Rosemary Murphy Developmental Learning developlearning.co.nz

In a recent workshop for RTLBs I discussed all of the different diagnoses which are given to children today with learning or behaviours difficulties.

We now have ADHD, ADD, GDD, PDD, ODD and PDAD together with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Aspergers. The list seems to be endless and no doubt there will be more added as time goes by. However it has been my experience that these are just descriptions of symptoms. it is only in recent years that any real understanding of underlying causes has emerged. 

Development disruption

These ‘alphabet kids’ are all struggling with a neuro developmental delay which began in the first four months of life. Dr Robin Puac, a functional neurologist, has found that at four months of age there is a sudden change in brain development, with the sudden growth of spindle cells, heralding the unfolding of the frontal cortex. The alphabet kids almost all show a disruption at this crucial stage of development.

Audrey McAllen, who developed “The Extra Lesson” intervention programme for these children, also noted that the underlying faculties required for learning (spatial orientation and body geography) also begin to develop in this crucial period of life.

Sally Goddard, in “Reflexes Learning and Behaviour” found that the primitive reflexes babies are born with (to ensure survival after birth) should all be suppressed by the baby’s own movement on the floor in these crucial first four months. When these remain they interfere with the processes of thought and memory. A direct cause and effect relationship can be seen between specific symptoms and specific retained reflexes.

Learning struggles

So what has happened to our beautiful children? they are all struggling with their learning equipment. they are asking the question “how do I get into my body and make it work well for me?”

The Extra Lesson intervention, which I have used now for 11 years, effectively, gently and holistically removes the neuro developmental delay and restores to these children their true learning potential. how? by revisiting the entire sequence of early childhood movement patterns for the moment of birth.

For more information on Extra Lesson email or visit developlearning.co.nz

if so, what do i look out for?
and if no symptoms show up is there ways of finding out?

IT CAN TAKE UP TO FOUR MONTHS SWEATY FOR IT EVEN TO SHOW UP ON A TEST

hmmm…..youtube.com/watch?v=OOxgtjQqo…
i think you should still go to the doctor though

four months ago i took my cat to the vet because he had lost a lot of weight and wouldn't eat , he had blood tests and urine tests.I was told he might have lung cancer. his appetite increased due to steroids and vitamin injections on a monthly basis.but no other signs are showing of any problems due to lung cancer he is eating well and functioning as a normal cat, other than he shakes his head a lot.any Ideas?

if you find a box of marlboro hidden under his bed, this is a bad sign

Gwyneth Paltrow has never tried to hide her experience with postpartum depression, but she recently opened up to Good Housekeeping with a brave honesty to bring more awareness to the disease. while her first pregnancy with daughter Apple was fine, it was after her son Moses was born in 2006 that she was hit hard by it. she said it was difficult to come to terms with just how different the two experiences were.

She credits her husband, Chris Martin, with spotting the signs and eventually convincing her to get help. she describes how about four months into her ordeal he kept telling her something was wrong, but she kept trying to convince him and herself that she was fine. she wasn’t.

“I felt like a zombie,” she said. “I couldn’t access my heart. I couldn’t access my emotions. I couldn’t connect.”

She said she didn’t know enough about the disease beforehand to know that she had symptoms of it.

“I thought postpartum depression meant you were sobbing every single day and incapable of looking after a child,” she explains. “But there are different shades of it and depths of it, which is why I think it’s so important for women to talk about it. it was a trying time. I felt like a failure.” ?

She echoes the feelings of so many women who have experienced the disease, and it’s great to see her talking about it so openly. All too often women feel shame over the disease and don’t want anyone to think they’re a horrible mother or that they can’t handle their children. seeing strong celebrities like Paltrow speaking out about her personal experiences is good for all women and part of one of the most important steps to identifying and treating postpartum depression — awareness.

Have you experienced postpartum depression? Did you experience feelings similar to those Paltrow describes?