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

Badvoc - I'm so sorry to hear about your Aunt. You really have had a bad run of it . Do you have any plans to head down south at all?
We love all your support!

Quick question. We've been doing the 'Prepare for the Code' books with DS to help with his letters and phonics. It's been great - he really loves it and sees it as a treat - he calls it Special Games with Mummy! Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew of anything similar for numbers? DS is in Reception and I like the idea of book based things, rather than computer games - we're aleady doing 3 computer exercises a day with Tinsley House.

Thanks ruggles. It's hard to see her suffering. At least dad didn't suffer.
The CGP books are pretty good IMO.
Check out their website.

Mango - I meant the stairs one where he starts off going up backwards and then comes down forwards. He just keeps sitting down! We have got steep stairs....

Welcome Peru. Have you completed the first exercise already? Ie. going upstairs forwards and coming down backwards. You only need to move on to the one you describe once they can do the first stage perfectly.

Osospecial - I'm afraid I don't have a clue!

Badvoc - so sorry to hear that. Your poor family. Glad Tom is doing so well.

Haven't had much chance to do Lumosity this week. Ds has had another EEG which meant another 2.30am wake up. I think we are still recovering! Due to see/speak to Robin next Monday.

Ds still enjoying his new school. Has had a few merits and has made lots of new friends.

Would be good to try to have a meet up, even though we are nearing the end of TH.

Badvoc - that is such a shame. I know exactly what you mean about suffering and the worry that goes with it too. Really hope that things become easier. Thanks for the CGP recommendation - the books look great!

Daft - good to hear your news and how well things are going at school. This first term can be very intense!! How did the ECG go?

I am very excited at the prospect of a meet up! Any ideas on dates?

We're just starting our two week half term, which is incredibly welcome. DS has a birthday and I'm looking forward to not rushing / driving too much too!

Daft Maul - Robin wanted ds to do both stair exercises straight away.

To be honest, it's the teeth brushing one he's currently really struggling with as he's flailing around all over the place! Part of me wonders if he is doing it on purpose a bit.......

That is interesting Peru, none of us did that, I don't thnk.

I used to wonder about ds 'hamming it up' but in hindsight, I think he genuinely found the toothbrushing hard. The stairs he moved on to the second exercise fairly quickly.

Ds has always been quite sporty so I was surprised hoe hard it was for him.

Ds found both exercises very hard at first.
In fact so hard it isn't ink he would ever be able to do them!

Hi all,,
Not posted here for a while but thought I'd give a quick update so that those who are struggling might feel its worth hanging on in there.

DS2 doing TH since March. Had terrible anxiety, some Tourettes type symptoms (mostly motor tics but OCD and anxiety much more prevalent) Dyslexic and at least 2 years behind at school, although ed physch report had him at genius level! Self esteem was non existent. A thoroughly miserable, withdrawn terrified little boy.

I have just received his latest report card (yr 6) Obtained 12 A's out of 13 subjects. In 12 subjects he is working at exactly where he should be and the last subject he is achieving more than expected.

He is enjoying sport for the first time ever. Has represented the school in various teams and is actually bloody good! He is trying out for a big part in the Xmas play. Voted class captain. Throws himself into every club/ opportunity he can get. Been away on school trip for a whole week. He is H A P P Y!!. He does not attend CAMHS any more. Not got an I E P anymore. Does not need extra dyslexic tuition any more.

I do no attribute all of this to TH. The dyslexic tuition over the last 2 years is what has got his grades up. However I feel the diet and supplements work immensely in keeping him calm and positive. If we slip from the diet for too long (holidays, treats etc) within days he develops tics and grunts and night terrors come back. He has changed schools and they are really helping with his confidence, however I feel that it is only due to TH that we were even able to broach the subject of a school change with him. Last year we wouldn't have even contemplated a move for him because he just would have crumbled.

We are now working on target c, wheres wally etc. Teeth and stairs are finished :) We are now just fine tuning.

I don't know how much of this would have happened anyway with maturity, better school etc. I do damn well know though that the diet and supplements are here to stay and we will see this thing through.

For those hanging on with your fingertips, either with TH or something else, hang on in there! If you keep plugging away sometimes it does just work. I feel like I am only just starting to breathe, I didn't realise I was holding my breath for the last ten years! My Son is happy and it feels great :)

Itwillbebetter, that is an amazing improvement. So happy for your ds and you.

It will be better Thank you for your lovely post! It is fantastic to read your news and far your ds has come on. In fact it has made me cry. I love hear the stories like this, as they are what keeps me going on the days when we have to hang in there . I am looking forward to the bit where my ds starts to calm down - I think its going to be our biggest challenge!!

Hi yucky (great name!)

