Craniosacral
Therapy – treatment of my Autistic Child
In
January 2005 I began taking my 8 year old daughter (Zama)
for Craniosacral Therapy with Donovan Hean in New Germany
(Durban). He kindly took into consideration that I could
only come on a Saturday morning, and she began having
regular sessions every 2nd Saturday morning for an hour
at a time.
Before
she began this therapy my daughter:
1.
Did not make eye contact with anyone.
2. Rocked to an fro on furniture.
3. Made high-pitched shrieking sounds.
4. Did not respond to requests or instructions with
her parents or caregivers.
5. Did not talk.
6. Did not help herself in any way.
7. Did not cry.
8. Did not sleep at night which meant either her father
or myself had to stay up with her.
9. Did not like being touched, or held or shown affection.
When
we started her sessions, Zama was a difficult patient
because she was restless and did not want to sit or
lie down. He had to work in 5 minute sessions. She did
not like being touched at all, and would not allow it
on her first session, so he worked with me to teach
me how to hold her head so she would get used to it.
Gradually, she began getting calmer and allowed him
to work on her, and now allows him to work on her from
head to toes. We began t notice changes in her behaviour
as follows:
1.
She started making sounds of talking trying to call
her dad and her mum and some other easy words to identify
what she wanted.
2. She stopped the rocking to and fro.
3. She began to cry when distressed to show us she was
unhappy.
4. She began sleeping through the night (and some days
does not want to get up in the morning).
5. She is becoming more affectionate all the time.
6. She now looks at you which she never did.
7. She is discovering her world, like light switches,
where her juice and food is kept and helps herself,
arranges objects (like my mantelpiece).
8. Will follow simple instructions, like when she is
called to go and bath.
9. Calls us Mum and Dad.
Donovan
encouraged me to get her into school and I finally found
a place for her at Whizzkids for 2006. He felt she was
ready to begin a new chapter in her lift and that school
would speed up her progress in other areas, which it
has done enormously and she absolutely loves school
and her friends.
I
intend to continue with this wonderful therapy to keep
the progress she has made going. If you have a child
with Autism I would seriously recommend you to try this
therapy for your child, it has made SUCH a difference
to both Zama and our family life. Please call me if
you would like to discuss our experience, or you are
welcome to call Donovan directly on 082 928 5692/031-705
5823 to find out if your child will benefit. It worked
for us and it could work for your child too!
Gloria
Zuma
083 434 5742
Botha’s Hill
Durban
Carol
Williams
Waterfall
Durban
Kwa-Zulu Natal
Mobile: +27 83 777 7369
Office: +27 31 765 1094
Fax: +27 31 765 1096
Dear
Donovan
RE:
LEAH'S TREATMENT FROM 2 OCTOBER 2004 - 2 JANUARY 2005
I
would like to thank you for making a difference in Leah's
life, and also to give you a report-back on her progress
that we have experienced so far.
When
you and Leah met she had no facial features or character.
Leah now has a very definite look that separates her
from the rest of us. Leah used to be very puppet like,
performing any action you asked. Now if we call her
and ask her to do something which doesn't suit her,
she either ignores us or say's no. She has become an
individual in her own right.
She
used to ''drag'' her left foot (this side being affected
by cerebal palsy). She was also ''Flatfooted''. She
doesn't drag her left foot anymore, she actually runs
on tippy toes, dances like a fairy and jumps and hops
like a healthy frog. She used to fall and because she
was so floppy with no limb control she never bruised
or cried. She now falls, gets scratched and even draws
a little blood. She now occupies her body fully and
is very present in the way she holds her body upright.
She used to be skinny and as straight as a plank. She
has filled out (she now has a bottom and her thighs
and calves are defined).
Because
of her speech impediment, children younger than her
would bully her. Now she stands up for herself and allows
no one to bully her. She is firm but never nasty. She
stands up with love and respect for who she is. Her
vocabulary used to consist of about 5 words. Now she
has about 30 words, all in the space of 3 months. She
has also grown in the space of one month by 33mm's.
Leah
was not very affectionate. She would only hug and kiss
if persuaded. She now hugs and kisses from a space of
desire and not from copying. She used to have a head
shaped like an egg. Her head is now round and not oblong.
She used to be very restless and could not sit still
for 5 min's. She now can lay down, give you the honour
of sacred attention for more than an hour at a time.
Leah
has finally come into her own, is a peace with herself
and the world and for this gift Donovan we have you
to thank.
May God Bless you on your journey of healing.
With
Love and Light
Carol and Chris |
In
October 2008 I received a request from my wife to do
an assessment on one of her advertising clients, the
SA Rose guru, Ludwig Taschner, had been shot in both
arms in an attack at his home north of Pretoria in August
2008. His "pruning" arm had not recovered
from the incident and he had been told to learn to use
his other arm, that he would never get the use of his
arm back - after medical impulse tests had been conducted.
Ludwig would not accept that information, and when his
daughter told him about Craniosacral Therapy through
my wife Dee telling her about it, he asked for an assessment
to see if it would help his arm at all. He was prepared
to try anything to get the use of his arm back.