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We would like to share some testimonial letters sent in by patients who are currently cared for by Dr. Levinson. If you'd like to include your experiences on this page, please email Dr. Levinson.
Contributors and their letters:
- Eric Shapiro, author of "Short of a Picnic"
- Maggie
- Nancy
- Charlene, Ronald, and Nichole
- Allan
- Peg
- Saprine
- Samantha
- Adrienne
- Glenn (this link will direct you to his web site)
Eric Shapiro
ountless
doctors wrote off my obsessive-compulsive symptoms as the product of a
ruffled emotional state, but Dr. Levinson was keen to the more vital components.
His thorough and inventive series of tests allowed him to, once and for
all, pinpoint my disorder's physical origin. As his books always remind
us, conformity is not Dr. Levinson's strong suit. His mix of innovation
and common sense carried me a great distance.
His powerful regimen broke the logjam in my thoughts. Happiness and excitement were in reach again. My mind soon made way for balanced, satisfying thoughts. My best wishes go out to the doctor and his wonderful staff.
Eric Shapiro, author of "Short of a Picnic"
Maggie
have not written to you for several years and had a friend remind me of
your great work.
I
brought my Daughter to you when she was in the second grade. Maggie had
been tested at school because she could not read. I told the school "Expert"
I thought Maggie was Dyslexic. The "Expert" told me that Maggie
was LD, not Dyslexic because Dyslexia is a reading disorder and Maggie
had other learning problems. I was then told, "I have taught Dyslexic
kids for 15 years and I know a Dyslexic when I see one." l told the
teacher "I was a Dyslexic for 40 years and Dyslexia is a life altering
problem, not just reading." At the time Maggie was tested in the
second grade, she scored below Kindergarten on reading, spelling and grammar.
Her math was seventh grade level and when they re-graded her story without
marking off for spelling and grammar her cognitive information was also
in the seventh grade level. Her overall lQ was 124 and Maggie was classified
as a mystery. That year I brought Maggie to see you in March and by the
end of the year Maggie was asking to read out loud, had friends, joined
soccer and started to love school.
Maggie is in the fifth grade this year and has been on the A-B honor roll all year in regular classes. Maggie was placed in special classes for third and fourth grades only for spelling and hand writing. She improved so much that by the start of fifth grade the school thought she could do fine in regular classes. Maggie still struggles with reading but can keep up and spelling will never be strong, but she manages to keep on the honor roll.
I
know if I had never read your book "Smart but Feeling Dumb"
and then took Maggie to see you, the last three years would have been
miserable. I struggled all my school career and was told I was not College
material. I did not want Maggie to go through that. I have a beautiful
young lady of 11 who is a soccer and basketball all-star, rides horses
in shows and has lots of friends. None of this could have happened without
your help. Maggie was known in our family as the Klutz, the goof and ditz.
Now she is the Jockett, the all-star and honor roll kid. She competes
with her sister and cousin on who gets the most A's. She loves school
and won't miss a day when given a chance to have a break.
I still see other parents struggling with their kids and my friend is coming to see you soon with her son. This is a smart kid who the school has convinced him he is dumb. They even told his Mom "we think he must have had brain damage when he was little." He learns differently so he is labeled dumb.
Well, I should go but please accept my heart-felt thanks for saving Maggie from the torture of failure at school and life.
Margaret
Nancy
t
has been a year since Joanna's second visit to see you, and since my first
visit. I will start by looking at how Joanna's year has gone. Actually
i'm going to write about an incident that happened a couple of minutes
ago.
Since this will be Joanna's 3rd visit, the instructions we were given were, to have her discontinue all medications, seven days prior to her appointment. Thus, Joanie has been "meds-free" for roughly 3 full days.
There were no noticeable problems behaviorally, at home until today. With sincere intent, Joanie promised to come in and begin her homework at 4 p.m.today. We just this past weekend put up our trampoline, which has been down for a year. As you may expect, all our kids were extremely happy to see it up and ready for action. She did try, and she did maintain a cool head most of the afternoon, but staying away was extremely difficult.
