Julie's testimonial: 14 years old, ADHD

The Tomatis method combined with the Activate Brain headset: positive results, without stimulant medication.

When were you diagnosed with ADHD?

“When I was 3, I was at nursery and I ran around everywhere, they couldn't settle me down. So she told my parents. Later on we went to see the paediatrician and I had loads of tests. Then they diagnosed me with ADHD.”

Were you then prescribed medication?

“Yes, when I was 8 they gave me Rıtalın. It was far too strong. I took it once and I started going off the rails. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't do anything. You know how you feel faint when you haven't eaten? Well, I had that kind of fainting spell right in the middle of a lesson. So my dad refused to let me carry on taking it. Then, recently, I was prescribed a medication again, Medıkınet MR.”

When you say the medication made you go off the rails, what do you mean?

“I took the Rıtalın for 1 day and straight away I went off the rails. It really stayed with me, I never wanted to go through that again. Unfortunately I did go through it again, because when they change the dose you don't feel very well. You feel loads of emotions coming up on their own. A while ago I was on the bus with my boyfriend and he was telling me about something really happy, and I was super happy. And then all of a sudden I started crying. While they're adjusting the dose, your emotions are all over the place. Someone even said to me, ‘You're going through hell, you can be all 4 seasons in one day.’ I could go from hot to cold in a second.
And the first time, they didn't give me the medication gradually. My psychiatrist gave me a whole pill in one go when I was 8. That's way too much, and I was very young too, and it made me go completely off the rails. I just kept going up and down, and at one point it hurt so much that I fainted.”

So after that first episode with Rıtalın, you stopped medication for a while?

“Yes, for my dad there was no way I was going through that. Then recently, last February, I was prescribed a medication again, Medıkınet MR.”

What brought you to the Tomatis Centre Geneva?

“Sometimes I had noises in my ears, a sort of weird ‘beep’, and I couldn't hear anything people were saying around me any more. It happened to me a lot at school. People talked to me but I couldn't hear anything. The teachers had to shake me or say something to me, otherwise I didn't hear. That's why I came to the centre. As well as the noise, it was impossible for me to keep still. Being able to sit here calmly with you today is a real achievement for me. It's something I couldn't do before.”

How did things go when you started the medication again, before your treatment with the Activate Brain headset?

“When I was prescribed medication again in February, my dad didn't want me to take it again. My mum still wanted us to try again to see, so we tried with a small dose that we increased bit by bit. Then, when we got to a certain dose, I couldn't work any more. I was too hyper, it was hard. It was a dose that was way too high.

I couldn't think any more and I started shaking. At school, I was the best in my class at geometry. Then one day my teacher gave me a set square and a ruler and asked me to draw a parallel line. I couldn't do it any more. I kept turning my things every which way and I couldn't stop shaking. My teacher even said to me, ‘This is serious.’ It was impossible for me to control the shaking and think clearly. Emotionally it was really complicated, I got angry easily, I was really on edge.”

When did you start with the Activate Brain headset?

“I'd already had treatment at the centre, including Tomatis listening in February. That's also when I started the medication again. Then, in August, Julien Frère suggested I try the headset to treat my ADHD. I said yes, and after a week of the headset I went and told him it was too much information at once for me. With the medication and the headset at the same time, I couldn't tell what was causing what any more.

It felt like one side of my brain was normal but the other was jumping around all over the place. After I told him, Julien Frère wrote a letter to my mum suggesting I didn't take the medication during the second week of the headset, to give me a chance to see if the headset could let me stop the medication. She agreed, and afterwards she often asked me how I was doing without the medication, but I told her everything was fine.”

Did you go back on your medication at the end of the headset treatment?

“No, I haven't taken it since. So that's 1 month now. I've got an appointment with my paediatrician in November and we're going to tell her I've stopped the medication. I don't feel the need to take it because I've felt calm since I did the headset treatment. I can stay sitting down, even I can hardly believe I've managed it. Honestly, the headset treatment worked much better for me than the medication I was taking. I felt the effects of the headset on my hyperactivity straight away. At school things are much clearer, I'm more focused, calmer, and it's really easier. Now I can do projects on my own easily, whereas before the teachers had to chase after me or I couldn't do it.”

How did you feel the headset treatment affected your ADHD?

“The first few weeks I had headaches and felt dizzy. But afterwards, when I stopped the medication, it was fine. When the headaches went away, I realised I could sit down and keep still, I couldn't believe it.”

If you had to recommend a treatment to someone else with ADHD, what would you recommend?

“I'd tell them to do the Activate Brain headset, no hesitation. The headset calms you much more easily, whereas medication tricks you. You're not yourself. My best friend, who I've known for 3 years, is only now seeing what I'm really like. The headset treated my ADHD while letting me still feel like me.

I really feel better since I did this treatment.

I feel like myself, it feels a bit strange, but I'll get used to it, that's normal.

I recommend it and I'm really glad I did it. It's been 1 month now since I did the headset and I don't take my medication any more.”

Have you noticed anything else in particular?

“I love sweets. When I ate sweets on medication, the sugar still made me really hyper. Whereas now, since my headset treatment, when I eat them I feel the hyper effects of sugar much less.

I really hope people will come and try this treatment, because it totally worked for me!”

To find out more about the Activate Brain headset: https://centre-tomatis-geneve.ch/en/the-activate-braintm-headset/

To book an appointment online, click here: https://tomat.is/resa