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 Red dragon,

Sounds like DS is doing great socially (we are tons behind you in this!). Something I'd recommend you look into to help with reading is 'toe by toe' (amazon). I'm speaking as a teacher as well as having dyslexic DS. Its worked for us- DS has now _'caught up'. Its quite tedious, but 10 mins a night will make a big difference. In my view, TH makes the brain better able to learn. They still need teaching all the things they have failed to pick up.

Hi all, just wanted to give an update. Last week was thinking TH isnt helping anymore at all, this week I'm back in love with Robin's program. No matter how many time DS (age 8, TH now 10 months in) regresses with abominable behaviour and then always bounces back way better than before, I still always fall for it. So right on cue this week he is great. We are just about to add OPK to the mix, so well start now over half term so that the adjustment happens on holiday.

One positive experience worth sharing - mid December DH took DS skiing at the indoor centre, it was a disaster, not talking in the car, couldnt get his gear on, coldnt coordinate the Tbar lift (5 years olds budded in front of him) etc. Fastforward one month later (after introducing wordsearch) DH takes him again, chatty chatty in the car, getting on the chair lift on his own like other 8 year olds, telling jokes in the car "what do boys and shoes have in common? - they both have tongues!!". He's also making (appropriately) sarcastic comments, in that he understands what sarcasm means - ie '"wow Mummy what a great yummy snack -- carrot sticks'. The other week I asked him if his favourite breakfast was boiled eggs (which I knew it was just trying to make conversation) his answer was 'that's a rhetorical question, you know eggs are my favourite".

Still many issues, especially fine motor skills, we've stopped stairs, but I have added in balance board exercises to replace the stairs (Learning Breakthrough Program). Robin says that as we fix the middle and front of the brain it will feed back to the cerrebellum and improve fine motor further, despite no longer doing stairs, but DS fine motor skills are still so poor. Also as TH exercises now only take 10 minutes in the morning, it was easy enough to add this in the afternoon.

Still have meltdowns but now only 2-3x a week, but they are doosies because his language and vocab has improved so his words can hurt. However they turnaround fast. He says things like 'I behave so well at school (which he does, they call him the eyelash angel) and then I am 'monstrous' at home its because at home is private'. When he appologises he often says 'Ill be nicer in one year' or ' Put a note on my door reminding me not to get angry' --- so its progress.

Thanks for the update GreenApple - I love the rhetorical question quote - and the eyelash angel nickname, things really are improving which is so reassuring to hear, especially as you are a bit ahead of us on TH.

So I did get the report as expected, but the teacher is so ill informed regarding any kind of learning issues that I have decided not to worry too much about it. I still have to look into Toe to Toe but will this week.

DS is now totally great at distraction with Where's Wally book - at first he could not even use the book even without the programme. We had to get a very, very basic book from the library and find faces for 2 weeks before we could even look at a WW book. Now we are on book 4 and it is challenging but not so much as to put him off!

We have just started stairs with tray - even now he is not confident to do the whole thing with eyes closed so we started with one step, and now today 2 steps and he is regulating himself which is great.

I am learning not to push issues too hard too fast, which is difficult for me.

A big thing for us is that DS also started SpellingTutor 2 weeks ago. I hadn't wanted to overload him but as Engaging Eyes is going well (Target C already) I felt now was the time. I would really like to offer some words of encouragement if any mums are thinking of it but feeling daunted, as I did.

The first time we tried it I wanted to cry. He was so much worse than I had ever imagined, and had definitely regressed since last year, back by 2-3 years I would say. He could not distinguish between to and too of and off etc., he was saying he could not think up single sentences for simple words, however I was determined to carry on, even though he hated it.

Two weeks later he is completely at ease with it (although he makes mistakes with his marking, so watch out for this if you decide to use it). His punctuation, spelling and spacing is improving greatly AND after one recent session he asked me to shout out words to him so that he could make sentences. His sentences were richer and longer than he had been willing to do before and he was proud of himself! The making up of sentences is not actually part of the programme but I used this method to pick up on the words he had wrongly marked as correct.

Today I received a lovely mail from his OT which said she had seen great progress and his teacher had made positive comments about him to her over the past few weeks which he has never done before.

