Real Connections Therapy Services

20 nov 2023 Pandas- Pans 🙏

How common viruses can make the body attack the brain Two years ago Fleur Senior, then 14, was considered by her teachers to be on course to read maths at Oxford University.

‎PANS/PANDAS STORIES: Episode 6 - Dr Tim Ubhi explains how to treat PANS/PANDAS on Apple Podcasts ‎Show PANS/PANDAS STORIES, Ep Episode 6 - Dr Tim Ubhi explains how to treat PANS/PANDAS - 13 Nov 2023

Thanks Prof Luke O’Neill for talking and researching about Pandas and Pans in Ireland!

We need more doctors aware of these conditions in Ireland ❤️😁👏

We see many kids in our clinic with these conditions!
We have been studying Pandas /Pans for over 5 years. 🙏🙏 but we need doctors to diagnose and treat them!

Luke O’Neill - Child psychosis is often caused by bacteria Psychiatric conditions could be caused by bacteria and viruses, according to Trinity Professor Luke O’Neill.

Great news! Mona! Get better soon! ❤️❤️🙏💪

Mona! ❤️❤️🙏

Mona's husband, Scott, shared that they are reading our messages to Mona, and they make her smile. He also shared that mini-miracles and some major miracles are happening with Mona almost daily. Please keep the messages of hope and support coming.

PANS PANDAS UK estimates that there could be approx 8000 children with PANS and PANDAS in the UK. This awareness day lets take the time to spread awareness for these life changing conditions.





Genetic Alliance UK The Alex Manfull Fund

We are excited to share this new article written by Natasha Loder, with support from Diana Pohlman and PANS PANDAS UK!

This is a great resource to share with educators, family, friends or anyone with interest in learning.
https://pandasnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-common-infections-can-spark-psychiatric-illnesses-in-children.pdf

💚 Awareness day is quickly approaching!!! 💚

Thank you to P.A.N.D.A.S. Network youth artist Ella for this amazing art that reflects the symptoms (in white) of PANDAS/PANS along with the incredible characteristics of strength and perseverance our children display (in black), inspired by her sister Felicity (age 4) who was recently diagnosed.

Please feel free to educate your network on the disorder by using this image for your social media pages!

How will you spend your weekend and/or your day on October 9th? We’d love to know! Share in the comments below and be sure to use the hashtag in your personal posts so we can see them and share!!!

Book your place now on our free CPD Training for teachers and SEND professionals! 📚
Help spread the word! If you know Schools, Tuition Services, Educational Psychologists, Local Authorities, EHCP coordinators, School Medical Needs Provision teams, Designated Clinical Officers, Alternative provision specialists, or any other related education professionals, please guide them to our PANS and PANDAS teacher training program.
If any larger organisations would like us to deliver a session specifically at a time/date that would suit them, then please ask them to email [email protected]
Thank you all, together we will get the word out there!
Click here to register today: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/pans-pandas-uk-47089816353

Sending Mona lots of love and healing energy ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏

Keep healing Mona ❤️
We love you.
You are a kind gift to this world ❤️🙏💪
We are greatful for your work and we pray for you today and every day ❤️🙏

Every day. Every hour. This community is thinking of you Mona Delahooke, Ph.D.

Keep fighting. Keep healing. ❤️

🎉 Exciting News! 🏆 Brainstorm Health has won the title of "Best Children’s Nutritional Therapy Clinic Southwest England"! 🌟 Our passion for transforming lives through nutrition and functional medicine is recognised and celebrated. 🎉

💪 Our journey began with a personal experience that forever changed my family’s life. When my daughter was just 4.5 years old, she contracted scarlet fever, and our world turned upside down. Suddenly, she was plagued with compulsions, sensory processing issues, anxiety, and more. It was a bewildering and overwhelming time for our family, as we discovered that this illness was rare, and few knew how to help. We later discovered that the strep infection from the scarlet fever had developed into a condition called PANDAS – Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infection.