Once her father came home, I was able to delegate "Joanie-watch" to her father. He was able to stay in her room, insuring that she did not attempt to leave, or allow herself to get distracted by taking on some new and newly essential project. Jack came to dinner kicking himself for accepting a part in a local theatrical production. He was feeling so inundated with "kid-duty", that the attempt to broaden his routine, to include an invigorating adult challenge, struck him as an inexcusable error in judgment.
Later this evening, Joanie was in her room actually trying to settle down and attend to her homework. Jack had left for play practice, and our older daughter had left for a choir concert.
Now, was my chance to sit down and start writing this letter. Alas, I had not given any thought (not much anyway) to what Clara our 4 year old might be up to. I was soon to learn. She decided she wanted to 'watch' Joanna do her homework. This intrusion basically threw Joanna into a rage. When Joanna is struggling to attend to her homework, the last thing she needs is her little sister around. I finally could not ignore the yelling, screaming and crying coming from the other side of the house. I whisked Clara out of Joanna's room and down to a bath. My hopes of getting Joanna back on track without an adult around to supervise, were somewhat feeble. However, knowing that this "medfree" evening was basically experimental, I can take a 'live and learn' attitude.
So how has Joanna's year gone? By mid January of her 4th grade year, Joanna's IEP testing indicated that she was reading at the 4th grade instructional level. I include her IEP and write-up by her summer reading program teacher. Her teachers enjoy her a lot and she has developed many healthy friendships at school.
This summer, as part of her summer reading program, she and I read "Where the Red Fern Grows", a wonderful novel about a boy and his many adventures with his two hound pups. It was challenging for her, but the subject matter was so engrossing for her, that she persisted despite the difficulty with dialect and many unfamiliar words. I did much of the reading just to keep her involved. So reading is still not easy for her. However, her comprehension is very high, unlike prior to our first visit. At that time (beginning of 3rd grade), all of Joanna's efforts went into decoding. It was such an effort that she had no energy left for comprehension. Those days are gone, thank God!
Joanna is in AYSO soccer again this fall. Last fall was her first attempt. Her willingness and love of this sport is quite new. I am convinced that her medications make it possible for her to enjoy this sport. Prior to 4th grade, Joanna was quite leery of any team sport. She would attend her big sister's games, but showed no interest in the games. She would play alongside the field with her little sister, or on the nearby play structures. She was tentative at first, last fall, but her innate "love of the chase", turned her into a valuable team member. She scored many goals that year to her surprise and delight.
Joanie's creative language, was much less evident this year. She is generally able to say what is on her mind, and hasn't come up with any of her incredibly silly expletives such as "You reindeer nozzle!", for quite awhile.
We are happy with Joanna's progress. She is an affectionate, funny, smart, 14 year old. I am so glad that we found out about you and your work when Joanna was so young. She understands that she learns differently and that her medicine is a very important aid. I shudder to think of an untreated Joanna, struggling, not only with academics, but with her anger at feeling so incompetent and hopeless.
And now—about myself. I am in awe of the changes that have occurred within me since last October, when I was first tested for C-V dysfunction. I feel so capable! I have always known that I had a lot to offer, but it seemed like my body didn't agree.
My body's anxiety in crowds, in front of bright lights, in any instance when I felt like I might be "watched", really severely limited what I dared to do. Irrational self-doubts would sabotage my efforts even to carry on a "normal", conversation with a single trusted friend. I felt like I was always pretending to be normal. It was exhausting to try to talk myself into doing "normal" things. I was so anxiety ridden, and one of the hardest things to deal with was not really knowing why.
Then, after reading your book "Phobia Free". I found myself wondering, "Could the mononucleosis I had at age 18 be a factor, in this weirdness that I was living? What about that car accident and subsequent neck injury at age 25?" With each of my four pregnancies, I experienced strange emotions and greater uneasiness in seemingly benign environments such as grocery stores and crowded church gatherings. And none of the weirdness ever really went away. It just got worse as I got older. Instead of getting more philosophical and accepting of my limitations, I just became more and more desperate, frustrated, and terribly unhappy.
And now, after a year of medical treatment for a cerebellar-vestibular dysfunction, I feel calm, and ready to do what I love. Examples:
1) A piece of music that I wrote 9 years ago for 2 oboes, piano, bass, and 2 voice parts is going to be performed at church in two weeks!
