TESTIMONIALS
Mina – Dyspraxia
May 23
I’m a 38-year-old female who has always felt different from others. I struggled with poor gross motor skills, like walking awkwardly and tripping for no reason, as well as poor fine motor skills, such as difficulty writing and using zippers. I also had a poor sense of direction and felt anxious driving, especially at night. Socializing in groups was challenging, and I often found myself in awkward situations. I had difficulty processing information and had a poor sense of time and organisation. Copying from the blackboard made me dizzy and nauseous. Despite these challenges, I worked hard to hide these traits, even pulling all-nighters for school tests at a young age.
I had my consultation with Ronan in October 2022. Starting therapy with Cluas later that month, I quickly noticed improvements. My driving skills dramatically improved, with better depth perception and clear differentiation between left and right. Studying became easier, and copying notes was no longer nauseating. My concentration and control over my tone of voice improved, making conversations in noisy environments more comfortable.
In May 2023, I had my final assessment, and I’m extremely pleased with the outcome of the therapy. Socialising is more enjoyable, and I even find myself singing, something I never did before. My overall mental well-being has drastically improved, and I no longer feel nauseous when reading or writing. My balance during yoga has improved, and I feel more emotionally stable, even with lack of sleep. Although there were moments during the program when I felt my brain was reverting to old habits, I have witnessed positive changes on a daily basis. Ronan reassured me that it takes time for the brain to fully embrace these changes, and occasional setbacks are normal.
Overall, the therapy has been life-changing, and I am grateful for the support and progress I’ve made.
Daniel, age 3 – Speech & Language, Attention & Concentration.
Oct 22
Daniel aged 2 1\2 had few words. His attention was very poor. Daniel wouldn’t respond to his name when being called. His interactions with his family, relatives and peers were poor. He would get extremely upset and frustrated throwing himself on the floor and banging his head. He lived in his own world and would only communicate in his own way if he needed something.
Cluas was recommended to us by a friend. Ronan was a fantastic support from the beginning. He made us feel comfortable and relaxed as we shared our concerns about Daniel. The first meeting with Ronan opened our awareness to sensory issues and we began our journey of learning the ways we could support Daniel. Daniel began the Cluas at home sound therapy programme in June. After the first stage we could see so much improvement in Daniel’s play, eye contact, listening and concentration skills. Words started to be spoken.
Daniel has completed the 3 stages and his interactions and relationships with us have improved immensely. He now plays with his parents and older sister. He interacts with relatives. His voice can be heard with a lot of singing tones and words. There is a very happy boys laughter with lots of fun and enjoyment in our lives today compared to when he was just in his own world.
Daniel started preschool in his creche in September and has settled into this group change extremely positively. He is engaging better with staff and peers.
There are so many positive things we can say about Ronan and the Cluas programme and would have no difficulty recommending it. Thank you Ronan for all your help and support.
Daniel’s mother – Westmeath.
Adam, age 3 – Speech and Language Delay.
Aug 22
Adam was 3 and had very few words compared to his classmates and friends. He was continually frustrated and it was beginning to affect his confidence and his ability to make friends.
After the initial meeting with Ronan, he began the Sound therapy program and by the end of the first round of sessions there was a world of improvement. Now, after completing 3 rounds, he has gone from being so shy and reluctant to try to talk or join in in playschool to being a happy boy who will now chat all day long about anything and everything.
I cannot recommend Cluas or Ronan enough, he has been an absolute joy to work with. He has such a kind and wonderful demeanour that every time I told Adam it was time to go see Ronan he was so excited, and now he can voice his excitement. We will never be able to thank Ronan enough for everything he has done for Adam.
Shay.
Louise, age 3 – Speech and Language delay
Mar 22
Louise was 3 when we discovered Cluas. She had very few words compared to her peers and her attention was very limited. After the initial meeting with Ronan, we started the Cluas program and Louise’s listening ability and conversation skills have improved dramatically since. Week on week, we are seeing more and more improvements.