📚 Like many parents, I refused to give up. I went back to university and studied Nutritional Therapy and Functional Medicine. As I applied what I learned, something extraordinary happened. My daughter slowly began to regain her health and vitality.

🌟 After a decade of dedicated service, our clinic stands tall as a haven of support and innovation. We employ cutting-edge nutritional approaches and evidence-based practices to address the unique health needs of individuals on the autism spectrum and those dealing with PANDAS, PANS and other neurological challenges.

🌱 I'm immensely proud to share that my daughter, who once struggled, is now thriving and about to embark on her journey at Oxford University. It's a testament to the power of never giving up, even in the darkest times. 💪🌟

💚 If you are a parent feeling lost or overwhelmed, remember that there is hope. Reach out to us at Brainstorm Health and let us embark on this journey together. Your child's potential is waiting to be unleashed, and my amazing team and I are here to help them thrive. 🌱

Read the article via the link in my bio or here https://www.lux-review.com/issues/health-beauty-and-wellness-awards-2023/14/

“How treating Bartonella cleared most of my son’s symptoms of autism” For years, I had no idea that I was infected with Lyme disease and related infections. There was nothing obvious, like pain or chronic fatigue. Instead, my symptoms were mild and crept up on me insidiously over my lifetime: anxiety, social anxiety, irritability, then migraines, thyroiditis, a little...

A study by Dauch and colleagues tested whether the number of toys placed in a child's play environment has an impact on the quality of play for toddlers. Quality of play is measured by how long a child stays focused on one toy and how they can use their imagination to play with that toy in different ways.

Dauch reminds us that Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory (1952) states that children acquire as they , , and the environment around them. Attention plays a huge role in play by keeping a child engaged. Contrarily, distractions can cause a child to lose focus and become disinterested in play as well. Too many toys in the environment or TV playing in the background are some of the significant distractors that can shorten the duration of play with a single toy.

A total of 36 toddlers between the ages of 18-30 months were tested by letting them play with various toys. Toys were divided into four categories and designated as battery operated or not:

🧩Educational: Toys that may teach a concept such as shapes, colours, or counting.
🎭Pretend: Toys that suggest themed play scenarios for ‘as if' play.
🛼Action: Toys that can be activated through manipulation or toys that encourage exploration/ activity on the part of the toddler i.e. building, stacking, opening, twisting.
🛻Vehicles: Toys that have wheels that promote play through the toddlers ability to push the toy.

Two play conditions were compared, 1) a 4-toy play session and 2) a 16-toy play session. During a child's play session of 30 min, researchers evaluated the following 1) how often they played with each toy, 2) how long they played with each toy, and 3) the different ways they played with each toy.

Researchers found that in the condition with only 4 toys, children played with fewer toys, stayed focused longer on the toy they selected and played with that toy in various ways. This means that the quality of play was greater when there were only 4 toys in a child's environment. Essentially, when given a few toys, the toddlers played with them in more varied ways and for longer periods of time.
Although we may have a lot of toys for our children, this study emphasizes the importance of having only a few toys available at a time in their play environment - so don't get rid of all your toys! This study suggests 4 toys, however you can have a toy rotation and keep the rest of the toys in a closet or storage area. This helps create an aspect of novelty for a child and sparks their interest and curiosity in their toys since they have not been in their environment for a while. Create a space or a room that is safe for your child to explore, has no distractions such as TV and has only a few toys available for play.

When creating a playroom or a play area, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do I have some toys from the different categories: educational, pretend, action and vehicles?
2. Are toys at my child's eye level? Having toys or books at eye level allows children to develop independence and follows the Montessori playroom guidelines.
3. Have I limited the battery operated toys if I have children under 2?
4. Do I have open-ended toys such as wooden blocks, animal figurines or pretend play items?
5. Have I allowed an area dedicated to “quiet time” to either read or play in a sensory bin?
6. Does my child have a creative space in their playroom?