2) Tonight was my first night back in graduate school! I am taking nine graduate credits in Special Education this school year, so that I will be able to have my Standard Handicapped Learner's certificate re-issued. I am excited but calm about the prospect of going back to work. I have learned so much about dyslexia since leaving the work force I look forward to using what I have learned. I did turn around and return home to take the Beta-blocker, Propranolol, before going to my first class. I know from experience that the florescent lights found in classrooms are truly not my friends. When I have taken my medications I can attend to what is going on around me, rather than the anxiety within.
3) I can look people in the eye now.
4) I don't feel pushed to be extroverted, even when I really don't want to be. I can just be me.
5) I am a happier mother and wife. The "hunted" feeling I lived with for so long is for the most part just gone.
6) I ran for a seat on my children's school's Site Council, and won! The Site Council is comprised of an equal number of staff and teachers, who decide various school policies. This is something very new for me. I have wanted to dare to say "Yes, I want to do that". But an incredible sense of anxiety and incompetence always held me back. Feeling normal, is so wonderful! Knowing that I am capable, and not having to fight my body to live out those capabilities is such a gift. I really do feel my life is just beginning.
7) l now am able to seek out friends and not feel unworthy. I have two especially wonderful friends now. I have initiated camping trips with our families and we've all had a great time! I can trust that people really do like me.
8) I just bought a computer keyboard and composing program from a friend of mine. I can say YES! To music wholeheartedly again. Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Levinson!! My whole family has benefited from my treatment.
Nancy
Charlene, Ronald, and Nichole
ello,
our names are Charlene and Ronald, we have an eleven year old daughter
Nicole who is Dyslexic. Let me first start out by telling you that Nicole's
father was diagnosed Dyslexic in his young adult life but never able to
acquire the medical attention necessary to ease the traumas he was going
through. As a result he has compensated his life as best he can to survive
in a so called "normal" world.
Looking back to when Nicole was a baby I had noticed that she had quite a few early warning signs of dyslexia. Some of them I was fully unaware that they had anything to do with dyslexia. She had many ear infections as an infant and at the time of the infections and long after they were gone she had difficulty hearing, sensitivity to light especially sunlight and she always wore sunglasses as a baby. Then there was tying her shoes, she just couldn't make it work. She seemed to have a one tract mind always doing what she wanted to do first, because that is what registered first, before she would do what was requested of her.
Throughout elementary school there were plenty of signs such as telling time late, getting confused with what before and after meant. Reversing numbers, 18 became 81, yet in second grade she could add up four two digit numbers immediately but not know how or why she could do such a thing so fast. Time and time again she stumbled and compensated through till the fifth grade when her teacher noticed that she could not recall her knowledge in math. These were facts that her teacher knew that she had known but in order for her to remember she would need prompted or triggered to remember what she knew all along. It was at our second parent teachers conference that we were told that Nicole was LD. That is when my research on the internet began. I had to find a way to help Nicole, I had to help her stop suffering and feel like she was as bright and beautiful as she truly is and always has been.
We started treatment with Dr. Levinson on April 24, 2000 and as we believed from the test results, we were told that Nicole is dyslexic with secondary ADD. Nicole's initial and very first response to learning that she is Dyslexic was sheer relief to her ears. Now that it was confirmed to her that there was a reason she had so much difficulty she could feel better about herself knowing that there was help. That was our first blessing!
Dr. Levinson started Nicole on a regimental treatment plan utilizing certain medications. These medications were introduced to Nicole gradually until she was up to the full prescribed dosage. Even before she was up to her full dosage I noticed a change in her. Nicole's sleep was more restful and the bed clothes were still on the bed in the morning. She was comprehending quite a bit more in school and her teachers noticed immediately. She was more focused, some of the fears of getting involved and participating in class were drifting away. Now she was helping other students with their math when before it was the opposite. Not just one of her teachers noticed the change in Nicole, all of them did.
