Lloyd Cowley2016 August 04TESTIMONIAL: LLOYD COWLEY(Completed aged 9) Lloyd started showing signs of having a learning barrier in Grade R, although it was not until Grade One that I was informed that there was a problem, and that it was likely to be dyslexia. His writing has never been problematic – he has never really swopped his letters around, etc. His numeracy is also fine. The main problem was that he could not read even the most basic words, and if he got them right, he would have no retention, so by the next day he would happily tell me he had never seen that word before! His spelling was also very weak. Needless to say his progress was pitifully slow and at times it felt as though we were not progressing at all. It was about this time that I was told of a drug-free programme for dyslexia and other learning barriers. My husband and I were not prepared to medicate, especially with Ritalin – I had seen too many Ritalin zombies in my years as a teacher. We went to Dione (she is the bomb!) in PE for an assessment, and when we were told he had a very high risk ratio, we started the programme immediately. Lloyd was seven years old. The first few weeks were easy, but then he started feeling very emotional and insecure (we were warned that this would happen) and he suffered from separation anxiety. This lasted for several months, but gradually he started getting his confidence back. He was very mature about doing his exercises, and he really enjoyed some of them, especially balancing on the ball. Towards the end of his course, as he was nearing completion, he suffered a terrible trauma to his left eye, which set him back by about three or four months, but he persevered and finally reached completion after 20 months. Dione was amazing – she never allowed him to feel down, but always boosted him and encouraged him to carry on. At first, the improvements were hardly noticeable, but gradually he began to cope better with reading tasks (we read at home every day) and his teachers started noticing a substantial difference in his confidence and classroom tasks. I had to force myself to back off and allow him to do what he was capable of, without interfering and trying to do things for him. This is very hard for a Virgo mother who happens to be a teacher!!! His achievements at school are strictly his own. The fact that he is coping so well in mainstream education is an enormous relief to us. He now reads a few pages of Roald Dahl to me after homework every day, which, three years, ago, would have seemed impossible. Homework time is also a much happier (and shorter!) time, without tears and feelings of inadequacy.
Kyle de Lange2016 August 04KYLE DE LANGE(completed age 11) Mommy: Kyle, look at this yellow car. Tell me, what colour is this car? Kyle: Uhmmmmmm, uhmmmmm….. Blue! Mommy: No Kyle, look at the car again, it is yellow. Now tell me, what colour is this car? Kyle: Uhmmmmm, Uhmmm, is… it… green?! Mommy: No Kyle, look again at the car, it is yellow. Now look at the car and tell me what colour it is? Kyle: I know, I know… it’s RED!! ? Mommy: No Kyle it is Yellow! Can you see? Kyle: Yes yellow! No, I am not joking, and we went through more colours but I didn’t want to fill the page. This is just one of the many frustrating situations I’ve had to endure. Now imagine, this is a 9 year old already in on his way to entering Gr 4 where he had to study for tests and answer much more complex sentences. He just, in this instance, had no clue how to match the question that was asked to the topic it was related to no matter how clear it was made. Would he have grown out of it? I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to send him to a special school or let him fail test after simple test for much longer. After therapist’s recommendations to send him to a Specialist Remedial school from Gr 4, and to go for very regular OT and speech therapy, not to mention eye exercises, I decided there had to be another way. I had heard about an intervention from a colleague whom absolutely swore that the programme is the reason her two boys do not need Ritalin any longer. But I was sceptical, it sounded like a quick-fix and I naturally lean to a long-term solution. At this stage, my 15 year old son had to go through a period of back rehabilitation after enduring a spinal fracture. This affected his posture tremendously and his whole body had grown into an unnatural S-curve from the head down to the heels. The back rehab program consisted of 3 exercises in the morning, and 3 at night, of a few repetitions each. To my amazement my 15 year old changed his posture drastically in three months to the extent that he looked like a different boy, straight up and tall. That is when I saw what a difference a little bit of exercise can do if it is done religiously and regularly. I then explored the programme again, however, with a lot of scepticism. Today, I can truly say, from being on a waiting list to enter Cape Recife, to an 80%+ average student over the past year, I am very glad I made this leap of faith. We were very lucky in that improvement showed almost instantly, we did experience a dip here and there as we were told would happen, but in the end, Kyle is flourishing at school and at 11 is operating independently and studying by himself. I often get told “He would have grown out of it anyway as that is normal development”, well I’ve had first-hand experience with my 15-year old who never did, even after having gone the traditional route of OT and speech etc. The improvement was so significant with Kyle, that my 15 year old begged me to also start the same program, that after he called his brother stupid for not understanding that he was looking at a yellow car. Yolanda de Lange 084 622 4770