The only other changes we have made is to get a better brand of magnesium as he still came up as deficient during an allergy test and to change our salt to Himalayan - which I would strongly recommend plus changing our water filter to an alkaline type.

If anyone knows of a healthy brand of chewing gum I would love to know as his OT has highly recommended using gum to help alleviate his chewing issues. Apparently it can help to cure not just substitute.

Hi everyone. This is my first ever message. We have just started the Engaging Eyes program with my DS who is 10. I have only found Engaging Eyes after reading all the threads on Dyspraxia etc. My main concern is that high school starts in September and he gets so tired reading and his reading is slow. He has no problem with the words but the speed is like a snail at times. His biggest issue at school is the amount of writing he manages to do and he doesn't seem able to answer comprehensions. He says he finds it difficult to find the answer amongst all the reading. We have been seeing an OT privately for 2 years and we have seen a huge improvement in some areas (ball skills, balance, mainly) but the OT does feel a laptop will be necessary at high school.

We have been doing the Engaging Eyes programme for 5 days so it's very early days but I hope that it helps with his tiredness, speed, understanding etc and most importantly that reading may become a pleasure as at the moment he finds reading a chore.

Just wondering if anybody has an tips or advice as I feel September will be here before we know it.

Thanks

Hi Johnny, I would consider doing the full TH program rather than just the Engaging Eyes. That will help with processing speed, comprehension and organisation. EE will help but I dont think it competely clears those issues. I also have DD12 on TH. She had/has milder issues that school never brought up but I recognised issues like processing speed, comprehension, writing spead due to the problems my DS has. TH has really helped her. And because her issues were far less compared to my DS she went though the program quite quickly moving on to the Hemis and now Lumosity (which are what really helps these issues). Its now just 10 minutes on a computer a day. The Hemi's is when she started making the real progress. When we first went to see Robin, despite her issues being far less than DS, Robin was more concerned on her. Given her age as she was just about to enter puberty etc and the brain starts getting more set. She was done with the balance exercises within 4 months, so you would be in a great position 7 months from now when September arrives.

REd Dragon, great to hear your progress, the academics will come, I keep telling myself if he responds to the program then the academics will come just as it did for all the previous testimonials. We are now 10 months in and DS is starting to respond to the academics, the comments from school is that his focus is getting better, his aid has been removed . I am grateful because if this had been DS' starting point (10months into TH) I wouldnt have gone looking for answers and I certainly wouldnt have put my DD on any program, and he'd be coping but struggling his whole life. Seeing Indigo and Bavoc's and others results, that's the level I am aiming for.

In terms of other advice. For magnesium, you can give him Himalayan salt baths, its the organic version of Epsom Salts. About a cup in the bath, no soap. This also is very calming if they have had a particularly anxious day. The skin absorbs magnesium reall well. Or normal epsom salt baths, these are magnesiums also.

DS 8, DD12 (10 Months into TH)

Hi Johhnylad, I agree with GreenApple that you might as well do the programme. As programmes go it is a very cheap one, and easy to follow. Lots of the advice is just so common sense, such as reduce sugary and chemical laden foods, increase good protein and fruit and veg. Take quality vitamins, including magnesium, zinc and omega 3. The exercises are fairly quick and easy to do - but Mango's comments on needing to go over/teach the things that your own child is missing is so true. My ds is now more willing to try things such as catching a ball, but even when he isn't, having to do the TH exercises has made me better at calmly (usually) insisting that we do things he finds challenging.
Thanks for the comments GreenApple, I will definitely try the Himilayan Salts in the bath as not being able to sleep is a major issue for my ds.
Still v happy with the progress using SpellingTutor, but I wish it went further than the first 1,000 words!
Does anyone have experience of trying to stop their DC looking at the floor a lot when walking? Ds getting fed up of 'can you spot' games from me.

A quick update as we approach our 4 month mark.

First noticeable improvements for DS (6) and DD (9) within 2 months: DS became very interested in the written word, wanting to read books with words and pointing out words when we're out and about. DD started to tell the time!

