Shortly after our daughter was born it was evident that Matthew was developing much slower than his peers and he was diagnosed as having something called 'Global developmental Delay.'
We stumbled through two years of very disturbed nights. This made it excruciating for us to work the next day and for him to go to pre school. We hoped that some of the therapies would improve his sleep. During this time we learnt from a community nurse that 80% of children with delayed development had difficulty with sleep. We consulted with our pediatrician who prescribed sedatives that we used occasionally. Matthew was barely making it through the day and we were barely making it through the week. We finally reached breaking point one October day in 2012.
We contacted Brenda who observed Matthew and her reasoning was that despite Matthew's special needs he still needed to sleep and rest properly to develop. Fast forward three months and on a good night he will sleep from 8pm to 5.30am. He still wakes 3/4 times a week but stays in his room until we come and fetch him. We are working towards a 6.30am waking but we are in a much better place as a family. We have also noticed Matthews development has improved as a result.
We have also consulted with Brenda on toilet training. Although Matthew has no speech he can sign. 1 month later although he is still in pull -ups he happily goes to the toilet to 'have a go' even if nothing happens.
In summary Brenda's help and guidance has turned our lives around. we feel more confident as parents and more proactive on a day to day basis. We would recommend anyone who has a child with special needs and is having issues to get in touch with Brenda.