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

Hi - been reading through the thread to try to keep encouraged. Prince - so know how you feel, and the worse thing is the loneliness. I feel on my own most of the time - trying to find out exactly what is DS's problem, researching all the possible ways to make it better, trying to make decisions about what is best to do, what is just pure cranky, what is affordable, whether taking him to see people just makes it worse. Getting the "oh, OK" response from DH without any apparent interest and no participation (OK he works long hours). Did have a bit of a blow-up recently, and I think that helped. Hearing other people (Mango, so with you on this..) talking about their children, or, even worse, making suggestions as though your child were entirely "normal". "Oh why not get him to join a football team on a Saturday?", "How about a dance class?" Yep, can just imagine how that would go.....or maybe I can't because you never really know.
I felt quite positive before Christmas, and thought I could see signs of change in DS, but I think I was kidding myself - over the holiday, same old things again. No concentration whatsoever - stopping midword when doing homework and forgetting what he was doing, "thank -you" letters practically finished me off.
Target practice "B" is proving hard as he gets toabout screen 8 or 9 and then he just cannot see in 3D - all he sees are the 2 centres apart rather than together. I had to try it to see what the difficulty is. I'm not sure how to help - what can he do to focus? I keep asking him to relax and just look at thecentre of the screen but he gets so upset and discouraged. As for stairs, well, i can't see any progress there at all. But at least he is OK about doing it - I get DS to do it too and if I feel they need a laugh, I do it. I did wonder for those with children who do not want to do the stairs whether it would help to build it in ata time when they have a favourite activity afterwards. With DS whenhe was 4/5 yrs old, he hated to read and theonly way I could get him to do it every day was to tell him he couldwatch TV afterwards, and he could not move from the sofa with me until he read. Sometimes we would sit there for 15mins, and once he realised that that went into his TV time I had no trouble. (BTW this was 20mins TV before bath)
Reading though the thread it's so hard isn't it, when our children find life hard enough, and then we have to load more stuff onto them........ I am going to talk to DS's teacher to impress on her what DS has to do every day, and that's without the other stuff that he does because it's meant to be good for him - eg swimming (co-ordination)- has to be one-to-one class late evening, karate (self-esteem, focus - he is now refusing to go ), OT exercises. Never mind the times tables and reading that they're meant to do every day and then the weekly topic homework which is meant to take half hour and generally takes about 3.
There, I have had my major moan, a bit of a sob, which was unfortunate as the postman knocked at the door with a parcel............
I am uncertain whether TH will help DS but I will give it a year (3 months in).

Hi NellieEllie - quickly as I'm up against it but just wanted to encourage you on the engaging eyes. My DS found it SO hard too. I think it's because it was so hard for him (ie he needed it) and put a lot of our changes down to completing it. It was a long hard slog of 6 months I think to get all the targets done. He just needs to keep doing it, even to level 8 or 9 - and one day he'll make level 10. I used to have to stand over mine and remind him each time he'd done one "keep looking at the target" - if he looked away for a second it was gone. Once DS had lost it, it was lost but he got there eventually.

Prince and Nellie I also know that feeling. DH is very happy now things are improving, but has offered no help to doing any of it during and sometimes you're so tired you want to give up (on TH/life/everything!). Looking at other kids eating ice cream and drinking fanta and still ace-ing school is so gutting. And I've kept all my TH stuff secret from all but 1 friend as they won't understand and think I worry too much (easy when you're not the one being called into school all the time)...

So....hugs. and hang in there. I hope TH will work for your kids and am sure, as I remember Badvoc sayign she was once advised, something will workout and your child will be fine in the end because they've got you as mothers.

Thank you Harriet, your comments have really helped - I wonder, what changes did engaging eyes make for your DS? My DS is quite goodat reading so I'm hoping it will help with things like physical co-ordination and writing/copying from board.
I know I am very lucky to have my DS, so I am going to try to be a little more positive.

Prince - is it this Saturday you are going to TH? Do hope it goes well and maybe you will feel some of your doubts are eased.