It is through children's early childhood experiences, when the brain is rapidly developing, that we have the opportunity to support learning through a child's natural curiosity and imaginative play. From birth through age 5, children's brains are literally forming the complex web of synapses that last throughout their lives, and greatly impact their social, emotional, physical and cognitive performance as adults.

One of the best ways to nurture development is with open-ended play. Open-ended play materials allow children to make choices, express their creativity and support their independence. Open-ended materials by definition do not have a predetermined use. A block can be a car, phone, doll's chair, ice-cream bar or any number of other things in play. It is through these experiences that children are able to learn best.

A few examples of open-ended toys include:
🎲Blocks of all shapes and sizes, including blocks that connect like Legos; magnetic blocks; geometric building materials.
🎲Art supplies including paper, paint, markers and scissors
🎲Play silks or large pieces of fabric and blankets.
🎲Sand and water play baskets.
🎲Nature items such as sea shells and pine cones.

When choosing toys for your child, ask yourself if the toy allows them to make choices about their play or tells them how to play. Be intentional about providing children with toys that let them make choices about play, and support them in strengthening their cognitive, language and social skills in the process. As you watch your child figure out how to build the tallest block tower ever, you could be watching a future engineer begin to work out solutions to building skyscrapers, or an architect working on their first building design. The options are endless!

https://thegracefulolive.com/.../children-need-open.../
https://www.google.com/.../the-less-toys-in-a-childs...
https://static1.squarespace.com/.../DauchImwalleOcasioMet...

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[ID: two toddlers are sitting on the floor, building a tower of wooden blocks contentedly. The words “It is through children’s early childhood experiences, when the brain is rapidly developing, that we have the opportunity to support learning through a child’s natural curiosity and imaginative play.” is written on top of the image.]

During February mid-term we are offering our Dyslexia and Me self-esteem workshop for young dyslexics in Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. At Easter, we are offering it in Letterkenny, Cavan and Dublin. Book soon to secure a place. We will be in other locations later in the year so make sure to follow us to hear about future courses. https://dyslexia.ie/classes/dyslexia-and-me/
Thanks to funding from the AIB Community €1 Million Fund we are able to offer these workshops at very subsidised rates in 2023.

Sinead ❤️🙏🤗

Thank you very much Sinead for the last 3 years working together! 💃🎉

We have been very grateful to have you at the front line helping parents, supporting families and scheduling everything for Real Connections.

You will be extremely missed for us and the Real Connections families. ❤️

We wish you all the best in this new chapter of your life!

Forever grateful 🙏❤️

Thank you & Love

Mane & the Real Connections Team

Join us to celebrate the launch of the EASI Scoring Program!

After inspirational dedication from caring therapists worldwide, the Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration Scoring Program is here! has been our goal and now we have an accessible tool. Join us for a free webinar to CELEBRATE and hear the latest updates!

Wednesday, October 26, 2022
10 am Pacific Time

During this free EASI webinar, we will discuss: how to gain access, plans moving forward, early experience in clinical practice, and research that involves the EASI.

Register at https://mailchi.mp/cl-asi/esp-launch

The webinar will be recorded for those who are unable to attend live.

Did you know OCD, Anxiety, Tics, ODD, Eating Restrictions can be caused by an infection and treated medically?

Learn more about PANS PANDAS
www.aspire.care

I work really hard every day to undo the damage done by behaviorists.

It’s exhausting.

Example: A behaviorist was called in to a classroom for a child who was having “behavior problems”. They identified one ‘problem behavior’ as ‘tapping feet’.

A token board was set up where the child can earn “a 5-10 minute break” if they receive 5 tokens. One token was to be awarded every 20 minutes. Other ‘problem behaviors’ included calling out, making noises or talking.

So, the child can earn “a 5-10 minute break” every hour, assuming they get all 5 tokens. This child was having difficulty meeting the expectations of the classroom, so they were routinely not awarded tokens. That means no break. This child needed a break. Most children need breaks!