I recall one evening while Nicole was doing her math homework, they were word problems her biggest nightmare, she was able to not only to explain them to me and Ronald but she got them all correct. Nicole was starting to come into herself as a well focused eager to learn student. The proof was in the pudding as they say, in reading her test scores jumped a whopping twenty-five percent. Her math scores still suffered as usual but her teacher felt that math would open up for Nicole and she would come to enjoy math as well as the rest of her studies.
To further prove the improvement we were seeing in Nicole, on June 12, 2000 she was seen by Dr. Levinson for her two month check up. Nicole had improved by I believe thirty percent (this Dr. Levinson you will have to confirm and change if I am wrong) from when she was first tested. Nicole was where Dr. Levinson had hoped she would be after approximately one year of treatment. It was at this point Dr. Levinson decided to push up her dosage of medication to see if there would be an even more significant improvement.
Summer was here and Nicole continued with her increased dosage of medication and continued to blossom throughout the summer socially. She had become more outgoing, better organized and easier to talk to. She seemed to be sharing more of her feelings and experiences with us on a regular basis.
Well now, summer is over and a new school year about to begin in a brand new school. We were full of fears, how is she going to do, will she be scared of the work, will she make new friends. I guess that we were afraid of just about anything you could think. To our surprise or might I even say shock Nicole is a completely different young lady, as a student she is thriving and happy. Her math has become fun and sort of a breeze to her and the only time I am asked to help is when she is a little confused as to what they are asking her to do. The work she does on her own, this was never the case before seeing Dr. Levinson.
Nicole's new math teacher has given us nothing but good reports about Nicole's confidence and participation in class and that she is understanding what is being taught. In her other subjects she is doing equally as well. She has been having regular test in all of her subjects and has not had the fear of testing as she did in elementary school. She has been able to retain and retrieve what she is being taught and is taking on challenges that she would have never done before her treatment. Now a days I don't have to remind Nicole to do her homework nor are we having arguments about cleaning her room or going to bed on time. She is able to take instruction better and it is obvious to us by her reactions that she is understanding and not being confused. We are very happy with the continued improvement of our Daughter and now believe that she will become the Veterinarian she always dreamed to become.
There are many young children that we see that somehow are falling through the cracks in school and that is sad. If only the teachers were better trained to see and be able to understand that there is help out there for children other than special education. Ronald and I fully believe that if you take care of the medical end of Dyslexia, the improvement in school work and social skills will follow. We are not saying that there is not other training that is helpful to improve the way a Dyslexic person/child learns but what we are saying is that we feel the medical treatment of Dyslexia is first and foremost in our beliefs. This has been our blessing, to be able to see our daughter overcome her fears and blossom, this is all due to her medical treatment she has received from Dr. Levinson.
—Charlene, Ronald and especially Nicole...-:o)
Allan
n
update on Ian's progress since July.
There have been changes in many areas, so I'll describe them individually.
Speech: His clarity of speech has improved a little, and his vocabulary has expanded to include a lot of larger words. He will purposely use big words, just for fun. Example: approximately instead of about. He clearly has less trouble word searching to explain himself, and defends himself with his siblings verbally much better. He is much more verbose, and intensely inquisitive. He can drive us nuts with his endless questions about everything.
Socialization: He is less insecure in social situations. This summer he began showing affection more openly, giving hugs when greeting relatives, etc. This is new, and well received I can tell you. He is much more secure in the school setting, a huge change. He is more comfortable in the neighborhood and plays better with the kids, even if it may be a group of girls. My 11 year old daughter had a birthday slumber party last night: he was right in the middle of it all. There is a new family next door with a boy his age, and they get along well. They both love their Nintendo games. A good example of how Ian is coming out of his shell is that Fridays soon after school he would want to go to the video store to get a game to play all weekend. He plays these games a little less now, perhaps as he's more comfortable with others.
Balance, Coordination: He has always been a clumsy kid, with a slumping gait. This is improving. He walks a little more normally now, and is more likely to run with the other kids instead of avoiding it. In August a former nanny of ours visited with her fiancee and Ian got up and played badminton with him—to our great surprise. Not only did he warm up to a stranger, but he had never held a racquet of any kind. He did very well. He had been given roller blades in May for his birthday and never even tried them on. Well, In August he decided he wanted to try and he's learned quite well. We bought one of those little scooters, and he can fly on it. Our neighbor (and family physician) saw him flying by on it and couldn't believe the change in him. His balance and coordination are improving. I've tried spinning him around and he still doesn't like it like the others, but less so.