We are fairly new to Tinsley House, so still on the stairs+ teeth brushing exercises as detailed in the Robin Pauc book 'brain food plan' (plus fish oil, multi vits, eating protein at breakfast). Big impact on emotional stuff (less meltdowns and less extreme). This eve was the most mature I have seen DS- much more relaxed than usual. I'd recommend picking up the book (few quid second hand on amazon) and trying it out for a couple of months. If you see improvements, will probably be the sort of thing which will work for you. Can't comment on social understanding as DS not too bad there. Still doesn't talk to grown ups we meet mind!

You can do Engaging Eyes independently of Tinsley House- we started that about 7 weeks ago. DS can now catch a ball, and doesn't lose place (so much) when reading. Check their website for info.

Hi guys, not posted for ages. Things going so well for us and will do a full post tomorrow but just wanted to let Mango know about Hemi's and tics.

My DS didn't ever tic until he started hemi t. ( Wordsearch with music in one ear and weird distracting thing like wally)His tics started 6 weeks into hemi t. No problems at all with hemi p ( Wally) SO, I think you will be fine with Wally. Robin got us to stop T when tics started and he introduced yoyo to get rid of tics. Yoyo-ing was amazing and tics reduced almost immediately, I think it was less than a week) I have such confidence in Robin.

yucky DS is 6 and first official TH appointment 3 weeks ago, though had been doing stairs/ vits for maybe 6 weeks prior to that (wanted to check DS would do the exercises!). Robin at TH checks vision at first appoint so most people get Engaging Eyes then. Not a problem starting it first though as independent to brain stuff. DS has pretty big vision probs as despite doing EE for 6 weeks, still failed 3 out of 4 TH vision tests! Think EE will probably take us 5-6 months to complete.

Lots of people go straight to TH rather than 'trying it from the book' first. Just personal preference. First 2 appoints £250 each (clinic in the new forest- 10 hour round trip for us ), then I think you can Skype every 2 months or so (£70 I think). The program seems to take 12-18 months to complete. Also, quite common for things to get worse before they improve. Long road. But at least it is a road!

possum thanks for info- can't remember who was asking about tics (not us)

Yucky, crying, melt downs etc were our biggest problem and the initial reason we went to TH when ds was 6. He is now 7 1/2. He has also changed school during this time which can definitely be credited for some of the changes.
He now never has a melt down at school and only cries when he hurts himself or has a big falling out with a friend ( in other words what I consider 'normal' reason for a 7 yr old to cry). Prior to TH he didn't do pE, didn't go into assembly and opted out of a whole number of things he didn't like the look of at school. If forced to do those things he would have a massive melt down. He cried every day before and after school. He would fling himself at me sobbing when I collected him. After school activities were unthinkable.
Yesterday was the key stage 2 cross country run. All children must participate. I felt sick and was convinced he would come in last sobbing his heart out. I stood near the finish line and could see the slower runners over the other side of the field. The fast kids started to come past me and I kept staring over the field looking for his little blond head. Suddenly there he was in front of me, massive grin on his face, running along about half way down the field. He came in 60th out of 90 year 3's and 4's. To me it felt like he had won the race.
This is just one example of how much ds has changed since doing TH. He is now equipped to cope with new challenges and with doing things he isn't comfortable with. He tries hard and doesn't even get tearful.
It was also a lesson to me that I need to stop thinking of him as a child with SEN. He simply isn't that child anymore.
Long post, sorry, but thought it might help to have an example of how things can improve with TH

shopping what a wonderful, inspiring experience. You must be so proud.

That is fab shopping. Well done DS and you. :)

Well done, yucky. Keep posting!!

It's worth it, it really is :)

It's the little things that creep up, josh hates loud noises and is freaked out by alarms. We have had to disable all the burglar alarms in the house. A few days ago in conversation he just asked had we heard the alarm in the night that was going off. A year ago he would have been in our bed hands ver his ears asking why it was going off and stressed to death. This week he's asked for a cricket bat - he has never done any sport other than running in his life, hated all ball sports as he isn't any good and today he's asked if he can go out on his bike this holiday (we got rid of his toddler one and bought a new one gathering cobwebs in the shed) as he didn't like the pedalling/corordination etc ,...

Sounds v interesting. I do all but the zinc & magnesium and exercises with my DS. I don't know about the programme. Could you fill me in? Would they suit a child who finds it difficult to follow directions (possible asperges / autism) who likes to do what he wants to do?

The programme takes between 18 months and 2 years to complete on a average. We started in June 2012 and expect to finish around Easter time next year. You begin with an assessment visit to Robin and can then do Skype appointments ( although we chose to visit 3 times before moving to Skype). There are exercises to do daily that can take up to 20 minutes. You have to follow the diet and supplements throughout, although some of us follow it more strictly than others. Some of us have found a gluten free diet has helped too.
My advice is always to get the book first, try the exercises and diet in the book and if you see an improvement from these to make an appointment with Robin. That's what we did and could see an improvement in ds' concentration, coordination and willingness to do as he was he told within 6 weeks. Obviously since then we have seen lots more improvements.