Testimonials

I’ve visited Dr Dalziell several times over the past couple years. He ended up changing my entire outlook to school. In primary school I didn’t care at all about my education and I didn’t bat an eye if I got a D in a maths test. I’m now in high school, since visiting Dr Dalziell I am consistently getting A’s and B’s in all my tests. I’m doing my Nat 5’s this year and anticipate doing very well.

Dr Dalziell was recommended to me by a teacher at my son’s school. My son is intelligent and has ASD. I felt he wasn’t reaching his full academic potential and was keen to support him in any way I could. Dr Dalziell listened to my son and managed to engage really well with him. After assessment he advised a series of exercises. My son was keen to do these and I had no difficulties integrating them into his day. The effect was really outstanding. He very quickly started to understand the importance of school and the positive part it will play in his future. He went from being unmotivated to a hard working pupil who is achieving fantastic marks and doing his absolute best.

Andy was there from the beginning of our Bilateral integration journey. Charlie was 7 years old when we started physical therapy and graduated when he turned 10. We were eager to get him started and I could tell Andy was eager to help him – which is not so common in Dubai. We loved Andy from day one, where we immediately noticed Andy’s passion for children. It is clear that he is doing this job because it’s his calling—to help kids like mine and parents like me.

Andy has taught me how to help Charlie overcome his hurdles, which I am so grateful for.

When Andy looked at Charlie on the first day, he saw more than just low muscle tone and coordination issues. Everyone else looked at him and saw barriers, but Andy saw the potential and found ways to unlock it. At the same time Andy unknowingly helped me see my own potential as his mum.

We can’t say thank him enough! Thank you Andy for being our teacher, counselor and friend. We will miss you! With Love, Beth, Charlie and family.

I first went to see Andy because my parents made me go, but I am glad I did. Andy was a good teacher and mentor, he helped the left and right side of my brain connect and helped me with my balance. Some of the exercises were hard but Andy made them easier and fun.

We first sought out Andy’s help for our son who has a diagnosis of ADHD, Learning difficulties and is on the autistic spectrum. At the time our son had very poor social skills and displayed a lot of traits of dyspraxia e.g. he was constantly bumping into things.

At our initial consultation, Andy asked our son to perform a number of motor/balance tests, which he did with great difficulty. Andy then prescribed a course of exercises for our son to undertake.

Over the next two years, we saw Andy on a 6-weekly basis and his progress has been nothing short of remarkable. While he has made some improvements with aspects of his school work e.g. spelling and reading, his balance and coordination have vastly improved, with a consequential massive improvement in his self-esteem and confidence.

As we see our son every day, small improvements can be easily overlooked, but we recently had cause to take him to see his GP, who he had not seen for over 2 years. He was amazed with his progress, commented on how well he interacted and how good his eye contact was – something that was lacking in the past.

From the outset Andy developed a fantastic rapport with our son, who greatly respected him – they enjoyed good natured banter and he really enjoyed Andy’s sense of humour.

We cannot thank Andy enough for the work that he did with him, we feel that because of the changes that Andy has facilitated our son has a much better chance of becoming independent, employable and happy.

I like Andy because he is very fun and understands the needs of kids as well as adults. Even though he does like to have fun he is very quick at getting to the point with what you can work on. I think he gave me great feedback about how I needed to develop. Andy helped me grow in confidence as well as help me have better balance and be more stable physically and mentally. Thank you Andy, you are great!

Andy built up a great relationship with our son straight away and really put our minds at ease about why we were there. Our son had daily exercises that required him to put in a lot of hard work. After regular sessions over a short time then a couple of less frequent reviews we saw significant changes in our son’s coordination, organisation and overall confidence. Andy was always up front and clear with our son and us so we always knew what to expect. We would thoroughly recommend seeking Andy’s support for your child, it was absolutely the best thing for our son to a help him achieve his potential.

Hi Andy,
I’ve just been into school to get my results. I got A*A*A!!!! A* in maths and biology and an A in chemistry. Thank you so much for all your help, techniques and strategies to help put me in the right frame of mind for my exams. It honestly helped me so so much! I’m now heading down to Exeter in September and can’t wait. Best wishes, Kayla.