My ds is excellent at reading but had rubbish eye to hand corordination. He has managed in the last the few weeks to hit a ball with a bat (would never have been able to do this a few months ago)

We started TH in sept.

notapizza, that is interesting - we must have started TH at more or less at same time then - we were Sept too. DS has never been good at racket/bat games -or really any sport. He is extremely resistant to playing ball games because of this - so Ih aven't noticed whether he has improved or not - will give it a go and see.

It has been so interesting and moving to read the recent posts on the thread. I too am fed up with seeing NT kids drinking fanta, eating cakes and sweets in front of my DC and still being, top of the class, best swimmer, artist, violin player, most popular etc etc...I first realised my son had problems in year 1. I can see now that his problems were present very early on but I am a mum who before having my own DC had no experience of children at all. I beat myself up every day over the fact that I was oblivious to his problems. More recently I have become angry that healthcare professionals and teachers knew but didn't say anything. He is my child, why didn't someone tell me? why didn't anyone help? Why did his year R teacher score him 117/117 in his early years assessment and tell me he was a fabulous boy who had it all?. Yes, he does have it all but not in the way she suggested. Instead he has dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD and tics ( and a bit of OCD too) I feel that I could have started intervention so much earlier and could have tried lots of different things by now. Instead, I feel time is running out ( DS will be 8 this month) and whilst I am very happy with TH in the ideal world I would have time to try other things too. We are told to not overload but yet we don't have much time. My DH and his family were very unsupportive of me. I had to trick my DH in taking DS to Robin and my FIL said I was "unhinged" and this was another of my "fruit loopery"ideas. To top it off he said that although he thought there was nothing wrong with my DS he added that if there was it was due to my bad genes. (sad) By the way I would say my FIL has ASD and dyspraxia but of course he is undiagnosed.

I have spent the last 18 months looking at pretty much every therapy available and I think you have to back a horse ( in my case Robin) and hope it comes in! Then, if you are still not happy and you ahem the ability to carry on I would try something else. I remain pleased that I chose Robin. There are other therapists who I think are very good too but I think the treatment programme and his support put him very near the top if not the top of what's out there in this dark and mirky world of Neurodevelopmental Therapy.

TH has definitely helped both my DC. Do they still have DDS after 17 months.... yes, but they are in a much better place than they were and DD is almost NT now.

NellieEllie my DS also could read pretty well pre: TH. And I totally understand you BP - I didn't realise until my DS was in y1 that anything was up. He was clearly 'bright' as a little preschooler but it's only really seeing my DS2 go into reception that I realise how completely out of the ordinary DS1's progress was in terms of confidence, writing, attention and focus (or lack of all of them) which were barely mentioned by his teachers. The tics, car sickness, fidgeting which I now see were signs of his DDS too, were there but I didn't see them. And I see it in kids in my DS2s class now (kids behaving differently but suffering with similar tics/ocd/anxiety/writing phobia). It's obvious which kids will suffer but think schools don't know enough about how to help them or that they even can be helped.
sorry - off on a tangent - so, Nellieellie - my DS's writing has improved a LOT (he's 7) his reading which was already above his age in ability due i think to our nightly plugging on has become much more effortless so therefore fun but really his attitude to school and his attention improvements I think (obviously combined with diet and supps) are as a result of his vision being fine tuned so life being less exhausting. His PE teacher has also saiid that something has clicked this past term so def hand-eye has improved. He's still no athlete but can at least partake in team games which becomes important in y3 at our school.

Having moaned to all you lovely lot on my post earlier today, I collected 2 very happy DC from school today. DD told me how happy she was and how she is becoming more popular as she is " less weird" and DS said school was epic. He also read 3 pages of Charlotte's Web to me, almost effortlessly. So, this journey has been tough, really really tough but we are coming through it and it has been worth it. It really has.

BeautifulPossum Moan away. We all need to sometimes and it makes you feel soooo much better! Try not to beat yourself up about the past, though easier said than done, I know. I suspect no one told you your DS had any problems because most of the people dealing with our children are woefully ignorant about these kind of things. Which is awful as, like you say, the sooner you start helping them, the more time you've got to make a difference. I'm glad they both had a good day today. I bet that cheered you up!

