After seven years of despair, evaluations, and a myriad of meetings with teachers and Early Intervention workers, my son’s behaviour continued to spiral out of control and his self-esteem plummeted to dangerously low levels. His teachers didn’t understand him, his friends didn’t understand him, and most of our family didn’t understand him. I was the only one fighting his corner because I understood him completely without judgement. However, by this point I was emotionally drained and running out of options.
In November 2016 I received the dreaded call from the Head Teacher to inform me that my son was ONE incident away from permanent exclusion. My world crumbled beneath me as I sat at my desk at work trying to contain my emotions whilst imploding within.
This is the point when my close friend urged me to contact Dr Rachel Gow. After years of negative meeting with so many judgemental ‘professionals’, I was understandably hesitant to tell my story yet again; but I had to do something, so I made the call – this was the day our lives changed.
From near expulsion to “a pleasure at school”
Dr Rachel Gow was so friendly and empathetic, and within minutes I knew she understood what I was going through. She was passionate about it and it genuinely came from a heartfelt place. Within one day we made positive plans. Connor had begun CBT Therapy with a wonderful lady and I began to look at homeopathic remedies to relieve stress and anxiety. Dr Gow travelled to my Son’s school to observe him to assess his behaviour and speak to his teachers to gather as much information as possible.
As expected, Dr Gow witnessed first-hand the difficulties my son faced at school and this prompted our meeting with her to discuss his nutritional plan. My son really enjoyed the session and connected with Dr Gow immediately. She explained how sugar and chemicals affect the brain and why the gut is the key to our health.
Connor took it all on board, even to the point where he would ask me at the supermarket if the beef was organic grass-fed with no colourings and hormones! He was very happy to agree to her suggestions to change his diet and take additional supplements every day, and within a few weeks his behaviour improved so dramatically that one day his teacher called me to say, “he had been a pleasure in school” something I had never heard… ever!
We were so happy, but we still had a long way to go in terms of his focus and learning. That’s when Dr Gow set the next phase in motion: to meet an Educational Psychologist and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Within a few months my son had three separate professionals confirm he has ADHD, Dyspraxia and an Anxiety Disorder. Dr Gow continued to liaise with the school to ensure they were implementing as many learning strategies as possible, and she continues to offer her support, always happy to answer my call if I need any advice.
I’m so thankful to Dr Gow for everything she has done; she is the key catalyst of my son’s success over the past year. Without her I have no doubt my son would have been expelled and would be following a very different path. Today he has a great group of friends and focuses on his work and is excited about the transition to secondary school this year. Life isn’t perfect, but we are happy, and that is all credit to Dr Rachel Gow.
Carly Jordan