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Enrique's Story
My son Enrique was 4.2 years old when I first found out that something was wrong. His preschool teacher asked me to come to school one day to discuss some problems he was having in class. Her initial concerns were that he could not sit down and pay attention to an activity for the required time. He was often fidgety and would stand and walk around, inadvertently disrupting the class. He also had delayed writing abilities.
I had him assessed by an occupational therapist, who in turn confirmed the teacher’s concerns with the following diagnosis: Enrique had poor work behavior and self-coping skills, had a short concentration span and was easily distracted. “Frustration tolerance” was also so low he could only handle 1 minute of structured activity during tabletop activity time. When it would become too difficult for him, he would escape from the task by lying down on the floor or hiding under the table. Because of weak hand and finger muscles, he exhibited delayed pre-writing and pre-scissors skills and was still using the palmar grasp in writing or coloring. He knew majority of the alphabet, but his ability to identify them was inconsistent.
In addition, he appeared to have “sensory processing” difficulties. This meant that he was not processing properly the stimuli that he received from his environment. For example, little things that are minor irritants to most of us were practically intolerable to him. He disliked shirt tags because they chafed on his neck. He refused to participate in “messy” art activities, which required him to touch things such as sand, glue, finger paints, or anything with different textures. Everyday sounds, like a dog barking or the sound of his baby brother crying, would upset him. Extremely loud sounds like fireworks would unnerve him completely. I was told that these were all signs of poor frustration tolerance, a manifestation of an under-active vestibular system.
Lastly, he had a tendency to be hyperactive and, as such, was always moving around. Although he wasn’t clumsy, he would sometimes come home with bruises from falling or bumping into things due to hyperactivity during play.
Once Enrique’s diagnosis was confirmed, I sought alternatives to help my son curb the symptoms he was exhibiting. Fortunately, my mother-in-law who lives in Barcelona, Spain told me about the Tomatis Method. I researched on it on the internet and found that it was a highly-effective and well-known therapy that could produce results in a relatively shorter period of time as compared to traditional occupational therapy alone. It seemed like the perfect answer for Enrique, so you could imagine my dismay when I found out the nearest facility that offered this type of therapy was in Australia.
All things considered, it made more sense for me to bring Enrique to Spain to try Tomatis, since my mother-in-law offered us to stay with her while he did the therapy. He was 4.5 years old, only 3 months after his diagnosis with the occupational therapist.
At the Tomatis center in Barcelona, my son did an intensive listening program of 60 sessions, which lasted for one month. Everyday, Enrique would go to the Tomatis Center, put on his earphones and listen to a mix of Mozart music, Gregorian chants, and church bells ringing for 1 ½ hours. I would sit with him to make sure that he did not remove his earphones and we would draw and complete puzzles, sometimes he would even take a nap. Enrique tolerated the entire therapy process quite well.
We were seen three times by his assigned Tomatis Consultant, Dr. Cory Lopez, a neurologist, who assessed Enrique at the beginning, middle and end of our therapy sessions. We returned to the Philippines the day after my son’s final therapy session, not knowing what to expect or even if the therapy had made any impact on him. When we left Cory’s office, all we brought with us was her advice to be patient with him and to observe positive changes with our son in the next 3 to 6 months following our last therapy session.
Today my son is 4.8 years. It’s been 2.5 months since our last Tomatis session and already the results are very tangible. Last week, I received a note from his teacher commending Enrique for having a longer attention span. She specifically said that his focus has been improving compared to the beginning of the school year, in June. Enrique can now complete his writing tasks at school like the other students in his class. He no longer holds any writing instrument with the palmar grip.
He has also learned to channel his hyperactivity properly. He has become more active in sports activities, especially in his Soccer Camp. His soccer trainers also wrote me a note, expressing how happy they are with Enrique’s change in behavior. He has become more attentive, more focused and more participative in the drills and in the soccer games that they play. Enrique even scored a few goals for his team!
At home, Enrique no longer displays outbursts of frustration with his baby brother and with activities he cannot handle. If ever he needs help with anything, he asks us properly instead of crying or shouting, which he used to do. He eats on his own, brushes his teeth, and dresses himself with minimal help…his self-help skills have greatly improved, mostly because he has a renewed desire to do things on his own!
Lastly, when we talk to him, he answers our questions and responds appropriately and quickly. His responses no longer stray from the topic the way they used to.
I am very grateful to the Tomatis Method as I have seen such positive changes in such a short period of time. Although it has only been 2.5 months since the last completed therapy session, we are told that full effect of the therapy actually kicks in around 3 to 6 months after…and we can expect more positive changes to take place. I can’t wait to see what other surprises Enrique has in store for us!
I would like to add that it has not been an easy journey as there are days when we experience some regression with his behavior. But always, whenever these setbacks would occur, my son would bounce back into place and we would notice again days of progression afterwards.
I highly recommend the Tomatis Method for children with behavioral or learning difficulties. Seeing your child flourish and bloom in a most positive way is an irreplaceable and gratifying gift that will benefit not only your child and yourself but everyone in the family as well.
Margarita
Mother of Enrique
August 23, 2006
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