The child AND the teacher HATED the token system. The teacher hated it because they had to stop every 20 minutes to determine if the student was getting a token or not. If the teacher was objective, the child would never receive a token. It was impossible for this student to meet their expectations for 20 minutes straight. After the student FINALLY receives 1 token, they have to start all over again for another 20 minutes to try and get #2.

How exhausting. Why bother!

The whole token system was inauthentic, subjective, developmentally uninformed and setting the student AND the teacher up for failure.

But here’s the part that really angered me.

The behaviorist identified “tapping his feet” as a problem behavior.

The student’s feet aren’t on the ground.
The chair is too big for them.
Their feet are dangling, which certainly will promote “tapping”.
It’s really hard to have “nice sitting” (the behaviorists’ words) when your feet aren’t on the ground!

The behaviorist is only looking at observable behavior that THEY deemed “problem behavior”.

Solution:
I put a foot stool under the child’s desk.
I explained to them that this is a tool to help them.
Their feet are now able to be flat and support their core.
The tapping was no longer an issue.

Problem solved.

Token systems for behavior are inauthentic, subjective, developmentally uninformed nonsense that sets the teacher and student up for failure.

We owe it to our kids to do better.

ASPIRE Webinar with Vicki Kobliner, MS, RDN, who will speak about Nutritional Interventions in PANS/PANDAS.

Date/Time: Monday, September 19th, 12:00 pm EST

Register today: https://aspire.care/clinicians/webinar-vicki-kobliner-nutritional-interventions-pans-pandas/

Holcare Nutrition

Key signs to look out for in identifying PANS PANDAS for parents, carers and professionals.

*** What are PANS and PANDAS? ***
🟠PANS – Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome
🟠PANDAS –Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated
with Streptococcal Infections

PANS and PANDAS are conditions that affect the physical and mental health of children and young adults.

Considered to be post-infectious autoimmune and/or neuro-inflammatory events, they develop in the wake of common infections (such as Covid-19, chicken pox, influenza, or strep A in PANDAS cases).

Symptoms may begin incredibly abruptly with children changing, overnight, from being happy and healthy to being desperately ill.

It may also be the case that parents observe ‘soft signs’ preceding onset. Either way, symptoms such as extreme obsessive-compulsive behaviours, motor and vocal tics, severe separation anxiety and behavioural regression (such as ‘baby-talk') are very common. Rage, restricted food intake, sleep disturbance and urinary problems are also frequently observed. Children with these conditions often suffer with sensory sensitivities, hallucinations, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.

This information has been kindly provided by the amazing PANS PANDAS UK who will be presenting a 2-hour webinar on PANS PANDAS on Thursday at 8pm.

BOOK your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/353905901077


Read more about PANS PANDAS here: https://www.panspandasuk.org/for-families

From Tess 🙏❤️ integrative course for parents, teachers, nutritionists, psychologists, therapists, etc

Please share will all you know.

Starting Tues!! Get in on this amazing opportunity

I’m beyond excited to share a unique opportunity for each and every one of you to take your wellness and mental health understanding to another level by registering for a course I will be teaching online this September! Offered through IPAK-EDU, the course is entitled Integrative Wellness for Mental Health and it runs every Tuesday at 7PM EST for 15 weeks starting September 6th all for only $12 per class!

Can't fit the Tuesday night classes into your schedule? No problem at all! All 15 classes will be available for you to complete at your own pace and on your schedule, plus you will have full access to class message board where I will be available to answer your questions and provide further clarity on all course material.

https://ipak-edu.org/registration/?store-page=Integrative-Wellness-for-Mental-Health-p445924811

Here is a full rundown of what you can expect from the online workshop:

Learn the latest research on nutritional deficiencies and the link to neurodevelopmental delays and mental health disorders. In addition, I will provide you with gut healing protocols and strategies to heal intestinal permeability for those who have ADHD, Autism, ODD, and Anxiety. Walk away with a highly effective nutritional and integrative treatment plan, including:

Assess nutritional deficiencies that contribute to neurological dysfunction, neurodevelopmental delays, and mental health disorders.
Brain/Gut healing protocols and how to heal intestinal permeability.
Addressing other underlying conditions contributing to mental health disorders.
Provide a menu of non-medication treatment options.
Plus a deeper understanding of: developmental disorders/delays, behavioral concerns/ aggression, emotional dysregulation, sensory issues, inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, sleep disturbances and more!

