Andrew - ADD & Dyspraxia

Andrew was formally diagnosed as having developmental dyspraxia in December 1995. He was nine years six months old and we had known for years that there was something wrong. He had been seen by the occupational therapist from the age of five. We had read about dyspraxia so were not surprised by the diagnosis but did wonder if there was more than that wrong with Andrew.

Friends of ours had taken their daughter to Dr Kaur and had seen a vast improvement. There was discussion between the occupational therapist, the paediatrician at the local hospital and us. It was felt that Andrew may benefit from having Neurofeedback treatment. Everyone moved quickly and with funding from our GP we embarked on the first twenty sessions in August 1998.

At the assessment Dr Kaur informed us that Andrew's brain was also showing signs of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). No real surprise there. We discussed criteria to help Andrew live a more ‘normal' life. The areas we concentrated on are: self - esteem, organisation, handwriting, concentration, concepts, co-operation and social skills. All these were to help Andrew cope with school as he had been known to play truant.

Andrew has so far received twenty sessions and life has certainly improved. He is chatty, he no longer fights, he packs his own school bag, he writes short stories, he can make his own way home on the bus. All these are things that we never expected from him a year ago. His writing is showing improvement even though he has changed his writing hand, or because he changed hands.

We are hoping to continue treatment for a while yet as he is re-learning his first twelve and a half years. The twice a week trip from Sussex is certainly worth it.

Mrs F (Andrews mother who is a teacher)

ADD & Dyspraxia - Update

I am Andrews grandmother. Andrew has spent a great deal of time with me, especially after school where I have supervised his home work. This has always been a problem as Andrew could not always remember what was required of him. If he did write the homework in his planner I could not read it. I had to remind him to organise whatever books he needed. These were often lost, left at school or at his own home. Maths were very difficult. We often had to repeat the last lesson before we could move on.

Now, as we do writing exercises Andrew not only writes clearly, he has ideas and is quite enthusiastic about the story content. When he makes mistakes, or writes a word badly, he crosses it out and does it again although his writing is still fairly slow, he does try to improve this. There is now a desire to improve rather than avoid the work. Maths have greatly improved. He now has a good grasp of the basic concepts and the tables. Whilst he is still behind others of his age group, I can now see that he is actually moving forward.

I have less knowledge of his social skills, as he has always been very happy with adults, however, when he talks about school he does not seem to be unhappy and often mentions "my friend, whoever." This is fairly new. I have noticed a great improvement in his motor skills. I was very pleased to see him playing football with a young man and actually kicking the ball very well. Times past his foot and the ball rarely connected. Other small details, he can play with a yo-yo, which was hard for him at first. I feel Andrew has made great progress and in time will catch up with the wasted years.

The other bonus as a result of the EEG Neurofeedback treatment is the fact that Andrew has not had an asthma attack since the beginning of treatment. I no longer feel the need to carry a Ventolin pack, nor does he need Becotide.

Andrew's Grandmother