Nita Allsop2016 August 05I come from a family of bright, competent people-so I always felt like the Village idiot by comparison. While I was obviously articulate and intelligent, and could read well, my writing was indecipherable and my spelling inventive. I couldn't knit or sew, no matter how many times I was shown; I would also drift off whenever Mathematical concepts were being taught. I couldn't organise myself to play a team sport, too much seemed to be going on and I'd lose the plot. Consequently, I happily remained in the “C” class while my siblings were excelling in the “A” class. Never the less, I got through Matric and went to a college of Nursing and became a registered nurse easily enough. I stayed away from skills requiring fine motor control, such as putting up drips or suturing but with enough practise, I slowly learnt other physical skills which other people take for granted, such as making a hospital bed or doing wound dressings. I had learnt to “fake it till I make it” on a grand scale! In my personal space, I was always a disaster area however, my room was always a dreadful mess, my cupboards a horror. I took it for granted that some people just can't open milk cartons, wrap presents, hang a picture straight, iron a shirt or spell correctly. I also couldn't be distracted while doing a task, everything would come to a grinding halt. I couldn't put lids straight on jars and battled with keys and locks. Doing puzzles was way beyond me and putting together appliances and reading instructions on how to was not on the menu for me. In other words, my ability to walk and chew was severely off. Now, at 42yrs, I had the opportunity to do the Programme. Within 6 months, so much has changed! I have started painting. I have successfully rearranged my living space and for the most part of it, it stays pretty neat. I am much calmer, I complete tasks even if interrupted. I remember to do things I would simply forget. I also see details in my environment I'd never normally see. I'm much better with fiddly tasks such as locking doors, undoing knots, opening cartons and packaging, closing jars. I haven't tackled a puzzle yet, it holds some emotional baggage for me. Having Attention Defecit means you may be bright but you never seem to reach your full potential; it scars you emotionally and so while I probably can do a lot more it'll take me a little longer to attempt some of my previous weaknesses for fear of failure. But I'll get there and I have nothing but praise for this programme, it has changed my life! Nita Allsop (0726857312)
Gayle Hill2016 August 08Gayle Hill I am currently a self-employed learning support teacher. A couple of years ago I started doing quite a substantial amount of research on various options out there to help children with learning difficulties. Time and time again I find so many of the children that I work with struggle with their working and long term memory. It's heart breaking to have to watch their continual frustration and not feel like I can help them with this. I came across this programme as one of my students was on it and I was intrigued as to how much better he was getting at remembering things. After meeting Dione and getting some background on how and why the programme works I was even more intrigued. Long story short, Dione suggested that I actually try the program myself so that I could personally see the benefits. So I decided to give it a go. I have to be honest, not being a particularly sporty person I was not a big fan of doing exercise twice a day, much to the amusement of Dione! (She consistently listened to me moan:-) But I stuck with it as I truly believed in its benefits...and I wanted to be able to share with parents first hand about its affects. Since coming off the programme I have most definitely noticed significant changes within myself. For starters I can relate to the lifting of a kind of 'brain fog' that so many people have experienced. I am aware of how I am more able to see the bigger picture of things, to make connections and I am a lot more confident at utilising or trying different strategies.I have recently started my honours and I am amazed as to how well I am able to co-ordinate and plan my time compared to two years ago. (I am even more amazed that I have actually started to enjoy exercising, with it becoming more of a life priority than a life chore) For years I felt quite stuck in my head, unable to verbalise so much of what I was feeling. I find my interpersonal relationships particularly with my work colleagues and my pupils parents have improved tremendously as I am now more able to communicate my thoughts effectively. I have also found it is a lot easier for me to stay focused, calm and in control of my emotions when stressed. Ultimately I couldn't be happier with my results and I didn't even have any specific learning difficulties. I would not hesitate to recommend this programme for any child that is struggling at school. As a learning support teacher, I will be the first to admit that there is only so much any teacher can do. It doesn't matter how fantastic a teacher is, if your child is not able to retain what they are being taught they will find school a challenge. It breaks my heart that so many children struggle so much at school. I look forward to the day that programmes like these are implemented within all our schools so as to provide parents with a viable option that will actually help their children long term. If it does me out of a job....then so be it! :-)