I first went to see Andy because I couldn’t keep focused on a task; I was quite fidgety and couldn’t sit still for very long! Andy helped me with that. He is totally honest about everything he does. He gave me some really cool exercises which helped me with my co-ordination and balance. Andy is incredibly funny which is why I liked working with him. The exercises can be hard but stick with them and they’ll help you in the end!

We originally approached Andy because of a recommendation from another practitioner who was working with our nephew in Dublin. Our son has always had an issue with arm “flapping” and his lack of organisation skills and co-ordination had begun to be raised as a concern at school. We went into the initial meeting with some trepidation and indeed a wariness of the whole area that Andy specialises in, but wanted to give our son the best chance of reaching his full potential.

Andy put us at ease right away and the fact that he has an amazing rapport with children was evident immediately. My son really liked the fact that he told him he would always be totally honest with him and would tell him when he did something great but also if he did something rubbish!

Over the course of carrying out the various exercises we saw real improvements in Sam’s concentration and co-ordination. He had previously shown no interest in throwing & catching balls and now he loved it (the issue was not a lack of interest but a difficulty he had with the task!); his use of cutlery improved greatly too; his ability to write longer sentences is markedly improved and although he still uses his “flapping” when he gets excited about things – he has taught himself a more contained version of it by just using his hands & fingers.

The exercises themselves could be challenging, but our son loved them and his commitment was extremely impressive – this was possibly primarily because he wanted to impress Andy. He loved his sessions with Andy and was sad to finish the programme of exercises; he never complained once which made our job a lot easier too! We would thoroughly recommend contacting Andy if you feel your child may need some additional input – he will be very honest about whether or not he can make a difference to your child and will only embark on an intervention programme if he thinks he can help.

Andy, just wanted to send you a quick mail to say how much I appreciate you putting us in touch with Grace & for your wise counsel when we met last year.

Olivia is progressing really well with more & more words & full sentences coming every day – an absolute joy to watch & listen!!

Grace has had a huge impact on Olivia & Sharon & I are both really appreciative of all that you have done in identifying the support needed for Olivia.

My son attended his initial assessment with Andy Dalziell in May 2012, age 10, following a presentation by Andy at the school where my son Peter was a pupil.

At the time Peter was lacking in confidence to some extent although this was not the initial reason we approached Andy. Peter was struggling with spelling whilst his reading performance was high. With one dyslexic parent this was a concern at the time. He was hesitant and unfocused whilst playing sport which made him unhappy – this seemed to relate to a minor lack of co-ordination.

Andy instantly put Peter at ease as he assessed him and explained thoroughly everything that he expected of him. Peter was clearly placed as the focus of each session with all explanations and communication directed to him which he really enjoyed. Andy would explain to Peter and I how to perform the required exercises to improve his co-ordination and allow his mind to focus on mental tasks whilst preforming physical movements which would translate into his everyday life. Andy would explain to Peter why he might be finding a sequence difficult to achieve.

Over subsequent visits Andy built on Peter’s confidence through the use of appropriate praise if he had completed a set of exercises along with discussing anything Peter felt he had done confidently or achieved between Andys’ visits. Peter looked forward to his meetings with Andy who had a fantastic method of communication with children. He was clear and realistic when setting goals with Peter whilst encouraging him to regard the exercises as his responsibility.

Peter always felt that he could be honest with Andy if he had not completed exercises on a regular basis as Andy nurtured an honest relationship with Peter.

I saw a gradual improvement in Peter’s level of concentration and focus in the classroom throughout the duration of his sessions with Andy. His sporting abilities also improved along with his co-ordination and focus. There was an improvement in his spelling but Andy pointed out that testing showed that Peter had minor dyslexic traits. The school did not regard these as particularly problematic and I felt that over time the issue had been his confidence rather than of an academic nature. Andy was helpful in allowing me to realise this without actually pointing it out! The major change was the huge increase in confidence that Peter displayed over the year which I feel Andy was largely responsible for.

Andy was always positive whilst not proffering false praise. he encouraged Peter to see himself in a new light and to celebrate all of his achievements down to positive aspects of his own personality. The positive effect was probably felt by all of our family.

The sessions stopped when Peter moved to secondary school when the time felt right for him to make a fresh beginning which has thus far been very successful socially, on a sporting level and academically.

Thanks for everything Andy.