We are so glad that we decided to do the sound therapy with Ronan as our little girl has come on in leaps and bounds. We cannot say enough good things about the program and the people in Cluas. The professionalism, support and attention to detail from Ronan and his team was excellent throughout the process.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Cluas to others.
Thank you Ronan for your help.
Evelyn, age 7 – Concentration, listening and school difficulties.
Feb 22
My daughter was 7 years old when we started her programme at Cluas. She was having difficulty keeping up at school and even though she was well-behaved in class she hardly ever knew what her teacher was talking about that day. She was returning home from school very frustrated.
After initial meeting with Ronan at Cluas, I finally understood why she was struggling with her attention at school and we were very hopeful the programme would help her improve in all areas she was falling behind.
After completing the Cluas programme her school results improved. She was able to tell me each day in detail what she learned that day. Completing the Cluas programme transformed our lives. I can understand better the source of her struggle and frustration at school and work with her to help her to reach her potential without being hindered by her inability to keep her focus at school.
Follow up email from Evelyn’s mum below – March 2022:
Hi Ronan,
Liam, Leaving Cert – attention, processing.
Sep 21
Hi Ronan,
Just want to let you know that Liam is very pleased with his Leaving Cert results.
He got 440 points and got a place in the 1st round in Business & Management (level 8) in TUD. This was his preferred realistic choice. He feels the environment in TUD will suit his needs better than UCD.
He mentioned recently that he feels his hears things much more clearly than he used and his concentration has improved. His Dad & I felt Liam’s ability to concentrate had improved in the weeks prior to the Leaving Cert.
We are delighted Liam has experienced the benefits of the Cluas program to date. Hopefully he will enjoy further benefits and his learning experiences in third level will be optimized & enjoyable.
Kind regards,
Michael, age 4 (update at age 6) – ASD, Social and Sensory Difficulties.
Feb 21
From a very early age Michael was continuously sick with chest and ear infections. By the time he was 2 years old he was prescribed over 11 antibiotics.
At 2.5 he showed a speech delay and coupled with this he was not happy. He was always so upset. I got Michael’s hearing checked but nothing seemed to show up. Until a year and a half later we caught that he had a perforated ear drum which impaired his hearing and was likely very painful.
At this point he was going through the Assessment Of Need, from which after a he was diagnosed with autism (social challenges) and he was advised to go to a special school. This was difficult news for us to process.
After this Michael got grommets inserted and this was our first step to incredible changes for Michael.
After his diagnosis we were totally lost as to what to do next. He was so behind developmentally. He carried around CDs like he would a teddy bear. He was very self absorbed. Everything was about Michael. His anxiety was through the roof and with all of this going on our family was finding things very hard.
One night I sat down and googled ears and developmental delays. CLUAS appeared and I researched this website. The testimonials strongly endorsed what Cluas were doing. I rang Ronan and we started the process.
I entered the office full of fear not knowing what was going on with Michael and hoping Ronan would be able to help us.
We met Ronan in November 2019 and he was able to explain all of Michael’s symptoms to me really quickly and why they were happening. Knowledge is power and I felt an incredible lift understanding how ears can have such a detrimental effect on everything. I had no idea.
Michael’s Cluas program was broken into three stages as described on the website and my worry of Michael not wearing the headphones was soon overturned with a little persuasion.
Ronan advised to get in touch with a dietician and to think about removing gluten and dairy. This was great advice and has made a notable difference also. It was difficult to get him settled on the new diet and it took a bit of planning, but once established, we could tell it was adding to the momentum.
On stage 1 of the headphones there is two hours of play a day and in these times I got to understand Michael and his strengths and what he found hard and the whole process brought us both closer and more connected. It was hard emotionally as he seemed to take a few steps back a lot but it was for the best and Ronan’s availability, support and clarity was invaluable.
Michael went through this process when he was 4. He is just turning 6 now.
He is not in a special school. He is in mainstream junior infants.
Michael’s teacher recently quoted ‘ he is one of the most popular boys in the class’ ‘ yard is his favourite time so he can play chase with his friends’ ‘ Irish is his favourite subject’ and he listens very attentively in class and He is always smiling.
