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 greener. Tantrums and inflexibility got worse with us culminating in a horrid Christmas. We have been doing stairs/teeth/vits for 5-6 months and it's only the last couple of weeks things have improved. I now feel we have turned the corner. Don't give up too soon. You've come this far so grit your teeth and give it another couple of months then see how you feel.

I think maybe it all sends the brain into overdrive Or the brain is really resisting change. Not really sure but I know lots of people have found things got a lot worse before improvement. And it takes sooo long...

We had no sign things would change. Just went from extreme 'flipouts' to much calmer and acting more his age. Still has wobbles, but over a lot quicker. Maybe brain accepting change?

We have not done anything additional/ different in the last few weeks. Still slogging through stairs and teeth!(plus Engaging eyes, but that's pure vision training)

It's possible DD's increasing tantrums could be a good sign and mean things are changing. Hang on in there!!

greener We found that things didn't improve in big steps, more that it sort of crept up on us. One day, we'd just realise that something that had previously been a problem, no longer was. And, as Mango says, a lot of people find things get worse before they get better. I don't really have any words of wisdom, but definitely good at listening, if you want? I also find and help too

And

I would LOVE some wine but I've been dry since new year and I'm determined to make it to the end of the month. It's so close now. And I've been doing low carb boot camp, trying to kick my sugar habit. DH insists on keeping a bottle of fizzy booze in the fridge in case of emergency things to celebrate. It's talking to me each time I open the fridge door. One more week and that bottle is mine. With a straw. And none for DH.

Hi Greener How was your weekend?

Just a thought about the 'wrong leg' thing. Why not try (if DD will!) to redo the left/right tests from the book? When we went to see Robin for out second appointment, that's what he did. DS was much improved on the tests (not as wobbly on the shoulder push one, kept going on the nose point one etc. I could see a clear difference). He said this meant the exercises (stairs, teeth) were having an effect and the other side of the brain opening up and messages were getting round the brain quicker. Think ideally, should be hard to tell which sided was dominant. All that was about 4/5 months into stairs/teeth.

Hi Greener. Following on from Mango's post 97% of children need to do teeth with left hand standing on left foot. The other 3% do right hand /leg.
Just thought I would say that in case you are not able to get DD to do test.
Good Luck

greener just wondered how you're getting on this week? Hoping things are a bit more positive. I wish the sun would shine a bit more. Nothing seems quite as bad on a sunny day. I feel like it's been raining since October!

Fairly quiet here. Plodding along. DS starting to talk about what he's done at nursery each day. It's pretty difficult to follow as his sentences aren't always that clear and he jumps from one topic to another very quickly, but I love trying to decipher it each day! There are 2 girls he keeps mentioning and saying they are his friends. I don't know if they know they are his friends, but I'm happy enough if he thinks so. It reminds me of my much younger sister coming home from school one day saying she had a boyfriend. She was only about 6 at the time. She said he didn't know he was her boyfriend, but that didn't matter! Details, details!

My DS started TH exactly 18 months ago. He was in a terrible state. 6.5 and totally stressed out about reading, writing. melting down all the time, anxious.....you get the picture. Today is his 8th birthday, he is full of beans and all his problems seem to have melted away and he is happy going to school. I can't believe that 18 months ago I thought he had a degenerative brain condition and was enquiring about Special Schools. DS told me the results of his mental maths and spelling test this week ( He now does the top level spellings which is unbelievable) He got 12/15 for both. The boy in the class whose mother refused a play date in year 1 because " they just aren't on the same academic wavelength" got 9/15 and 10/15 ( DS volunteered this info as he is sitting next to the said child this week!) I know it's not right but hey, I had a snigger to myself.

6 months of stairs, 6 months of Wally, 6 months of keyboard bashing and screaming during VT, 6 months of Lumosity, 2 months of yoyo, word search etc....It has been a long hard slog but so, so worth it. Hang in there everyone and I hope our story keeps you going.....

By the way DS has just hit a BPI level of 1000. We are off to Robin in half term and I really think this will be our last appointment.