Memory: His short term memory seems a little better. He's better able to remember where he leaves things, things to tell the teacher, etc.
Writing: We were very surprised to see his first writing examples when he went back to school. He did much better, even on unlined paper. What was really interesting was when they began practicing cursive writing last week. They will have a letter example and he will repeat it many times on the same line. The letters were ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! They were much better than his printing. Why?
Reading: He is doing better with reading. He is constantly TRYING to read, and certainly improving rapidly. In August we noticed him reading words flashed on the TV screen, even briefly. He can read more smoothly and still stumbles on the bigger words most times, choosing instead a word with similar sound or spelling. However, my daughter got a "Magic 8 Ball" as a present at her party and he turned it over after asking a question, and read off "Yes, definitely". After a few days of school, he came home and said to his mother "I'm a genius at school now", indicating his confidence had improved. Another thing you might find interesting—he will buy these books that tell you all the fine points about a specific video game—they are about $15, about 150 pages and clearly the reading level is grade 6 or beyond. He will get one of these and pour over it for weeks, driving us crazy with questions, and helping him read the difficult passages. He will be cataloging all this data while NOT PLAYING the game. Only when he's got it all figured out will he then play the game. HOWEVER, we really need to spend more time with him reading, as his tendency is to read only the required amount for school and little more. Now that he's having less trouble and detests reading less, it's up to us. We had a nanny up till recently who would do reading with him in the afternoons, but now it's up to Shelley and I. My schedule leaves precious little quality time, but Shelley is always here when they get home from school and does his homework right then, he wants to get it out of the way. Frustration was the biggest problem for him, literally dissolving into tears convinced he couldn't do it before even trying. This is seen much less, but still occasionally.
Math: He's doing better in math. He had a math test this week, adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers and got almost all right. Last year he was struggling to count single digits on his fingers.
Medications: We've got him up to speed on all meds. We give him the 1/2 tablet of dexedrine and the others after school, so as not to interfere with sleep. He's a night owl anyway, and we fight to get him in bed and asleep between 10 and midnight. Thus he's often a zombie in the morning, but rallies quickly. There are no side effects we can see. Are there any adjustments after he's been on them awhile? He's doing remarkably well taking them. He swallows them all whole, even dry. Even the huge 1200 mg Lecithin gel cap he can swallow whole. I had visions of struggling to get these into him. He knows it is helping him.
Mood: His mood for the most part has been better. He is happier with himself it seems. Being able to express himself a little better must be helping this. He is rarely a bear in the morning trying to get him ready for school. He hated getting ready for school in the past. At times he will be a little obstinate, more than before, but I simply think he's feeling a bit empowered with his new self. It's not a problem.
Hearing: He is able to discern speech better, and we repeat things rarely now. I was amazed recently at a huge house party that I was able to carry on a conversation with him across a room full of chattering people. He could NEVER do that before. At the same party an adult came up to him and said who are you three? He piped up "I'm Ian, I'm 9, this is my sister Katherine and she's 7, and this is Rebecca, who's almost 11". He would never speak spontaneously to strangers before. Soon after a boy came up to him and invited him downstairs where they were all playing a game and he went—his social phobias would have prevented this before.
We love our little boy and are proud of his progress and accomplishments We thank you for being a big part of this. I hope this information is of help in your understanding of Ian. If you want writing examples or anything else, just let us know.
—Allan
Peg
y
son Robbie first saw Dr. Levinson August of 2000. Prior to this time he
had been diagnosed with dyslexia and had already been held back in Kindergarten.
He was struggling with reading and math. He had a very hard time concentrating
on school. He was doing schoolwork that he couldn't finish at school at
home on weekends. It was becoming a traumatic situation for him. His self-esteem
was low, he thought he was stupid because school was so hard. His first
grade teacher did not think he would be able to handle second grade. At
eight years old he did not have good enough balance to ride a bicycle
he would hold on to the handrails on stairs and could not even begin to
master roller blades. He did not want to play with other kids in the neighborhood
because they all rode bikes and Roller blades and he couldn't no matter
how hard he tried.