Second noticeable improvements by 4 month mark: DS had absolutely BRILLIANT report at school (What have you done? He's a changed child! etc), DD can tell time in all three ways (analogue, LCD clock, 24 hour clock!) and is understanding it/ predicting it/ measuring it. Also a very decent report from school (attitude to reading and comprehension level improvements)

Thanks Reddragon and Greenapple for the advice. I think you are both right about following all the programme. Earlier this week I ordered the vitamins, supplements etc and I have started to cut out the rubbish foods. To be fair my children do eat very healthily especially my son with dyspraxia but it's good to cut out the rubbish for the other 2. My other children (an older son at high school and daughter in reception) have no concerns in school. In fact they are both very bright which sometimes makes us more aware of my son's difficulties. We now have a chart in the kitchen and the stair exercises are being done by all 3. Toothbrushing too. Engaging eyes is going well. Level 8 but he is finding it very tough now so I think he may be on this level for a little while. He has cross country in May and it's on the park by the school. He is very conscious that he is always with the last few runners and would love to be in the middle somewhere. He wants to practice each week to build up his stamina. The problem is he does ache quite a lot after physical activity. All we can do is see how he gets on. Thanks for all your advice. It's so encouraging to read all the positive outcomes. Thanks again. Any further advice gratefully received.

Reddragon - I just read your comment about sleeping issues. My DS1's sleeping improved very noticeably after he did AIT & LWT. I think it was more the LWT but as they were at the same time I can't be sure! It is pricey though.

Hi PinkPelican we have just had the hearing test ready to start AIT but what is LWT? Who did you do your AIT with? I am about to do remote AIT with Heather who says results can show immediately or after 3 or 6 months. When did you see improvements?
We have also just started Toe by Toe 2 days ago so we will see how that goes. So far so good but I can well imagine it getting quite tedious. Think the strategy is to get through it ASAP so we are doing 20-25 minutes.
This is on the back of a lunch today where 2 of the mums in my sons class told me just how bad the teacher was with their children's learning difficulties and 2 other mums from last year said their children had dropped behind with him. Feeling furious but determined...
Great you are starting Johnnylad !!

Hi all, we have finally started GFCF after putting it off for a long time. I feel it will be the final piece of the puzzle for my children. Can I just ask what side effects we can expect? Thanks

Reddragon - sorry I meant LWS, Lightwave Stimulation (also called Light Therapy). We did it at the Sound Learning Centre at the same time as AIT. There were some immediate improvements but also for the first 4-6 weeks afterwards he was very emotionally volatile! Thankfully that was temporary. About 2 months later we saw the real improvements - more calm emotionally and physically, and much better at going off to sleep which had always been a huge issue.

Do hope the AIT helps your son. Mine found it very draining at the time, so I would recommend doing it during school hols.

Major boast coming up...just got an email from my dd's school saying she has just written a two page story independently, she is doing so well she has been given a head teachers award and they are very impressed with her progress! Also this week her piano teacher commented how she has just got it all of a sudden. I could burst with pride!!
We started Tinsley House when she was 4, she is now 6. It has been a long hard slog but my god I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I would encourage anybody who is undecided about Tinsley House to give it a go. You have got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just a quick mention re GF. We started 2 weeks ago and I would say it has also made a huge impact on both my dd's. They already seem more focused and calmer.

Thanks a lot for the info PinkPelican. LWS is now added and we will do it directly after the AIT 10 days. Is this how you would advise? We are having everything sent out by the Sensory Clinic. It seems we buy and keep the light machine which I guess is good. When you said it helps with sleep I was absolutely hooked!! I dream (literally) of a good unbroken nights sleep... just one would be lovely.
We are continuing with Toe by Toe a few times a week and it is going well, apart from a little mix up with b,d,p and r,l, but I can see more challenging tasks ahead when I think my ds will learn and gain even more. Still very impressed with Spelling Tutor, I am convinced it is helping with hand strength and having to really think about how to spell.
Also Engaging Eyes is definitely worth another mention, as it is actually giving ds a real confidence boost, he is really proud of the fact he can do it well, and hopefully of course it will help with the reading and writing too!!!
Well done to your dd TravellingCircus3 - I LOVE hearing about our children achieving their potential. Feels a long way off, but encouraging for us mums and really heartwarming too. You must feel such a sense of relief and pride. So what is GFCF, I am guessing Gluten Free and something else?