I am convinced we all get poorly due to the immense stress we are under with our DC. Sure it surpresses the immune system. Hope you feel better soon greener

I posted on special needs chat but maybe better here.We are going to see Robin tomorrow.I am feeling frankly,terrified.Ds is dyspraxic and possibly Aspergers.He's 7.5 and in yr3.He has very poor concentration and although is very bright is in danger of falling behind.I feel like I am failing him>he explodes at home and it's so hard to deal with calmly and rationally esp when I suspect I am also on the spectrum to a degree.

Please could I have a hand hold,I'm in pieces at the mo.

Hi disorganized and welcome! Lots of us can empathize with you and DS. You are in the right place!

You will feel a lot better once you have seen Robin (he is not at all scary and will have seen a lot worse!). Takes a lot of time (18+ months) but lots of people have seen remarkable results.

Keep posting! [Smile]

We are having a bad week, but have had 3 brilliant weeks at school so hoping its just a blip. Have a. Skype with Robin on Tuesday.

That aside Josh's handwriting is really coming on in leaps and bounds, we can actually read it now !

Hi all - Beautiful possum - how long with TH before you began to see a change?

disorganisedmummy - how did it go?

Hi all,well what a long day!6 hour round trip but I think it was well worth it.
Isn't he a lovely man?
We went through all the usual stuff and he asked Tom loads of questions which he answered well.Then he did all the tests and basically what he has said is that that there are parts of Tom's brain that aren't working properly hence the dyspraxia and aspergers traits.He thinks it's more likely traits as opposed to full blown Aspergers as he has a sense of humour and does understand a degree of empathy.I see where he is coming from but until Tom is formerly dx (we're waiting for referral to Lorna Wing Centre)I shall remain on the fence.
He went through the programme and we go back in 8 weeks.
All in all,feeling very pleased and kind of relieved that we're at last doing something positive.
Robin seemed to think we should see changes by the time we go back in 8 weeks,I hope so as I find many aspects of his behaviour incredibly hard to deal with.

Thanks everyone for your best wishes.

greener hope things are improving with you and that your kidney infection has moved on. and for you. x

notapizzaeater we still have 'blips', but far fewer of them. Had one this morning actually, when DS was moaning and grumping at 6.30am! I'd hardly even opened my eyes!

disorganisedmummy my son was waiting for autism assessment when we went to see Robin a year ago. Robin said similar things about my DS with regards to empathy, humour etc. My son received his assessment and dx in March. I don't think too many people on the thread right now are dealing with autism/autistic traits etc, so feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything.

nellieellie We noticed differences in behaviour almost immediately. His previous diet was fairly 'clean' but I think upping the protein and getting the supplements into him made a massive difference. He became much calmer, far fewer tantrums etc very quickly. Other changes happened more slowly and would kind of creep up on us. We'd notice that something that had previously been a massive problem now no longer was. It sneaks up on you!

beautifulpossum your son sounds like he's doing amazingly well! You must be so pleased so have the end in sight. We're a year in and I think we've got a way to go yet. It must be weird to think you can stop it all soon!

Hi Nellie. The main changes at first with DS were his increased ability to cope and not melt down so much. They came in the first 2 months. We have had ups and downs along the way but it is when you look back you see how far you have come.

Disorganised- I can really relate to what you say. I definitely have ADD and my DS is well.... a tad dyspraxic/aspie to say the least and ( both undiagnosed of course) Just try and take it a day at a time and remember you are on the right road- you really are.

oops meant DH is a tad dyspraxic/aspie not DS.

Thanks everyone for your messages.My big worry is that when we get referral through for assessment for Aspergers,if ds has been on this plan and improves dramatically will it interfere with his assessment?I.E.,wil they see the whole picture?
I do feel that although ds does get empathy/sympathy it is only to a point and although he does have a great sense of humour,he can't have the mickey taken out of him at all.Even his teachers agree that what empathy he does have is learned and forced.Does anyone else relate to this?
I do feel a little frustrated that Robin didn't read the letter from his teacher in which he outlined his difficulties with social interaction.I'm sure he has his reasons.
I'm about to order the supplements ,we've been doing the diet for around 2 weeks so it will be interesting to see any changes.