Michael’s challenges are fine motor; he finds handwriting hard and when the class is really noisy with thirty kids he finds it hard to concentrate working alone. This positive feedback has made us a very happy family.
We have come a long way and a huge thank you to Ronan for being Michael’s portal to health and happiness.
Cathal, age 2 – Speech and Language Delay
Nov 19
Cathal was 2 and half when we discovered Cluas. He had very few words ( under 50) and his attention was very limited. We had brought him to speech and language therapists from 20 months old with very little progress.
Cluas has helped transform all our lives.
Our little boy is now thriving. His language is improving everyday but more importantly so is his confidence, concentration and overall happiness.
We found Cluas to be a safe place for all of us. Ronan only offered solutions and guidance and never jumped to conclusions or diagnosis.
He has worked tirelessly to help Cathal in every aspect of his life and we can see the growth and his endless potential everyday,
Cathal is now 3 and started playschool in September. He has settled in very well and his language skills are improving everyday. He now has 2/3 word sentences with 5 word sentences occasionally. His understanding has increased 100%. He has great concentration skills now and he is learning new skill rapidly.
We are very grateful to Ronan and his team for their support and treatment.
Catriona, age 6 – Concentration and Auditory Processing Difficulties
Mar 19
“Hi Ronan,
Just a brief update on Catriona’s progress. Heather went to catch up with Catriona’s teacher, to be honest I was very nervous.
Needless to say I was blown away when Heather came home and told me Catriona’s has improved ten fold. Reading , spelling, interaction in class. But most importantly Catriona’s behaviour is back to normal.
So looks like the work you’re doing is giving many children a better chance in life.
That’s a mighty sense of job satisfaction.
Kind regards
Aidan , Heather, Catriona.
P/s talk soon.”
Hugh, age 6 – Speech and Language Delay and APD
Dec 18
Hugh met all his developmental milestones until his second birthday, where we noticed that although he had good singular-word vocabulary, he was not attempting to construct sentences.
He began to demonstrate strong tendencies towards routine and functioned well within very structured timetables. Any deviations from these routines led to tantrums and total refusals to participate. Hugh liked to spend time on ‘screens’ when let and tended to prefer them over interacting with children his own age. We fell into the trap of letting him have screens to control him in public. His ability to share and turn-take was limited.
Despite Speech and Occupational Theory over 12 months, we saw little progress in his speech & language or social/emotional maturity.
We heard about Cluas from a televised interview and decided to explore further. We found that Pascal and Ronan at Cluas totally understood our concerns and could identify issues we had not seen ourselves.
Cluas made us no promises nor applied pressure for us to engage with their programmes but we spoke to others and decided to give it a go.
We chose to start Hugh on a 15-day programme – with the first 2 days completed in the Cluas Centre and the remaining completed at home. There were a few times early in the programme where we felt Hugh was taking one-step forward and two steps back, but Ronan and Pascal were always on the end of the phone or email to guide us.
Towards the end of Hugh’s 6-month programme and especially in the month that followed we noticed significant change in Hugh. He became more tolerant and understanding when he didn’t get his own way, his ability to turn-take/share was well improved and in general we were no longer operating on Hugh terms.
Hugh’s language and ability to hold meaningful intelligent conversations has totally changed. He can now ‘think ahead’ and asks the inquisitive questions that children often wonder about. Hugh’s teachers are really pleased at his progression since he joined over 12 months ago and academically Hugh is keeping pace with his peers – if not outpacing them in some areas.
There are still times today that Hugh can become over excited and can be a little socially immature – but this is a far-cry from where we started out, unsure if he would be able to attend main school at the same times as his peers. There is nowhere we cannot take Hugh today and we no longer worry about his behaviour over others is own age.
I would love if Hugh did what he was told every time and came in for his meals when called – but I now know that I’m in the space of every other parent with a 6 year old .. which is a nice place to be!
I cannot say if Cluas will work for everyone but only that it changed our lives and transformed our little boy.
Thank you Ronan and Pascal.