We're now starting to worry about DD, who at 23 months only has about 5/6 words. And she doesn't really use them. She's never said mummy to get my attention. Given DS's problems, it is a worry. She understands everything and seems to be a smart, little cookie, but nevertheless, I wish she'd say more. I love listening to DS talk as we worked so hard to get him talking. I'll never ever complain about having a chatterbox for a child.

DS loves being back at nursery. He's really starting to take in what they say. He came out yesterday saying he wanted to go swimming with his water wings. We don't call them water wings so he must be listening! He is shattered in the evening though. From about 5pm, he's asking for his "jamas" and saying he's sad because he's so tired. He's eating like a horse at the moment and sleeping a lot so there must be something going on somewhere. He doesn't seem to be growing up the way so I'm hoping it's all going to his brain!

Small 'win' today. DS (6) announced that he was getting "a bit too grown up" for Bob The Builder. Hallelujah!!

Hi everyone, really lovely to hear everyone's stories and helpful to know we are all feeling similar emotions. We are all trying the very hardest for our kids, but sometimes the panic of what if I've got this wrong sets in.

After a terrible start to the week, things have got better. DD has settled really well back into school and came home today with the weekly certificate for 'kindest and most helpful person'. She was absolutely delighted which was so good to see.

Feeling more relaxed and like u can handle it all again.

I hope you all have a great weekend and thank you all for the support - it means a lot :)

I can handle it

Great news, prince. This thread is an invaluable support. Goodness knows where we would all be with out it!

So glad things have improved for you PRN.

Life is pretty crap here. Ds has been ill since the end of last term really and is still not well enough to go back to school. He is having upwards of 40 seizures/day and fell down the stairs the day before yesterday because of a seizure. Sometimes he stops breathing for a while.

We can't leave him alone because he could collapse at any time and he already has bruises on the side of his face (and elsewhere) where he has fallen.

Meds are being increased but this can only be done weekly and we are over a week away from a 'therapeutic dose'.

So we are housebound and all I can say is, thank god for minecraft, ps3 and iPods! He has had me trying to download mods for minecraft - the things you agree to when your children are ill. Unfortunately, I'm useless and have no idea what I am doing!

We haven't done (or even thought about) lumosity for weeks.

Oh Daft, sorry to hear that about your son. Yes, I would be downloading all sorts of stuff too! Anything to take their mind off it. Hope things improve for him soon.

Oh Daft, that's so awful, I'm so sorry for you and your poor DS. I hope you get the drugs sorted soon and he starts to feel better. Huge hugs. x

So sorry to hear that,Daft. Can't imagine what you are going through. Do hope doctors get DS stable soon.

Daft I am so sorry to hear that. That must be so stressful. How is your DS at coping with it? It must be very frustrating I hope things settle down soon and the medication starts to have a positive effect.

Take care :)

Hello and HNY to you all. I still catch up on posts, albeit sometimes only once a month. Hugs to everyone who needs them (all of US?!).

I am thinking about doing auditory integration therapy with two of my DD's (9 yr old doing TH, and 3 year old not doing it yet). I have had the Sensory Clinic recommended by a couple of people, but just wondered if anyone else has tried other places and how they found them? Thanks

Just a quick question to check we're doing things right ...

For Hemi P and Hemi T - is the wordsearch and Where's Wally on the same side of the computer screen ie right side (as we look at it) for both?

Thank you.

Hi there,please can I join!!
I've been reading all the Tinsley House threads over the last few days with great interest.Our ds is 7 and has a primary dx of dyspraxia and we think he may have Aspergers too.Although his school have been very supportive he is now starting to fall behind due to very poor concentration and focus plus his behaviour at home is getting worse.I have been so amazed by all your stories of success that I bit the bullet and emailed Robin yesterday.He called me back today and we're seeing him on the 1st of Feb.I'm hugely apprehensive but feeling positive too as at the very least I feel we're being pro-active.
I'll keep you posted.

