“Marie-France in Sydney shares their experience with home neurotherapy in Sydney, as provided by Jonathan Banks (Neurotech Coaching)”
Our twins were born premature and our son was early diagnosed with language delay, then oppositional defiant disorder, and was finally considered ‘borderline’ on the autistic spectrum with Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
These conditions created a high level of irritability, impulsive behaviour, lack of focus, memory issues, sudden onset of tics, extremely low self esteem, etc.
The consequences have been very difficult to manage on a family, social and school level: our son was expelled several times from school and was rarely invited to parties; when he was, they turned into dramas with early pickup requested.
I had to reduce my working hours to look after him and drive him to a series of therapists for weekly sessions.
At the same time, he is a bright child with an IQ of 128. His twin sister has suffered from anxiety which triggered difficulties in making friends, shyness, sleep issues and migraines. She is a high achiever with an IQ of 130, often worried about her performance.
With 2 kids displaying behaviour difficulties, the stress on the family was enormous, and every day brought new dramas, frustrations and total exasperation and exhaustion.
Life was a struggle for all 4 of us, with negative consequences on our professional and emotional lives, my husband being treated for depression. I was struggling to keep the family going.
A thorough review of the potential benefits of using neurotherapy convinced us that it was worth a try. Moreover a QEEG test performed at a ‘Brainwave Center’ confirmed that our son had actually a neurological development delay, his prefrontal lobes not functioning as expected.
However the constraints of multiple weekly trips to the center where our son would be rushed in a room for a 30 min session, as well as the associated exorbitant price, soon discouraged us to pursue the experience.
When we heard about Jonathan Banks / Neurotech Coaching and the possibility to setup the software for use on our home computer, we decided we would give it a go. We thought this could be a solution to the logistics of the Neurofeedback therapy.
It was actually much more than that… from the minute Jonathan assessed our son, testing his brainwaves from different spots on his scalp, we knew we were in good hands.
His assessment was very thorough and precise and he provided us with much more information and interpretation than the ‘Brainwave Center’.
Quickly Jonathan was able to draw a clear view of the situation and propose a plan of action taking into account the ‘cascade’ of interrelated issues / symptoms. We completely understood what was going on and what was going to happen.
Jonathan educated us of the signification and impact of each type of brainwave in each section of the brain. We left his office a few hours later with the software and hardware, and our son did his first neurofeedback home training session that same evening, in the comfort of his bedroom, happy to be ‘requested’ to watch his favourite movie for 45 min.
Quite phenomenal results were quickly obtained. We therefore decided after a few months that our daughter would benefit from neurotherapy sessions too. Then my husband joined in, the results of his two kids erasing all the doubts you would expect from a Cartesian technology manager not inclined towards alternative therapies.
After few more months, I felt ‘left out’ of the surrounding ‘enlightenment’ and sense of progress and achievement in my family, and thought it was about time for me to look after myself after spending some much time and energy ‘fixing my family’.
So I also started doing sessions, delighted by the prospect of having ‘me’ time in the evening and looking eagerly forward to watching from the start the ‘Desperate Housewives’ series.
Neurotherapy have become part of our family routine, kids doing their sessions at home after school or as a quiet time activity on weekends, and reporting themselves their results on a graph.
They are at a stage when they know when a session will help them, for example when the stress level increases before a school test or when my son has a new onset of tics or gets agitated by a big change.
My husband enjoys his 30 min session before going to bed as it makes him feel very relaxed and serene. I have enjoyed the ‘super mummy’ program as Jonathan refers to it, allowing me to calm my never ending thoughts, be able to slow down and get things organised and done without any panic or negative feelings caused by ‘never ending issues’.
Once a week, I send the results to Jonathan, who discusses with me over the phone the issues and progress of the week and fine tunes everybody’s program. With a lot of clairvoyance and experience, Jonathan listens and takes into account not only individual results but also the synergy and interrelations between the different family members.
An absent daddy means a stressed mummy which might impact the behaviour of a very sensitive son who in turn might translate his negativity into aggressiveness against his sister, etc…
Two years later, we are a completely different family… Our son is now able to focus at home and school whatever the nature of the task (even boring homework), he remembers what he is supposed to do (and to bring back from school), talks calmly and respectfully to us parents (and to his sister) and is trusted and liked by the school kids and staff (and regularly gets academic, behaviour, sport and music achievement awards).
He needs no special supervision in the playground, is invited to parties and sleepovers and has, basically, a ‘good reputation’ amongst the community. He is very self-confident and enjoys to be referred to as ‘solid and straight as a rock’.
Our daughter has made a few friends, has successfully joined a drama company, sleeps like a baby, and simply smiles at life! My husband has stopped his anti-depressant medication, found the courage and energy to change company to start a higher level role; lately decided he would not only feel good but would also look the part and got the motivation to lose weight, 18 kg so far.
I personally feel relieved, and I am extremely impressed and proud of their achievements and my contribution. I can enjoy a ‘normal’ life, without stressing when my mobile phone rings during school hours.
The situation is under control, the family is happy to do simple activities together and with others. No more embarrassment, only enjoyment. Hiccups are treated for what they are, little incidents and Jonathan quickly adjusts the programs to progress even further.
I think that thanks to Jonathan’s way to manage the neurotherapy sessions, we have become a very strong and mature family. We are a winning team.”
Marie-France Sydney, 23 May 2010
Contact us now and discuss how you can begin with this powerful home based training for yourself and/or your children or to book an initial assessment.
Phone 02-42836344