RedDragon I hope the AIT and LWS help. Perhaps ask the Sensory Clinic if you should do them one after the other - I think their approach is a little different to the Sound Learning Centre.

GFCF is gluten free, casein (dairy) free

Hi Travelling, thats great to hear about your progress! Its so motivating to hear positives from someone ahead in the program.
How much longer do you think you have to go? We are at the 11 month mark (DS 8) doing Wally, Word Search and recently OPK. I think we have another year + to go. OPK has given us a huge jump despite DS still having trouble focusing on the stripes, so I think we'll see even more benefits. I am truly grateful for Tinsley, DS has made GREAT GREAT progress. He is now mainstream, but still struggles - he's the bottom of the mainstream class. His class aid was removed in Dec and his reading specialist this week said there is no longer any need. One year ago I didnt think he would ever finish senior school. I still really worry if DS will 'thrive' where everything, everyday wont always be a struggle, were he'll actually enjoy learning. His focus is so much better, but still an issue. Conversation is now relevant, with varied topics, more timely answers (but still a tick slow). However there is still a bit of 'offness' about him, a slight stiffness. Fine motor skills and movement/sports are still very weak and it seems many on the thread saw progress in sports and writing by now. With reading, He's fine when its a novel, where he knows the context, but individual instructions (like math word problems) with no context are still difficult. A year ago I would have been extatic but now I am hoping for a full recovery - is that possible?

It would be great to hear from those ahead on the Tinsley cycle the incremental changes they have seen from OPK and then Lumosity. I guess my worry is wether Tinsley will clear it all. We still have another year+ to go. Patience I know is the key, but easier advice to give than take. I just wonder if once on Lumosity, if one sees a lot more progress. If any saw improvement in fine and gross motor skill during Lumosity. Many seem to drop off after they start Lumosity.

Hi GreenApple and Reddragon, I guess we are nearing the end of Tinsley House really but the funny things is I feel slightly terrified to stop! We have been doing it for so long, since my dd was 4 and had such amazing results that I worry if we stop things will somehow go backwards. I know it's silly but when you have been on this journey it just becomes a part of your life, day in, day out.
I wish you all the very best on your Tinsley journey, and the only advice I can give is just hang on in there!
We have been trying GFCF for 4 weeks and I'm not sure if it's helping. The first 2 weeks were great and my girls seemed fine but the last 2 weeks they have been grumpy, tearful and just not right. I'm hoping that this is all a normal part of coming of Gluten and hopefully someone on this thread can give me some words of wisdom, please?

Morning All
I don't get on here very much these days, but wanted to say hello and to encourage everyone who is in the programme. We have been doing TH for ages - 2 1/2 years!!! Although we did have a 4 month break over last summer. We are very close to the end but I am also a little nervous of stopping :) :) It has just been wonderful for us. The first changes were very clear, but the later ones have been more subtle and even paced.

DS1 has really thrived and we have gone from thinking he would need a lot of support when he started Reception, to a boy who is happy, focused, has friends, enjoys sports and hobbies. He is in the top group for numeracy and the middle group for phonics. His concentration is much improved and he no longer fidgets - I never thought that might happen!! He still gets a bit upset when things go wrong, but even that is improving all the time. The academic stuff is nice, but the behaviour, happiness and confidence in himself are the really important bits - everything else probably follows from those things. Today I am bursting with pride. There is a dressing up day at school and he has been planning his outfit all week long. He's just started learning the piano and has his first school concert in the big hall tonight. Looking back, I am so pleased that he had such a bad start at nursery/preschool - it spurred us on to TH which has made a profound difference to his life, and of course ours. Sorry if I sound a bit fanatical, but I can't tell you what a worrying, horrid mess we were in.

DS2 is coming on really well too. He is reapeating preschool year (August child with speech delay) and this has been so positive for him. He loves being the eldest and his confidence has grown and he is now the most outgoing, giggly thing! We had our termly review with his SALT yesterday and she is so pleased with his progress and especially his 'rate of improvement'.