We asked Andy Dalziell to help us with our daughter after she failed her school entrance examination. Although our daughter is a bright girl, she sometimes had problems in transferring this into her written work. After the initial assessment, Andy gave our daughter a series of exercises which were assessed at the six-weekly sessions. This in conjunction with the additional academic work that we set at home showed a real tangible improvement in her maths, writing, and comprehension. With Andy’s help, our daughter re-took her entrance exam the following year, and passed.

From the early sessions Andy built up a fantastic relationship with our daughter and the rest of the family, meaning that any assessments and exercises were not seen as a concern. I am convinced that the programme has not only enabled our daughter to pass the entrance exam, but more importantly gives her a better foundation for her studies in the coming years. Thank you.

If you had asked Martin and me two years ago what was in store for Colin who had just started senior school, for sure we could see a reduction in his education achievements not because of his inability to learn but his struggle with social situations and dyslexia. Although we don’t like to think about it, we both could see a high chance of exclusion from school as a direct response from his struggles to fit into normal school life. But the minute we started working with you what a transformation, it really was that quick within about 2 weeks we saw a difference and a calmness developing in Colin.

Now if you ask us what is in store for Colin, we can truly say, whatever it is he wants to achieve is his for the taking. We only wish we had found you a few years ago and saved Colin all that stress.

School life and life in general for Colin is brilliant. At his last report Colin received six effort level 1 and two effort level 2 for all his subjects, (level 1 being the highest out of 4 levels). He has achieved level 5a in English, a massive leap from 3a two years ago! He remains a great Mathematician and always in the top 2 of his class, his aim is a grade A at GSCE and we know this is possible and what he deserves. He still needs prompting for homework, although we feel this is Colin being Colin and nothing to do with his previous issues, Colin is a firm believer that homework due next Monday should be completed the night before and no amount of discussion seems to move him from this point of view!! But on the plus, it always gets done, effort levels and school reports reflect good progress, so Colin uses these facts as proof his system is a good one.

Although he does not appear to have a best friend that we know of and still enjoys his own company, Colin is maturing at an alarming rate. He has a small group of good friends and is very happy to spend time with them at school but still finding his way with developing these friendships outside of school. However, being involved in World Challenge seems to be providing an opportunity for developing new friendships outside his peer/year group as they meet weekly in school and outside school with team building activities and group fundraising.

We cannot believe Colin has put himself forward for World Challenge. He will be off in July 2014 for 4 weeks to complete a community or conservation project in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. This is a child who 2 years ago, forgot his PE kit, lost numerous coats and could not even ask for an ice cream at the ice cream van without support!. Fundraising is offering him the opportunity to develop so many necessary life skills, planning, talking to people and selling himself brilliant for developing self-esteem. Seeing him with the group at a fundraising event in Dec he was definitely one of the quiet ones, but keen as anything to be involved, we can only see him gaining in confidence.

We were in Florida in August and Colin has turned into a roller coaster junkie! I have attached a couple of photos of Colin on one of the rides. Not bad for a kid with Moro reflex at it’s max 2 years ago. We then visited a friend in who emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina 2 years ago. A six hour drive and no travel sickness! Colin enjoyed re connecting with her boys, riding bikes to the swimming club with them and literally jumping right in with their American friends. In fact he has been invited out to Charleston for the summer and may be flying unaccompanied in July and we will follow in August and he can travel back with us. He is keen and wants to go and join the swim club and sailing club for the summer with our friend’s boys. Unbelievable!

Colin has continued his hobby of rock climbing, it’s right up his street and have attached a couple of photos. He can take part in group lessons and competitions, but equally enjoys practising himself with a few chats with the instructors and others between climbs.

We will always be grateful to you and your help, encouragement and unreserved belief in our son.

If we can provide any of our experience or thoughts with parents or professionals on your behalf we would be delighted to. Feel free to share our email address with anyone who may benefit from hearing about our experiences.

Sorry this has been like War and Peace, but you have allowed Colin to achieve so much. Many, many thanks, keep up the fantastic work with other families. Wishing you and your family a healthy and happy 2013 and hope that the reindeer food worked over the border.

Always grateful.

Claire and Martin Montgomerie

Although Eric does very well in most of his education, and lives a full and active life, we have always been aware that having two eyes that do not function well together has led to some limitations. To finally find the person that is hopefully going to be able to help Eric is such a relief. Without your help this would not have happened and we will always be grateful for your time, your expertise and your onward referral to Mr Wade – many, many thanks Andy!