Using my candid experiences as both a mother and a mental health professional, I will provide you with non-pharmaceutical solutions to implement tomorrow.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Describe the link between our emotions and our intestinal system.
Explore gut healing protocols and how to heal intestinal permeability.
Assess for nutritional deficiencies that contribute to neurological dysfunction.
Summarize the most recent research in the area of genetic vulnerabilities.
Demonstrate how many symptoms can be remedied with nutritional balancing.
Discuss how food-sensitivities can contribute to behavioral symptoms and how "special diets" can be highly beneficial.
Explain the link between ADHD and autism; processed food, heavy metal, and environmental chemicals.
Incorporate Eastern Medicine & and bodywork practices and therapies.
Design and implement individualized nutrition and integrative treatment plan.

WORKSHOP SYLLABUS:
Week 1 - What's wrong with our current mental health paradigm? Natural solutions are often scrutinized. Let's talk about diagnoses and allopathic medication.

Week 2 - What is functional & integrative medicine? What defines biomedical interventions for mental health. The gut/brain connection. Malabsorption & Leaky gut syndrome.

Week 3: Epigenetics and how our genetics are not the end of our story. What we eat, breathe, and inject directly influences our genetic code.

Week 4: How immune and metabolic health contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders—autoimmune system assaults.

Week 5: Brain Encephalitis: A leading cause of psychosis. PANS/PANDAS explained and remedied.

Week 6: Malnutrition and the Brain. Identifying essential nutrients for brain optimum brain health.

Week 7: Living in a toxic world. Electromagnetic field. Everyday household items & beauty products. Saying no to GMOs & pesticides. Why eating organic is essential. The effects ofheavy metal. Ways to reduce toxic burden.

Week 8: What happens when we overeat sugar? The processed food connection - how neurotoxic chemicals destroy our mental health.

Week 9: Addressing food sensitivities and dietary modification. E.g., The Gluten - Mood Connection. Take a deeper look at what plagues us, including sleeplessness.

Week 10: Foods that heal the body.

Week 11: Detoxification Strategies from your kitchen and beyond.

Week 12: Who should we seek out to assist? What tests and testing options are available.

Week 13: 7 Steps for healing the gut, addressing yeast overgrowth, addressing intestinal inflammation leads to systemic inflammation.

Week 14: The role of neurotransmitters and how to increase them naturally. A nutritional treatment plan: the importance of protein & cholesterol.

Week 15: A nutritional plan continued… natural remedies for ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, depression, anger, aggression, impulsivity, and sensory processing disorders. Eastern bodywork practices and holistic therapies to investigate.

WHO IS THIS COURSE BEST FOR?
Parents • Counselors • Psychotherapists • Psychologists • Social Workers • Marriage & Family Therapists • Health Coaches • Life Coaches • Speech-Language Pathologists • Occupational Therapists • Occupational Therapy Assistants • Physical Therapists • Physical Therapist Assistants • Educators • School Counselors • School Psychologists • School Social Workers • School Administrators• Intervention Specialists • Behavioral Specialists • Teachers • Educational Paraprofessionals • Nurses • Nutritionists • Other helping professionals who work in the mental health field.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to learn directly from me! And if you have any questions before signing up, send me a quick email to: [email protected]

Registration BiologyHerbology and Human HealthDr. Gaeta and guest lecturers review peer-reviewed studies on medicinal herbs and plants. 1st class January 2022 @ 3:30 ETVideo will be available thereafter

Thank you for the outpouring of support!! I'm fully convinced that together we can do this! The tide is rising!