Tillie’s story

When I first met Tillie it was early autumn. The children were all back at school, the summer now a hazy memory of beach-filled holidays and ice creams. Settling into school would be more difficult on those warm Indian summer days, after such a long break.  Having read about me in the local press and seen my website, Tillie’s mother wanted to see whether I could help. Her mother was concerned about her daughters general inability to seemingly apply herself or concentrate on even simple things such as drawing. Her overall concern was that as the demands on her grew at school she would simply not be able to comply. She was concerned enough to postpone returning to her career to dedicate more time to assist Tillie with her problems.

Tillie, a pretty fair-haired 5 year old, had a very short attention span, and seemingly used distraction to avoid tasks she found difficult. Attempts to get her to learn how to write had proved difficult as sitting still was an issue. She had problems with her gross and fine motor skills, she was clumsy and frequently hurt herself by falling over or just falling off chairs, especially when tired. Although Tillie was very sociable and had a wide circle of friends, they were all rather wary of playing with her quite simply because she was so clumsy and often hurt them. Emotionally she was highly strung and seemed unable to grade her response – it was either all or nothing. In school she was a chatterbox and ran the risk of being labelled “disruptive”.

During the Initial Consultation I learned that during the first 15 – 20 weeks of the pregnancy Tillie’s mother had undergone a series of tests and scans because Down’s Syndrome had been suspected.  Although the birth was not induced she had received an epidural and in the early months of life Tillie had been a very demanding child needing little sleep and requiring a lot of stimulation – in the first 3 months she had experienced screaming sessions. Tillie had also walked very early, at 12 months (14 months is the norm). Other things which seemed to be unassociated were that she couldn’t read while travelling in the car, found bright light disturbing and and got regular headaches. Although Tillie was clumsy she was actually very good at catching. Every one of these things and the subsequent physical tests I then ran indicated that Tillie was a candidate for the MIP.

During the Diagnostic Assessment I established that Tillie had strongly retained Assymetric Tonic Neck Reflex which explained her general clumsiness and poor horizontal tracking. A retained Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex also added to the mix affecting her forward-backwards balance, vertical tracking and also helped explain why Tillie regularly complained of pains in the legs (these are often called “growing pains”) Her inability to settle and her tendency to high mobility was explained by a strongly retained Moro or baby startle reflex.

Here are my notes from follow-up visits and reports from her mother, taken over the course of a year’s treatment.

4 Nov 04  - more accidents at school. Tillie has stopped complaining of leg pains, previously a very regular problem.

2 Dec 04  - “We have noticed a big improvement in her handwriting. Whereas last year specific remarks had been made about her lack of concentration, and attention in class was a particular concern, this was not even raised at this year’s parents meeting.”

6 Jan 05 – Tillie seems to be talking incessantly, her skin very dry (because of glandular imbalances many of the children I treat frequently suffer from dry skin or eczema  - as we remediate these issues are resolved). She only complained twice about stomach pains (which I had explained could be present that month while we worked directly on points relating to digestive/metabolic reflexes)

14 Feb 05 – handwriting has improved again. Of her own volition, wrote a card with cursive script.

18 Apr  05 - Skin still very dry in patches, especially top of neck

24 Mar  05 – At home Tillie can now sit and colour and write notes to her friends – at school she still has some problems concentrating.  She is much more adventurous and curious.  She actually said today she wanted to try something new (a new smoothie rather than her usual at our local restaurant).  Tillie feels her writing and maths have become much easier.

25 May  05 – Her teacher has said that Tillie is doing brilliantly. Looking back on a year ago what a transformation! She is much more tired than normal, sleeping very much more deeply and she now needs to be woken. She is so much more tactile, wanting cuddles, something she never ever wanted even as a baby.

22 Jun  05 – Her reading, writing and games are all improving.  Even her father has noticed these improvements!

5 Sep  05 - Tillie’s school report was very good but her teachers are still sightly concerned with Tillie’s concentration and attention span

25 Oct  05 - Chatty but not abnormally so. Her form teacher thinks she is fantastic, sought out her mother to tell her that “Tillie is concentrating and applying herself really well”.  Her concentration is now no longer a problem.  “We are all absolutely delighted.”

23 Nov  05 – Tillie is really doing extremely well, her attention span is now up there with that of her peers. Teacher says she is really excelling in maths and science.

When I had my final meeting with Tillie’s mother, prior to signing Tillie off, this is what she said:

“I had a recent meeting with Tillie’s teachers and they all said that she has shown an amazing change since last autumn and is now providing spectacular results at school. One of her teachers actually said, “Tillie’s like a sponge – she has such brilliant concentration and focus … she is an absolute joy to teach.”

Tillie’s mother concluded, “This is a transformation beyond our wildest dreams.  We are delighted with the effects of the treatment.”