Pauline Gerrard knows exactly what it feels like to be helpless in the face of professionals who insist there is nothing wrong with a clearly unhappy child. Her own daughter suffered stress and anxiety as she tried to respond to a teacher's sharp advice to 'pull her socks up'.
Pauline finally found help in new techniques used by the Institute for Neurophysiological Psychology. This experience of a treatment which restored her distressed daughter's naturally bubbly personality led her to retrain to offer the same sort of help to others.
Based in Aberdeen, Pauline's abilities are so valued that parents travel hundreds of miles from throughout the Highlands and Islands so their children can benefit. She says she is only too aware of the efforts parents will make to find the right help for their children, having personally experienced similar frustration herself over the course of four years'
fighting for help for her daughter.
It all began with an ad for a centre near Edinburgh which seemed to offer a new approach. Her daughter's remarkable turnaround inspired a rethink of her own career and study at the Institute for Neurophysiological Psychology in Chester. Pauline previously worked as a nursery nurse and says her interest in child psychology stems from that. 'During that time I saw children who seemed to be misunderstood,' she says. 'I feel, while I have gone back and got a degree and had lots of different learning experiences, that at the heart of what I do is what I learned as a nursery nurse, about the importance of listening to parents.'
She qualified in 2001, treating children first in her own home and later at premises in Aberdeen. Many referrals come by word of mouth. Children and their parents commit to seeing her every six or seven weeks for what may take up to 18 months of treatment. She sees children privately and also through a pilot scheme run by Aberdeen City Council.
The children who may benefit include those with specific behavioural or learning difficulties and co-ordination issues, as well as those who may have no recognised diagnosis but are clearly struggling with life and learning.
Often, the children arrive already demoralised by a range of other assessments and tests. Pauline says, 'By the time they come here some have been seen by three or four different professionals and the parent will ask, "what do you think?" I say, "I think he is just a child".'
Her office is a cheery, bright space full of toys, cushions and inspiring posters. Children have the option of sitting sedately, but are more likely to lounge on the floor or under the table. 'Children like to explore,'
Pauline says. 'I never expect them to sit still on a chair. They can rock on the rocker or wobble on the wobbleboard.'
Children are assessed and may be treated either with auditory integration therapy, which uses a specialised electronic device to address hearing imbalances, or with neuro-development therapy, a programme of movement mimicking the movements a baby makes before it is born and during the first few months of life.
Between visits, children work on specific CDs and exercises, and must have the support of an adult to help them complete these.
Pauline believes that if you look at children developmentally, you can often see why they behave in a particular way. She says that far too often, health or educational professionals may subtly undermine a parent's instinctive sense that their child needs help. 'And you have to feel confident in your role as a parent before you can raise a confident child.'
Sensorium is now developing from those early days in Pauline's front room to embrace a new All Confident and Empowered (ACE) programme, led by a team of different disciplines including one colleague whose specific role is to address groups of early years professionals.
'Early intervention is key,' says Pauline. 'If parents have concerns, they should be listened to. There is no point in saying "let's wait and see", because by the time the child reaches eight or nine and is already feeling useless, you have to claw them back. With early intervention you are catching them young.'
Children who come for treatment can be as young as two years. In these cases the birthing process may be at the root of the problem, and may be helped by a referral to cranial practitioners. Because the youngest age group is still developing neurologically they should not have too much intervention. More often, Pauline works with children aged four and up.
Each child is treated individually, typically over nine to 18 months.
Pauline says, 'It's almost like completing a missing bit of jigsaw, but once that is in place and the child is up and running, then that's it. Once you see the sparkle in their eyes and the change that has happened, then they should be back in their own community, be it nursery or school, and hope that is going to carry them on.'
Some children may arrive enthused and hopeful, while others, particularly older age groups, may be less certain. Pauline stresses that children must be treated with respect. 'I say to them that listening to these CDs might be worthwhile, but if you are not going to do it, that's your choice. And usually they think they have nothing to lose. Then you have them running in six weeks later, saying they got all their spellings right, and the teacher doesn't know why.'