I was first introduced to Andy over dinner and was really impressed by his knowledge and understanding on child development and childhood behaviours, including his in-depth knowledge on the physical development of children. In my role I am always looking for new and innovative professional development for the early years workforce and we have been very fortunate to secure Andy’s time to deliver training in Northumberland. Andy has delivered Bi-Lateral Integration not just once but a few times in Northumberland. His audiences included childcare practitioners, children’s centre multi agency staff, local authority staff, and nursery graduates. Andy is also an inspirational Keynote Speaker who has delivered talks on the importance of Bi-Lateral Integration at our Conferences. Andy is a true professional with a depth of knowledge and understanding that always attracts fantastic feedback with his relaxed and enthusiastic style of delivery.

The following words are taken from our evaluations on Andy’s courses:

• Interesting, insightful, brilliant, enlightening, inspirational
• Enthusiastic, fascinating, practical and outstanding.

I have no hesitation in recommending Andy Dalziell. Andy should be proud of his contributions in making a difference to the lives of infants, children, young people and their families.

I first came across Andy Dalziell during my time as a Depute Rector at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow. Andy had been working with a number of Hutchie students with amazing effect. All of the students and their parents spoke of Andy in such glowing terms I decided to ask him to deliver some in-service training to my colleagues. The effect was quite incredible. He spoke to the PE Department as well as a wide range of colleagues throughout the school, all of whom rated the inset among the best they had ever had.

In my current post as Headmaster at Hymer’s College I asked Andy to deliver some training to colleagues in the PE and Junior School Departments and once again he has had a very positive impact.

Andy’s great strengths are that he understands children and their behaviours. His professional approach and depth of knowledge are second to none and I recommend him unreservedly.

It’s amazing! She’s gone from strength to strength at home and at school. Her default way is now calm and content rather than being on an emotional rollercoaster. Her school and home work has continued to improve so she’s much more confident now. Even during the recent assessments her teacher couldn’t believe how well she’d done. Her relationships with school friends are much better too. She had 3 girls from her class for a birthday sleepover which literally went without a hitch (even after only 5 hours sleep). We would normally expect Hannah to spend some of the time being protective over her space and things and perhaps being mean occasionally. This did not happen at all.

My daughter has struggled with fine motor skills and coordination which has made it a lot harder for her at school; maths and concentration have been a particular problem. On hearing a few years ago of the benefits of guided movement we began a programme with Andy having been disappointed with the Brain Gym consultant. The programme with Andy has required regular consultations and a daily exercise routine but it has been fascinating to watch reactions change from that of a baby towards that of her own age group. Andy managed to identify and show us why our daughter was having such difficulty by using a series of assessments and used these to help us map her progress. It has been a very motivational experience which has given her confidence to believe she can achieve.

There is a cost involved but it is pay as you go but in my opinion and experience it has been well worth the sacrifices to see my daughter going on up to High school with a positive sense of her own ability.

We really appreciate all your help and guidance that you have given us, it has without a doubt aided/accelerated/improved Sam’s development, social skills and overall his life.
As for staying in touch of course we will as 50% of the time the sessions are there to help the parents as much as the children.

Andy I have been meaning to give you an update for a long time now. Tommy is doing really well – his reading and writing continue to improve at a good rate – he remains determined to be able to do what his peers can – so everything is going in the right direction. He appears to be in a much better place for the P7 – S1 transition than we could have hoped for. None of this would have taken off in the way that it has, had it not been for the work you did with him – that I am sure – so again THANK YOU

My nephew was diagnosed with mild dyspraxia as a child, but for a number of reasons, no action was taken. It was not until he turned 20 that his close family began to realise that this was more serious than had been thought, but had been masked by his ability to develop a range of coping strategies. I was put in contact with Andy through another relative who had worked with him, and he agreed to see my nephew for an assessment. This developed into a treatment programme, and over the last 10 months the change has been dramatic. Using a combination of physical exercises and mental exercises, coupled with regular mentoring, Andy has taken my nephew from a situation where he was existing, but with a negative attitude, and little in the way of a future life plan, to a position where he is going back to University, confident in his ability to succeed, and with a clear idea of how his life could map out subsequently. The whole family have seen major changes in his demeanour, something we would not have thought possible a year ago.