I am a teacher and have a student who is precious...

First a little history:

• She has  an older half sister who is perhaps Mentally Retarded or very close to it.
• She has an older full sister who is Gifted and Talented.
• She herself is 8 years old and has severe dysgraphia. Our speech therapist thought her problem was a problem where the child starts the writing in the middle of the page and uses just the right side of the paper, completely leaving off the left portion. But that is not the case. She did that on a "test" that was given to see how she writes. However, when given duplicated papers she writes in the correct place although it is sometimes unreadable. She knows what she has written, but it is often undecipherable. Speech teacher also said that she may need to read with something that helps her to read all the way to the left side of the paper, but the child is rather bright and reads a lot on her own and has good, stable comprehension.
• She has developed a walking problem in the last year whereby her legs turn inward. It looks almost painful.
• During the past sememster she has developed a facial tic that she is aware of and tries to hide. But it doesn't stop her from showing and talking to the whole class (standing in front of the class). She often brings objects from home that she wants to share with the class. I never discourage her. I think it is fabulous that she is so confident.
• It is a pretty sad situation b/c she is so bright and "looks" learning disabled.

Her parents have been seeking help from several neurologists but to no avail. They send her away with no help or advice.

I plan to talk with her parents as friend to friend (since I cannot talk to them as teacher to parents) and tell them about EFT and Gary's site and the free manual that is offered. I hope they will take it a bit further and search for a good practitioner of EFT.

Does anyone know of a practitioner who knows what precautions to take with regards to this child? I guess I am looking for someone with a lot of experience as well as some kind of specialized training who would know best how to deal with her problems. I personally am at a loss as I am a teacher, not a counsellor or a doctor, and I am just a newbie to EFT. I KNOW it works for a fact, and I continually "weird out" my husband. (I really love doing that! LOL) I am happy to report that he too is becoming a believer gradually.

Hi Betty,

I have been thinking about your student and wondering if you have talked with her parents. Without seeing the child or knowing all of the details, it is a little difficult to respond with something concrete, but I believe introducing them to Gary's website is a great beginning.

You did not mention anything about the child having seizures -- if she does, that might call for a little more caution in doing EFT with her. If she does not have seizures, however, I think you can tap on the visible symptoms. In this case, for example, you might work with her (with her parents' permission) like this: "Even though it's hard for me to write in the correct place (or neatly), I'm a great kid." "Even though it's hard for me to walk, I'm a wonderful girl."

You said she has been to several neurologists...has there been a diagnosis or explanation for her symptoms?  I wonder if she has been to an eye specialist to determine if she is tracking properly. Interestingly enough, children can pass the school vision screen and the vision test in the doctor's office and still have problems with tracking. Irlen Syndrome (the eyes do not properly filter light, creating all kinds of interesting things on the written page) is another condition that often gets overlooked. Sometimes using a colored overlay improves the student's ability to see the whole page.

She is fortunate to have a compassionate teacher, and I encourage you to continue to hold her in your heart. You can also do surrogate tapping on her behalf for whatever you are concerned about: writing, walking, the tics, emotional issues. You can do this as her -- imagining that you are her and tapping -- and you can do it for her by setting the intention that you are tapping on yourself for her. Both ways are effective. Sometimes I think you may get more "intuitive flashes" when you tap as the person.

I would love to hear an update.

Hugs and Blessings,

Syandra

Hi Betty,

Yes, tracking does have to do with the eyes being able to track the words on the paper in sequence. If she is a fluent reader with good comprehension, that is probably not a problem.

Is she seeing doctors besides neurogolists? Is she on any medication of any kind that you are aware of?

You said she is having  problems with her legs turning inward and she is having tics. Are these new problems? Old problems that are just getting worse?

Have the parents mentioned whether she had any problems at birth that they were aware of or a difficult or traumatic delivery? What is her relationship with her siblings?

Dysgraphia could explain the writing problems, but it doesn't explain all of the other things that are happening. I am glad she is learning how to use the computer. That can be very helpful, enabling her to get her ideas down on paper.

I hope the parents are intrigued by the DVD's you loaned them...at least enough to contact an EFT practitioner and give it a try. However, I encourage you again to do surrogate tapping for her. It seems you are pretty tuned into her.

(And don't be so hard on yourself about the animal shelter! Maybe that's something she is supposed to do later in life. Or maybe you guys could just send a little support to animal shelters already in the area. Even letters of thanks and encouragment would probably be a big blessings. In my opinion, the classroom teacher has the hardest job in the world. You are already doing a lot!)

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'm looking for clues! : )

Hugs and Blessings,

Syandra

To my knowledge, there is no medication.

I have not asked about her birth at all.

I really have no knowledge about her relationship with her siblings. I do know that Kyara is the youngest. I taught an older sister, Karly, who is Gifted and very bright and accomplishes whatever she tries. And then of course the oldest is a half sister from the dad's previous marriage. I know nothing of what happened there, only that the "child" is MR...I think she is in her early 20s but I am not real sure. I am wondering if the mom died in childbirth since the father has custody. It is unusual to say the least.

Thank you so much for reinforcing me...I appreciate that a LOT. I will try doing the surrogate tapping for her. Thanks for the encouragement.

Betty

 Hi Betty,

By now you may have found a solution however in caseyou have not, I will submit the following.

As Gary Craig suggests,"Some day the medical profession will wake up and realize that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of 85% of all illnesses. When they do, EFT will be one of their primary healing tools .... as it is for me." and thorough invistigation into primary emotional issues is key. Good work, investigating so many possibilities: vision, neurological causes etc. She is lucky to have such a dedicated ally in this, it's all about love anyway isent it? :-)  And I completely agree with Syandra,Keep surrogate tapping! 

I could be way off base here but consider this thought... When I was two, I was taken to the doctor for the diagnosis of a severe limp. After an examination and finding no aparent cause, the doctor asked my father to come into the office. My father had broken his foot in a car accident several years earlier and so brought himself and his limp into the office. Of coarse you see where I am going with this. Perhaps a look at the issue of wanting to be like significant people in her life may yield some results.  

I realize this is an older post but if the issue is still unresolved I would be interested in supporting you in finding a solution. I am an EFT practitioner and am practiced and familiar with diagnostic processes.

Best regards,

George 

George, thank you so much for responding. The school year is nearing an end and the issue has not been resolved yet. I will retire in May and move to Mexico. Parents tried to copy the DVD's that I purchased from Gary, but ran into computer trouble while trying to do that. So since I am rather low on funds myself, we are having a hard time trying to find someone to copy them for just little of nothing. The family is very interested in the EFT route. They are rather limited in their funds as well as i have found out. So between both of us we are a pitiful lot! If I could pick out just a few of the DVD's I couldn't even begin to figure out which ones would be more helpful to them. If I absolutely had to choose I think it would be the set right after the first one...the one for practitioners. Any suggestions there? Your post was meaningful. I think I will copy the entire post here and at another section and give those to the family. It may provide them with some insights. I have looked at the daughter recently with scrutinizing eyes and it appears to me that she is walking better. Not sure why...I have been so busy with my own mother and her issues that I haven't had any time for surrogate tapping. So it couldn't be anything that i have done. Is there any chance I could tell the family how to get in touch with you? I guess I should give them this website. 

Once again, thanks for the help and suggestions...

betty