sun is shining today and I'm feeling far more positive again despite being stuck in all day waiting for a boiler man to look at the boiler so thank you all for listening to my moans. and

Hi inthesark. I don't have any experience of the problems your DD has but wanted to say hello and welcome.

I like them too lookslikerain!! :)
So, basically, once you have helped your son and he is doing much better they will turn around and say " ah, we didn't have all the relevant info when he was dx"!!??
Get out clause indeed!

Yup, spot on! As I say, I think I've had too many interactions with them recently. Thank crunchie it's Friday! (Hopefully someone else remembers that advert and I'm not showing my age too much... )

I remember it well :)
I also remember the original cadburys caramel bunny ads too!
(Child of the 70s...)