Wow, it's been very quiet on here recently! Hopefully means everyone is doing well.

brightstars I can't help you with AIT but others have definitely done it. I think it was talked about quite recently on the thread.

skewiff yes, we have it to the right of the screen as you look at it for both hemi p and t. Not sure if others do the other side depending on what part of the brain is being worked on, but Robin told us to do the right. Hth.

disorganisedmummy hello and welcome! Don't be apprehensive. It can only help! Robin is lovely and kids love him so good luck for your appointment. You could start the diet changes and supplements now if you wanted. Have you read the books? When we started (about a year ago), I remember feeling so relieved that I finally I could do something to help him. All the " professionals" had told me was there was nothing we could do. Anyway, good luck!

Things going well here. DS continues to thrive. His language and speech is just AMAZING! We are so pleased. Everyday there are new things, new words, more complicated, longer sentences etc. It has exploded! I would even go so far as to say that his language is almost at the same level as his peers. I am just so pleased! Now, if we could just getting him to start using it a bit more...

He's still loving nursery and I think he is very slowly beginning to talk more there. I feel like I'm constantly questioning the nursery teachers as they don't see the same importance to his communication as I do. He isn't chatty but I know he's told them things like his Granny was coming to lunch one day. For me, that's big news as he is communicating for more than simply having his needs met but I have to eek the information out of them. I really don't think they see a fraction of his amazing speech that we do at home. I'm sure it'll come.

Following a few emails with Robin, we've now stopped the stairs for the moment. DS was really hating them and totally refusing to do them. He's become quite scared of the dark and I think he was really not liking having to close his eyes. He's has become more emotional all round. He's talking about feeling happy, sad, surprised, scared, and he'll tell you why. He was sad when we took the Xmas tree down, sad when his birthday party finished. This is all new ground for us and Robin was very pleased and said it was a positive step.

I have to share!! We were at the park today and DS was playing on the roundabout with another little boy. They weren't really talking (DS not being much of a talker to people other than family) but he did ask the boy if he wanted to play and the boy said yes. When the boy left with his mum, DS told me he was sad. I asked why and he said because the boy had gone home and he had wanted him to stay and play more on the roundabout.

I was !! A lot. He has never expressed emotions like that about a person, never mind a person he doesn't know and has only just met! I'm still smiling now. It is a huge thing for him.

Lookslikerain - how lovely, hope things continue well for you and DS. It is the social interchanges and the whole friendship issue that is so important.

Daftmaul, I do hope that you have had a better week, it sounds like you're really going through it. I really feel for you - makes any of my problems fairly miniscule.
We have had more success with "engaging eyes" on target practice B. After getting completely stuck on screens 7 or 8 for a while, DS is now routinely completing up to the last screen - 16. Only think is, in my husbands words - "great, everything exactly the same but now he's good at a computer game". I haven't seen any real change - concentration still the same, physical co-ord the same, writing still pretty awful. I can understand that initially it is, as Robin said, about setting the foundations, but after 4 mths I would like to have seen some change.........
Setback at the weekend - DS goes to a drama class - we had to leave a few years back as he would not join in but for the last year he has enjoyed it. Now it is time for him to go up to the next class. He had a trial Saturday and apparently just refused to join in and stood in a corner with his fingers in his ears. I thought that this sort of social inflexibility and withdrawal had stopped so was quite a shock. DS said that he was not given any big parts so was "not welcomed". We have talked, I have explained, and,more to the point we've paid for the term! Aargh!!

Hi everyone. A little update from us. We have been doing TH 5 months (& AIT & gluten free). Rough Christmas with lots of tantrums but now calmed a lot. And tantrums only last 5 mins now!

12 months ago DS couldn't do 'SATPIN' phonics. He is now at the expected level. When he was reading last night, he read the word 'outside' and said 'oh, that's a compound word like 'snowman'!! Previously he could not remember anything about school. Spellings also improved massively.'Star of the week' first time ever.

He is playing much more with other children (though he doesn't want to ask them round) and much less obsessive/ocd.