Tinsley House Support Thread Part 4!!!

[Mangomanila]

This thread is for anyone interested in the Tinsley House programme. All welcome!

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 smile

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

Lookslikerain we got the old fashioned headphone style earphones and cut the connection to one ear. That way ds could wear them comfortably on both ears but noise only went into one iyswim? He hated having the ear piece inside his ear and it drove me mad trying to hold it in while he squirmed and tried to get away. Amazon do them for about a tenner.

Hi to all. Nice to have lots of newbies join us! Quite a mixed festive period for us. Lots of v demanding behavior and meltdowns [hmmm]. Much better day today so hopefully turned a corner. Still on stairs, teeth and engaging eyes (since Aug). Nearly finished Targets A though!

Prince he doesn't know his letters yet but he does know the difference between numbers and letters, so we have a sheet with letters on at the side of the screen and we ask him to find certain letters. Am I right in saying it's the looking for something that's the important bit? I ask him to find one, he looks then randomly picks one and I'll correct if wrong. He recognises his name written down so I've gone for the easy letters from that first. Am hoping that a knock on effect will be him learning the alphabet!

shopping thanks! yes I'll order some from amazon and do what you did, I think. He likes the music enough when it's just playing through the computer but not when I put the earphone near him!

greener I'm not sure how good they have to be either. DS is amazing some days then totally rubbish the next. It really depends how good a mood he's in and if he's willing to try. We've been doing it for 10 months and he's still not great. Doesn't help that because he's quite young, I find it hard to explain why we have to do it. Robin told me it doesn't matter how long the stairs take. What matters is that they are done properly. He said they shouldn't be rushed through. Hth.

Aren't you using a where's wally book for hemi ? ( or in our case a where's Colin - he's a cat and ds prefers that !!) I thought it was getting them to focus whilst it was on in the background, helping the, zone out and focus.

notapizzaeater DS is only 3 (well, almost 4 now) so too young to do Wally. For hemi p, Robin suggested a Richard Scarry book. The pictures are really busy with lots going on and we ask him to find things on the page. Again, for hemi t he's too young for word searches (I think that's what others use) so we ask him to find letters on a sheet.

mrsbiggles haven't tried gaps but I have read some of the book. I know a lot of people think it's a bit woo but it made a lot of sense to me. We didn't try it as I don't think it would benefit DS. We did try gluten free for a while but have now given up. Lots of others do gf on this thread though.

Gf bread is an acquired taste (ds Is coeliac so we don't have a choice).

M and s do a good range of bread. The majority of there sausages are gf, burgers as well.

Biggles- The AIT practitioner I used is also a GAPS consultant. I haven't done GAPS myself and won't now as my DC are so much better but I think she could give you really sound advice. I rate her highly.

Stick with meat (no gravy) and veg but nothing in crumbs. Or rice but no pasta.Jacket pots a good option.

My son has a jacket pot and beans and cheese most days at school - he is coeliac so they do cater for him, he sometimes gets pizza/lasagne instead. They offer him a gf pudding everyday too (there are 4 coeliacs in a school of 600)

My DS has been doing TH for 17 months and is doing really well. One problem he had which has got a lot better but has not completely gone away is handwriting position. So, he has a normal grip ( now) but still tends to hook his arm a bit ( he is right handed) and he struggles to get his wrist down. Though his writing isn't too bad I am desperately trying to resolve this as worry that he will never be able to write for very long and tire quickly and we'll end up going down the route of a keyboard which I would still like to avoid ( DS is 8 late this month) if we can.

Do any of you have any suggestions for how best I can help DS? ( Buttons and zips are still problematic too but bother me less)

Hello everyone! :)
Haven't read through so apologies.
Just wanted to let you know that ds continues to do well, and has mock sats in 2 weeks.
And I am not worried at all :)
He has also finally learnt how to tie his shoelaces
BP...have you tried a slope or ergonomic pencil?

I'm just so done in and I cannot do this anymore.

Have had an awful day with DD. Took her and DS out for the day. She refused to get dressed, hit her brother, ran off on the train, wouldn't come when I asked her, at speech therapy she did nothing and wouldn't/couldn't engage at all. It is just not working and it is such a struggle trying to get her to do any of it. She will not/cannot engage with anything. We have been doing this 12 months now and she still needs her shoulders held to do the stairs. The ONLY thing she will do with good grace is Hemi P.

She still cannot get dressed herself, draw a picture, hold a pencil properly, concentrate in class, read, write; anything that an NT 5 year old can do and I am sick of expecting TH to work and give me my daughter and give her her life.

I am due to go back on Saturday to see Robin and I just can't face going. I don't want to be told that everything is as expected and I need to give it more time. She needs help now. I need help now. I feel like my family and my mental health are falling apart and I don't know what to do anymore.