Ross Miller2016 September 14
ROSS MILLER(26 years on completion) Our son Ross was born with neurological damage as a result of the placenta ceasing to function properly 5 weeks before he was born. It was some 6 to 12 months before the magnitude of the damage became apparent and we were informed by Cape Recife that it would not be possible to educate Ross in any meaningful way. We took this as a challenge and started with various interventions that facilitated his education. My wife read to him every night and at any given moment we emphasised the learning aspects of whatever he was exposed to or busy with. His formal schooling was at Theodore Herzl and they also facilitated with the tutor that we employed to help him out in some of the subjects. The results have been amazing : He passed grade 10 at Theodore. He went to Damelin and got his certificate in Game ranging. He spent some time as a plumbing assistant. He now runs his own indigenous nursery and helps in my wife’s nursery here in Port Elizabeth. Along his life path we realised that although our interventions had given him all the skills to cope socially and in the work place there were some behavioural aspects where he still needed some help. His awareness of the consequential aspects of behaviour did not operate at 100% , his lateral thinking ability and his understanding of living within budgeted cash constraints was limited. We had heard about an exercise based intervention and started a process to investigate whether it could help Ross in these areas. We met with Dione as a family and were immediately impressed with her commitment to the course. She did a full assessment of Ross and it was clear to all of us that Ross could benefit from the course. We called some referees and the feedback was unbelievably positive. Ross decided to do the course, paid for it himself, and started immediately. The results in Ross’s case were nothing short of miraculous. His consequential thinking ability increased to perfectly normal with a completely different attitude to task management both socially and in his business. Lateral thinking started coming to him quite easily and his problem solving ability improved greatly. His grasp of cash control budgeting and investment opportunities helped him run his private expenditure and business spending patterns in a highly competent way. To put it in perspective Ross has as a result of undergoing this course, moved his life to a completely new level which has resulted in him operating at a completely normal social level. I am more than happy for any prospective course participants to contact me as a reference for this course and its established value in solving behavioural and learning problems. Iain Miller:0832996278
ROSS MILLER(26 years on completion) Our son Ross was born with neurological damage as a result of the placenta ceasing to function properly 5 weeks before he was born. It was some 6 to 12 months before the magnitude of the damage became apparent and we were informed by Cape Recife that it would not be possible to educate Ross in any meaningful way. We took this as a challenge and started with various interventions that facilitated his education. My wife read to him every night and at any given moment we emphasised the learning aspects of whatever he was exposed to or busy with. His formal schooling was at Theodore Herzl and they also facilitated with the tutor that we employed to help him out in some of the subjects. The results have been amazing : He passed grade 10 at Theodore. He went to Damelin and got his certificate in Game ranging. He spent some time as a plumbing assistant. He now runs his own indigenous nursery and helps in my wife’s nursery here in Port Elizabeth. Along his life path we realised that although our interventions had given him all the skills to cope socially and in the work place there were some behavioural aspects where he still needed some help. His awareness of the consequential aspects of behaviour did not operate at 100% , his lateral thinking ability and his understanding of living within budgeted cash constraints was limited. We had heard about an exercise based intervention and started a process to investigate whether it could help Ross in these areas. We met with Dione as a family and were immediately impressed with her commitment to the course. She did a full assessment of Ross and it was clear to all of us that Ross could benefit from the course. We called some referees and the feedback was unbelievably positive. Ross decided to do the course, paid for it himself, and started immediately. The results in Ross’s case were nothing short of miraculous. His consequential thinking ability increased to perfectly normal with a completely different attitude to task management both socially and in his business. Lateral thinking started coming to him quite easily and his problem solving ability improved greatly. His grasp of cash control budgeting and investment opportunities helped him run his private expenditure and business spending patterns in a highly competent way. To put it in perspective Ross has as a result of undergoing this course, moved his life to a completely new level which has resulted in him operating at a completely normal social level. I am more than happy for any prospective course participants to contact me as a reference for this course and its established value in solving behavioural and learning problems. Iain Miller:0832996278
Nikita Fischer2021 May 05
Nikita Fischer-16years old
Dear Dione
Now that Kita is officially finished (I hear it went well today), a very big thank you from me.
