Enhancing Brain Organisation

When we first met Viv things were very difficult for our then 15 year old lad. We didn’t really know where to turn or what to do. We were clearly seeing symptoms of ADHD behaviour but nothing that was stand out obvious. We just knew he was struggling. 

Detentions and exclusions were becoming regular occurrences for this young person.

He was constantly getting into trouble at school. He is a smart lad, and yet it was clear he was finding it hard to concentrate, to stay focused. He was always fiddling, tapping, twitching. He seemed to have this energy inside him that he was unable to get rid of, and in a school environment you are constantly being told to sit still, listen, focus. He would come home and would almost be shaking. He just seemed on the edge of exploding all the time. His mind seemed constantly busy, he was unable to settle when it was bed time, he was grumpy, unhappy always cross. I guess it would have been easy for us to put it down to normal teenage behaviour but it just felt like more than that.

The teachers were not seeing it all, all they saw was a disobedient, defiant lad. All they did was shout at him and punish him for poor behaviour. This just made things worse and affected his mental health quite severely. The result was he took drastic measures in a misguided attempt to drown out the noise. The school still refused to see anything was wrong despite the clear cry for help. We felt lost, but then came a recommendation for Viv at Brainchild.

We were told to keep open minds and to give Viv’s techniques a go. So, we organised an initial zoom call to discuss what was going on. I am not going to lie, it is not what I was expecting, some of the stuff Viv talked about seemed really alternative, and beyond our comprehension and yet she connected with us on so many levels. Our values aligned and she was so passionate about helping children and getting them to be their best selves. She knew we were not keen on medicating, we didn’t even need a diagnosis, we just wanted to help make everyday life easier.

So, we began our journey with Brainchild. We talked to our son, advised him some of the techniques may seem unusual, but that we had to go all in or not at all. He signed up without hesitation which just reinforced to us that he wanted this as much as we did.

And so, our sessions with Viv began. From day one she was able to recognise where our sons’ issues lay. By just doing a couple of very simple exercises it was clear to her that of course he was going to be struggling at school with his ATNR and STNR reflexes causing such problems. As we sat and watched, Viv would draw our eye to certain involuntary twitches that would happen as particular exercises were completed, it was fascinating.

We would always leave the sessions with an armful of different exercise’s to be repeated every day. Nothing strenuous or particularly timely, all we had to do was be consistent and we would see progress.

It has been just under 6 months since we started our journey with Viv and what a difference it has made. We now have a much more relaxed and happy young man in our house. School is also a different story. He is now able to concentrate in class. His work has improved and he is able to focus a lot easier. He isn’t tapping or fidgeting anymore and the extreme energy seems to have evaporated. We are receiving positive feedback from the school at last, instead of all the negativity. Thank goodness we did this when we did as he now is on the final run to his GCSEs in May/June. I actually do not know how he would have managed these without Viv’s intervention.

In addition, his mental health seems so much better, it is like his mind has calmed, which is such a relief.

To someone looking from the outside in, they may not see what we see, but to us the changes are amazing. I still sometimes struggle to get my head around it all, but I am not going to argue, I have a happier, calmer son thanks to Viv and would highly recommend.

A follow-up email

I just wanted to update you. I am pleased to say he finished his GCSEs last week, and WOW he worked so hard. He was really focused, managed his own study time and really put the effort in. The results do not matter to us, what matters is he was able to sit down and study for them and find the focus that had eluded him before.

There were a few moments we thought he was going to derail, as the school applied their heavy - handed pressure tactics. It was at this point we revisited some of the exercises and the massage, but we really didn't have to do it many times. In the end the school let him go on study leave at the beginning of his exams instead of half way through like the rest of his class mates, which made a big difference to him.

Overall the change in him has been phenomenal.  We are constantly singing your praises to our family and friends,  and anyone else who will listen. We cannot thank you enough.

A long wait for GCSE RESULTS

An email……

He did amazing,  we are so pleased, proud and excited for him.

He got mainly 6s and 5s so Bs and Cs and we have been told we should get his maths re-marked as he was one off from a 7, which is an A.

The best result was actually his 4 that he got for history,  he was certain he was going to fail,  but continued to try and study for it and he pulled it out the bag.  He was so chuffed with that one.

He really put the effort in.

Next up, A-Levels,  I’m told these are a big step up,  but I am sure he will be awesome.