************************************** " first they ignore you,... then they laugh at you, ... then they fight you,...then YOU win!!" - Ghandi - **************************************
An interesting story regarding ADD / ADHD and the impact supplementation has:
My 9 year old son, Juan, was identified with ADHD combined type when he was only 6 years old. He has been on Ritalin since grade 1 and received occupational therapy for 3,5 years, although his marks did not improve at all during the years in grade 1 to 3. It was always borderline. At the end of grade 3 he almost did not pass his grade and we were advised to get him tested to see whether he has any other problems.
The doctor who tested him said that he had learning, as well as concentration problems. He also had shortcomings with language and vocabulary. He recommended last year that I put him in a special school or keep him back for another year, because he was not coping in grade 3 and that he will have serious problems coping in grade 4. He said that he will have problems to handle complex learning material in future and that he also has auditive short term memory problems which meant that what we would teach him today, he would forget tomorrow such as the time tables. He also has a lack of visual memory which meant that he will make a lot of mistakes copying words, writing from a black board etc. We were also advised to get a speech therapist to work with him and continue with any remedial and occupational therapy.
Juan has been drinking the Nutrilite vitamins for the past 5 months. We decided at the end of last year to keep him in the same normal school and continue with the occupational therapy and the vitamins.
In grade 4 he started with tests and exams for the first time and at the end of March, his report card came back and he has scored an average of 75% for his March exams. His final average for all tests and work assignments were 69% at the end of the first quarter 2009. This meant that he has increased his marks with more than 20%! He has been able to learn all the time tables and scores regularly full marks for spelling tests etc. In the mean time, I have decided to wait with the evaluation of the Speech Therapist, but still continued with occupational therapy. Eventually he was evaluated during May by a Speech Therapist for the first time. She advised that although he is still lacking with vocabulary and language, his reading capability has been tested on grade 7 level, although he is now only in Grade 4. She has advised that he does not need speech therapy at all . His occupational therapist has been working with him since grade 1 and she has phoned me during May to say that she will concentrate on language for the rest of May and June and that he will not need any occupational therapy after June. In fact therapy has already stopped at the end of May for the first time in 4 years. She said that she cannot continue occupational therapy with a child who is currently in the top of his class!
We have not done much differently to the previous years at school, except that we gave him lots of attention with school work and we do not only rely on aftercare to help him with his homework. We help him study with 'right brain methods' by using pictures etc, since that is his strong point, and we have put him on the Nutrilite vitamins as were advised to do. We have also seen that when he forgot to drink his vitamins or when we ran out of vitamins that he has had mood swings and is much more difficult to handle and the results of not drinking it, could be seen within 2 days after dropping any one of those vitamins. Thus, I am convinced that this story is truly a testimony for these vitamins.
I cannot say exactly when the improvement in his school work came, because his holiday started at the end of November and the school only opened in January this year. But when he was back at school, there was an immediate improvement in his schoolwork.
Although Juan is still on Ritalin, we are planning to reduce it slowly after 8 months on Nutrilite. This is how Juan drink his 8 vitamins at day at the moment if any of you have the same problems and would like to try it:
Daily Chewables 2 x morning and 1 midday
Lecithin E x 1 morning
Omega 3 - Drink 3 x in the evening before going to bed
Vit B Complex - Drink 1 before bedtime
Please remember that what these children eat has an influence on their energy levels. Try not to give them too much fizzy cool drinks, white bread and sugars. Rather give them biltong, eggs and protein products, also the protein shakes are great.
It was that time again for the regional colleges to get together and show their stuff on stage at this year's regional Kapa Haka competitions held in Wellington. Tabitha was there with her camera and captured some images. Well done to all the colleges who competed.. Just click on the following link to check out the action. http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/9208935_hRBzo#614852674_84epp
Ever since I read Eckhard Tolle's books, 'The power of NOW' and 'A new earth', my way of being has taken on a whole new dimension. Having come to the realisation that we are truely all one and the same, and Love is all there is and ever will be, my way of doing business and my relationships now reflect who I am being in life, in that moment. Tolle speaks of three things that are required to be fully present in the NOW, they are: ACCEPTANCE,ENJOYMENT and ENTHUSIASM, if you can be operationg from there three platforms, in every moment, people will be drawn to you. Like attracts like, treat your co workers, friends and family with acceptance, no matter what; enjoy being in your daily role and add all the enthusiasm you can muster...and see how amazing your day will be. " Love is a state of being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. It is not dependent on some other body, some other form. You can NEVER loose it; and it CANNOT leave you." - E. Tolle
Alex has been busy film making again, incorporating landscape and sound for his up coming movie about New Zealand. Tranquility and harmony...'Spirit of the land'-wairua o te whenua Check it out:
An image of a New Zealand bird, taken by a passionate NZ photographer friend of mine. In tune with her creative side, Tabitha started taking images for stage events, such as the 'Smokefree Rockquest', 'Rock to Wellington', several years ago, launching her carrier onto the stage of professional photographers.
What I like about Tabitha's images is her approach to different angles and subject matter. Some of her more unique, natural images on canvas ( big canvas ) have an almost magical effect. She is based in Wellington and is available for any assignment, wether it be a wedding, event or photos of your cat. You can check out her work using the following link. http://www.tabithawoodsphotography.com/