I am also trying to get her statement sorted for school and I just want to run away and hide.

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that we heard today that DS will be "allowed" to repeat year 5. Finally, some acknowledgement of his summer-born status and how behind he is. I am so grateful that we haven't had to fight very hard for this, but it will pose its own set of issues going forward. Right now he needs the time and breathing space to concentrate on the TH work rather than get further behind at school. He has just finished Eye Tracking A, but has a way to go on B. Still doing stairs, teeth and Hemi P.

Prince I hope tomorrow is a better day for you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows how you are feeling. Imagine me giving you a big hug. Perhaps call Robin and voice your concerns? I have no perspective on how long the process takes as we're still relatively new to it and my DS really only struggles with the reading/writing stuff as far as an outside observer would notice.

Aw Prince , no advice, just a virtual hug .....

Prince I'm sending you a virtual hug too. I have no words of wisdom but if it makes you feel any better, my DS can't do any of those things either. Okay, he's 4 and your DD is 5. He still has a fist grip with a pen, has never drawn me a picture, is impossible to engage in something if he doesn't want to do it. He definitely couldn't dress himself. And at the moment, getting him to do the TH exercises is a nightmare. I bribe him to do hemi p and t by taking a bowl of homemade cake food with us and he eats as he does it. He starts complaining about the stairs as soon as I say it. I just plonk him on and step and start counting and he usually quiets down and gets on with it, but it is difficult. Oh, and I usually have to hold his arms down. He's been doing it a year too. It's only recently that I've been able to stop using a blindfold!

I have no real advice. I don't know if this will all work for us in the end but you're not alone.

Go and have a (or a if you're having a dry January, like me), go to bed have another think in the morning.

Prince - my heart goes out to you so much. These things are hardest for us, their Mothers - the worry is all ours, the constant strain and effort of it all. Sometimes it just gets too much, especially if you've been having a bad run. I believe the margins between 'everthing is ok'> 'not great' > 'bloody awful-, are all slimmer than we think. I doubt its any comfort, but I do think that Christmas is especially difficult for our DCs - so much going on at school and then Christmas will all the changes, presents, food etc etc. My DS has been doing so well, yet had a big slide over the last couple of weeks. My DD is 3 and doesn't do so well with TH. We've had a few months off (to focus on her brother, which has really helped him). Apart from the break she has been doing it all for a year and she still can't do the stairs. Somethings fall into place sooner than others.

If you can face it, I would def go and see Robin. He has always been quite pragmatic with me about our DCs, which I find incredibly supportive. He does say that all the social stuff comes at the end (and this is why we stepped up all of our stuff with DS in September). Do you normally visit or Skype? Could you call him in advance for a chat and see how you feel afterwards? Or could you put it back for a couple of weeks and see how you feel?

Have a bath and a huge glass of wine or a hot chocolate. Thinking of you. xxx

Thank you all. I just needed to get it out. It feels like it is all down to me.

All meetings, all phone calls, every letter that has been written, appointment made and attended, person chased, parents evening done, research done, ideas had, stairs, spinning, books. All me. DH has done none of it. None.

And yes Ruggles, you are so right, the line between great, Ok and frankly awful is so very thin. And some days I can cope and others I just can't. And I feel so weak for not being able to cope.

2 weeks off over the holidays has not been easy though. It will be better tomorrow because they are at school

Thanks again. I know you all understand. I just wish you all lived next door so I didn't feel like the only person in the world with a child that wasn't OK and a family that is wonky.

Prince how are feeling about it all this morning? Hopefully things look a bit more positive. My DH is on board with all the stuff we do for DS but day-to-day, I'm the one that makes sure everything gets done. It's a lot to fit in and it's tiring.

Ruggles you are so right. I've never really thought about it, but the difference between a good day, an ok day and an awful day is usually down to how able I am to handle it. I'm far less able to stay sane when I'm tired, irritable etc. At the risk if sounding like a bad mummy, it's nice that nursery is back now...

Thanks lookslikerain - feeling a bit brighter this morning. Didn't sleep terribly well and so quite tired but we managed to get to school with no tears. DD was refusing to get dressed, but I managed to turn it in to a game and she went off quite happily.
Just to get through after school and swimming lesson with no one losing their temper and it will count as a successful day!

Hi prince and sorry to hear you are having a rough time. It is really hard that nobody (apart from us) really understands. I've stopped going out for drinks with the girls for a bit cause its just too depressing hearing about how their ch are 1) always going for sleepovers with their time of friends 2) fantastic at rugby 3) is so clever and got a special award in assembly 4) has just got another swimming badge. Wish them all the best but my god, its a different world!DH not a great deal of use either. Sometimes getting through the day is a real achievement.