William by his Mum.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy and pre-maturity
William was born very prematurely at just 25 weeks by emergency caesarean. He was in hospital for four months, and made it home just in time for Christmas. We were told to expect delays in his development, as he had been so premature. He sat up at one, then soon started to crawl, but when he was not walking or talking by the time he was two we were a little concerned. Were referred for physiotherapy and speech therapy and that was that. When he was just over three we were told that he had ataxic cerebral palsy, resulting in poor coordination. I can vividly remember the day we were told. We were gathering reports to apply for a statement for school and a medical report dropped on the mat with the diagnosis. The consultant said that we should not expect William to progress at the same rate the other children at school, as even though he was obviously clever, his physical disability would hold him back. We were absolutely devastated, but then started to feel angry and refused to believe that nothing could be done. We were doing regular physiotherapy, but I really wanted to find a way of getting to the source of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms.
TST at last
I went online and did some research and that’s when I found Advance. I have to be honest, it did seem too good to be true when I first read about it – a therapy that involves no drugs that works on every child! I had to look into it, so I took William down to meet Linda. I also spoke to some other parents who were already doing the therapy. I felt a real sense of relief that I was finally doing something positive to help William.
A very positive journey
When we started the therapy, William was nearly four and just starting to walk, but was very unsteady. He could manage no more than a few rushed steps between furniture. His speech was totally unintelligible to anyone but me. He was always terribly constipated and he was in nappies. His hand movements were clumsy and he would struggle to use both hands at the same time. After starting the therapy he quickly came out of nappies and the constipation improved. He started to get steadier on his feet and his speech became clearer. The last three years have been a very positive journey with steady improvements all the way. William is now in Year one at a mainstream school and it doing extremely well. He is more than keeping up with his classmates in all areas of the curriculum, especially his reading which is outstanding. To everyone’s amazement he is now writing quite neatly too – something he was not expected to achieve. He does everything the other kids do – including PE which he loves. He is even playing football some lunchtimes and is getting really good at tackling for the ball!
Happy and achieving amazing things
I come across a lot of cynics about the therapy, and there is no way of knowing how William would have progressed without it. He is a very determined little boy and some of his progress is indeed down to his perseverance. However, when I look at how he has physically changed over the last three years that could not have happened without the Scotson Technique. Advance has also been a huge support to me as Linda not only understands the condition far better than any doctor I have come across, but also knows what it’s like to be a Mum of a disabled child. When I look at my happy little boy who is now achieving amazing things and really enjoying life I really do thank God that we found Advance. I really do not believe we would be where we are now, without it.