Dr. Levinson was recommended to us by one of his former patients. Two days after my son started the treatment program we could see a difference in him. By the end of the second week he could ride a skateboard. By the fourth month he was riding his bike and was using Roller blades "just like one of the kids". At school the teachers were amazed at his progress. His concentration was greatly improved; he can now get his schoolwork done during school time. His reading has improved to just below his grade level. He still struggles with reading and math, it is harder for him than for the other kids but he is staying up with his class. He has a tutor that helps him with his phonics and reading skills. The teacher still has to give him extra time on some reading and writing tests and extra verbal explanation are still needed in some cases. His self-esteem has increased over the last year and he longer thinks he is stupid, He continues to make progress in all areas. He now loves school and he wants to be an airplane designer.
I thank God every day for Dr. Levinsons program and his belief that kids with dyslexia don't have to just "learn to live with it". It has made a big difference in my sons' life. No child should have to go through his school years believing he is stupid and not knowing how it feels to be successful.
—Peg
Saprine
ryan
is showing a tremendous amount of improvement. His speech, balance, co-ordination
and learning ability has made a complete about face. He sees and
notices the difference and is more happier and confident in himself. He
is bringing home 100's and 98's in reading, spelling, and math. He's reading
to Mom, Dad, his big brother and even our household pets.
He has still not quite mastered days of the week, month and year but we're working on that. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I'll try anything and everything.
Thanks so much for all your help,
—Mom.... Saprine
Samantha
have kept a daily log since we started medicating Samantha. We review
it periodically to determine if her age is correct. Meclizine has been
a wonder drug for her. Within 2 days of taking Meclizine, the alphabet
was no longer upside down or backwards. On the 3rd day she could point
out the words she had written backwards. By the 4th day she was trying
to read to me and was riding her bike by bouncing between the training
wheels instead of always leaning to one die. She became less frustrated,
calmer and able to interact better socially by the end of the first week!
She can now wake herself up in the middle of the night and be able to
find the bathroom by herself instead of being disoriented.
The ginko has helped Samantha's fine motor coordination. While on the ginko, centrum and meclizine, her temper tantrums have gone away! Her headaches and stomachaches have disappeared! It is easier for her to transition from one activity to anther.
Samantha's temper tantrums came back when she started taking Mentalin. While she was on Mentalin she would start a verbal fight with someone every day. If she didn't het what she wanted right away then she would start crying uncontrollably. Her stomachaches and headaches also returned. If there was a mean thing she could think of doing then she acted upon it. We reduced her Mentalin dose to 1/8 tablet 2X per day before eliminating it completely. Mentalin seemed to counteract the benefit of the other medicines.
The DMAE @ 1 tablet, 2X per day made Samantha frantic. She scrtached me without knowing she was doing it. Reducing the dose to 1/2 tablet, 2X per day left her feeling disoriented. She is currently taking 1/4 tablet 2X per day.
Samantha was mean after getting her 2nd dose of Marezine. We took her off for 1 day to try and cleanse her system and then restarted the Marezine. When Samantha became physically violent we eliminated the Marezine.
The two drugs designed to alter mood reacted negatively with Samantha's body chemistry. The drugs like Meclizine designed purely to attack the inner ear dysfunction did alther her mood positively by enabling her to deal with her specific problems effectively. It's amazing how much calmer she got once she realized that we understood her problem and we really trying to help her. I am amazed at the dramatic improvements my daughter has made with the help of meclizine and ginko. The other treatments may also have helped (interviewing a 6 year old is interesting) but these 2 have been the key players!
—Samantha's Parents
Adrienne
y
name is Adrienne. I contacted you earlier this year about my son Dwaine
B. And the trouble I was having with the School District not willing to
admit that he did have a learning problem.
We live in Zion, Illinois. This is an update on that. I WON, WELL MY SON DID. I took them documents found on your website, and his doctors dignosis. Now they have him on a very good IEP. He is so much more happier, and content at school so am I. Just wanted to thank you and let you know about this.
—Adrienne