For those of you who are just starting out or struggling with all these things. Please do hang in there. Without a doubt, it is a slog, especially at the beginning - but all of a sudden your mindset changes and you adjust. You realise that the exercises have just become part of your day, and the diet (which seemed way too much at the beginning) is the way you eat now!

Big hugs and good luck to you all. xx

Just to update the thread. Dd2 has been doing engaging eyes for a few months now. She has been getting to level 16 on target practice A quite regularly, think she just needs to do it about 8 more times. She is on speed fix B. She has noticed the difference. She announced after about 6 weeks that there are now spaces between words and lines! She has just started to read for pleasure and whereas in January she struggled to read a page of something like Rainbow fairies (not that she would have been caught actually reading them), she is now able to read a page of Harry Potter. She hasn't quite got the stamina of her siblings yet but she is moving in the right direction. We never did work out the lens issue but we did get some new glasses from amazon which have helped. Thanks for all your advice.

Hi all, new to Mumsnet, purely to be a part of your thread!
My DD is 2.5 and I was informed yesterday by her chiropractor that she has many retained primitive reflexes. My chiro recommended Tinsley House Clinic. After lots of research, and my already knowing that my DD shows some autistic tendancies, I have booked the first consultation for three weeks time!

My main concern is my DD's speech delay.
Am I doing the right thing?
Would love your feedback!

Hi Amieandella
go for it, definitely. It isn't easy and it isn't quick, but as Ruggles says above, after a while the exercises and diet just become part of life. You've done well to identify the problem and find TH while she's still so young.

Regarding the speech delay - my suggestion is to look into auditory integration training (AIT) eg Sound Learning Centre or Sensory Clinic.

Hello everyone - just had our check up session with Robin in gorgeous Lymington. Think it made a big difference going in person as we had only used Skype the last 4 times. DS was much more chatty and engaged in the process. He was able to stand tall as Robin pushed him instead of nearly falling over as when we started. We are now off stairs and toothbrush duties and from having a poor eye convergence score of 10 DS managed a whopping 29 this time! He could read the entire eye chart this time too, when we started he got to the line before. Robin is super happy with his progress but we still have eye tracking to complete EE. Now starting yo-yoing tonight. One week post AIT it is looking hopeful as eye contact is really getting better and DS is smiling a lot more. Fingers crossed these improvements continue. Anxiety and inability to sleep still problems - I'm going to try Essential Oils to see if they can help.
Amieandella - absolutely go for it - I only wish I had stumbled upon TH when my DS was that age - what a lot of heartache would have been avoided. The thing with this programme is that there is nothing to go horribly wrong - it is all simple and straightforward, and much of it common sense really. Good luck.

Reddragon glad to hear about the progress! In terms of sleep difficulties, do you add Epsom salts to your DS's bath and have you tried Rescue Remedy Sleep?

Hi all. We had our first appointment with Robin on Saturday, and all very positive. DD was very shy and so wasn't examined as Robin didn't want to ruin the relationship before it had even started - she is only 2.5! So that was really thoughtful of him, as we would have really struggled getting her back there again if she had got herself worked up.
I am going to be researching the dosage for the recommended supplements tonight (due to her being so young), and we have started the anti-clockwise chair spinning exercise.
Changes to diet will be one of the tricky bits for us as DD is very fussy, but she will just have to like it or lump it! And hopefully, she will learn quickly fingers and everything else crossed.
Really pleased we have started the journey, and we are back in two months time to see if DD is happy to be examined.
Thank you ladies! x

As we've passed the 6 month mark things get easier (diet and exercise now as routine as cleaning teeth and making bed) and the kids go from strength to strength.

DD (now 10) has an executive function to reckon with. She owns time and time keeping for the family. Her numeracy is constantly developing and she asked for a math tutor to help her catch up. I can't believe I just said that.

The classroom is still a challenge and we're going to move her to a private school focusing on teaching children with dyslexia for a couple of years to make sure that she learns the basics in an accessible way, based on Orton Gillingham method.

DS (6) has now started to tell time, wears a watch, and is reading! He's properly reading with delight and laughter and emphasis.

This programme continues to help both children.