Hi Julia,
As I mentioned over the phone, my name is Andy and I was given your name
as a reference for The HANDLE Institute. We are scheduled to go out to
Seattle for an evaluation for our son in August and I was interested in
getting feedback from parents who have had personal experience with
HANDLE. I hope you don't mind if I list some questions but please feel free to
comment on areas that may not be covered by my questions.
1) When was your child evaluated by HANDLE? How old was your child at
that time?
OUR SON WAS EVALUATED IN JANUARY 2001. HE WAS 5 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS OLD
AT THE TIME.
2) How long did you continue with the exercises?
WE DID THE EXERCISES FOR ABOUT 3-4 MONTHS
3) How long did it take for you to see changes/improvements in your
child?
TWO WEEKS, THEN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THEREAFTER.
4) Did your child have any problems in following the exercises or exhibit
any reluctance?
MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES WERE NO PROBLEM. WE HAD 2-3 WHICH HE EITHER FOUND
EASY AFTER A FEW WEEKS, OR FOUND IRRITATING. HANDLE RECOMMENDED A FEW NEW
EXERCISES AS REPLACEMENTS. WE RECEIVED MODIFICATIONS ON THE IRRITATING
ONES.
5) How often did your child perform the exercises and for how long each
session?
WE TARGETED EVERY NIGHT, REALISTICALLY IT BECAME ABOUT FIVE TIMES PER
WEEK. EACH SESSION WAS ABOUT 10 MINUTES BEFORE BED, PLUS SPORADIC 'GAMES' DURING
THE DAY AT HOME OR AT THE PARK.
6) What symptoms (or group of symptoms) prompted you to contact HANDLE to
arrange for an evaluation? We have a preliminary diagnosis of ADHD for
our 6 yr. old son.
OUR SON WOULD HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED AS ADD, ADHD, ODD AND MAYBE SOME OTHERS.
GENERALLY, OUR LIFE HAD BEEN DIFFICULT FOR 5 YEARS. IT WASN'T UNTIL WE
HAD A SECOND CHILD (WITHOUT THE SYMPTOMS) THAT WE REALIZED WE NEEDED HELP.
PLAY-DATES AND OTHER SOCIAL SITUATIONS WERE EXTREMELY STRESSFUL.
HE WAS
VERY CONTROLLING WITH THE OTHER CHILDREN. KIDS DIDN'T WANT TO COME OVER TO
PLAY. HE HAD ISSUES WITH HIS BODY WITHIN THE SPACE AROUND HIM. HE DIDN'T LIKE
BEING CROWDED OR WATCHED.
HE WAS SENSITIVE IN ALL WAYS:
DIFFICULTY WITH
TRANSITIONS, GETTING READY TO GO SOMEWHERE, COMING HOME, ANY SITUATION
WHICH REQUIRED HIM TO DO SOMETHING HE WAS ASKED TO DO WAS EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT... UNLESS HE GOT HIS OWN WAY. HE WAS ALSO QUITE SOCIALLY
IMMATURE (APPROXIMATELY 1.5 YEARS BEHIND).
7) How did you find out about HANDLE?
VIA HIS SCHOOL. HANDLE WAS DOING A SEMINAR NAMED 'BEYOND LABELS'.
IT HIT
HOME. WE WERE LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION WHICH FOCUSES ON THE CAUSES OF THE
BEHAVIOR, AS OPPOSED TO TREATING (OR DEALING WITH) THE SYMPTOMS. WE WERE
NOT INTERESTED IN DRUGS.
8) In retrospect, do you feel that your HANDLE experience was positive
and valuable?
YES, YES YES!!
9) Were your follow-up visits done in person or by video?
IN PERSON
10) Which HANDLE therapist did you see?
JUDITH BLUESTONE... A WONDERFUL PERSON.
11) Did you see improvements at school as the result of the HANDLE
exercises? What types of improvements?
RESULTS AT SCHOOL LAGGED BEHIND THE RESULTS WE SAW AT HOME. OUR SON
SEEMED TO IMPROVE FIRST WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH HE WAS COMFORTABLE.
THINGS AT SCHOOL BEGAN TO IMPROVE DURING THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
HE
IS STILL IMPROVING.
JUDITH EXPLAINED IT MORE OR LESS THIS WAY:
NOW THAT WE HAVE BEGUN TO
ADDRESS THE CORE OF HIS ISSUES FROM THE INSIDE, HE IS NOW FREE TO LEARN TO
SOCIALIZE AND INTERACT WITH THE WORLD. SOMETHING HE WAS NOT ABLE TO DO
BEFORE. HIS PEERS HAVE HAD ABOUT THREE YEARS TO DO THIS. NOW HE NEEDS TO
CATCH UP.... AND HE IS CATCHING UP!
WE ARE PURSUING SOME FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS FROM JUDITH.
WE HAVE BEGUN
A TOMATIS LISTENING PROGRAM TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF HIS AUDITORY
PROCESSING DISORDER (HE HATES TO HEAR SINGING). JUDITH FEELS THIS WILL
FURTHER ENHANCE HIS ABILITY TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS WHEN THEY ARE PRESENTED
IN SONG OR CADENCE, FOR EXAMPLE. WE ARE SEEING SOME PROGRESS HERE AS WELL.
FURTHERMORE, ON HANDLE'S RECOMMENDATION, WE SAW AN ALLERGIST AND
DISCOVERED FOOD ALLERGIES AND AIR-BORN ALLERGIES WHICH LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO HIS
OVERALL CRANKINESS.
LET ME CONCLUDE WITH THIS...
OUR LIVES HAVE BECOME IMMEASURABLY LESS STRESSFUL. OUR SON IS NOW
MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WITH HIMSELF, AND IS MORE AFFECTIONATE. WE ARE ENJOYING OUR SON
EVEN MORE THAN EVER. WE STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO, BUT SEE A REALLY
HEALTHY FUTURE FOR US ALL... AND YES, I HAVE TEARS IN MY EYES.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my questions. I look forward
to your reply at your earliest convenience.
Andy