It is incredible to see the development in Kita:
* Improved self esteem
* better emotional control
* Better expression of emotional difficulties
* Better handling of scholastic work
* Interest in Learning. He is even quizzing me now on what he is learning at school
* Over 80% for tests now at school
Yesterday he was reading to try and find the answer to a question (how the devil was "created") and I indicated that I knew the answer but he said that he wanted to find it out for himself. Progress!!
All the best,
Sarah
Nikita Fischer-16years old
Dear Dione
Now that Kita is officially finished (I hear it went well today), a very big thank you from me.
It is incredible to see the development in Kita:
* Improved self esteem
* better emotional control
* Better expression of emotional difficulties
* Better handling of scholastic work
* Interest in Learning. He is even quizzing me now on what he is learning at school
* Over 80% for tests now at school
Yesterday he was reading to try and find the answer to a question (how the devil was "created") and I indicated that I knew the answer but he said that he wanted to find it out for himself. Progress!!
All the best,
Sarah
Dylan Bode2021 May 05
Dylan Bode- Dyslexic 10 year old
A summary of progress:
My child now loves to read. He is much better with school work and concentrates a lot better. He does more tasks easily and can see that he has improved in his school work. He take a shorter time to finish his work than before. The fact that he has improved with his reading makes him enjoy reading far more than he ever has. Learning for tests has become a lot easier and understanding of tasks has improved.
Well I hope you have been keeping busy, so keep on the good work. Dylan also says HI, we did however also get a nice complement from a friend that hasn't seen Dylan for about a year, and she said, he is so much more confident than before,...and I must say, he is enjoying his school on the farm very much, and got an overall of 97% for this term. So we are very chuffed with him, and he always has a big smile on his face when he tells me all his marks.... Another thing that has changed in our life's is that when he gets homework, he just does his thing all alone... I don't even do it with him... When I ask him, he says it’s all done. And it’s always done before 5 o clock... So he has become very independent... So thanks to you again..
Keep Well, Love Julie
Dylan Bode- Dyslexic 10 year old
A summary of progress:
My child now loves to read. He is much better with school work and concentrates a lot better. He does more tasks easily and can see that he has improved in his school work. He take a shorter time to finish his work than before. The fact that he has improved with his reading makes him enjoy reading far more than he ever has. Learning for tests has become a lot easier and understanding of tasks has improved.
Well I hope you have been keeping busy, so keep on the good work. Dylan also says HI, we did however also get a nice complement from a friend that hasn't seen Dylan for about a year, and she said, he is so much more confident than before,...and I must say, he is enjoying his school on the farm very much, and got an overall of 97% for this term. So we are very chuffed with him, and he always has a big smile on his face when he tells me all his marks.... Another thing that has changed in our life's is that when he gets homework, he just does his thing all alone... I don't even do it with him... When I ask him, he says it’s all done. And it’s always done before 5 o clock... So he has become very independent... So thanks to you again..
Keep Well, Love Julie