Superior intellect nurtured

0:00am Fri Sep 04, 2009

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A girl who once struggled to write is now said to be intellectually superior thanks to home tutoring and diagnosis of a condition that developed before birth.

Lucy Kitchen (10) was found to have not moved properly while in her mother’s womb, meaning her development after birth was slower than most children.

At school Lucy was said to be frustrated by her lack of progress, particularly in handwriting and maths.

Her parents, Mr and Mrs Matthew Kitchen, of Manners Road, Balderton, opted for home tutoring.

Lucy began to excel and now reads at an age level of beyond 12 years, writes beautifully, and no longer lags behind in maths.

Mr Kitchen (34) said: “I can only describe the old Lucy as a timid flower.

“She would run away frightened and in shame that she couldn’t write at the age of seven or eight.”

Her mother, Mrs Fiona Kitchen (43) said Lucy blossomed at home, and her progress meant she soon began to read the early classics.

She said: “In March I took Lucy for an 11+ assessment. I thought it would be worth putting her through the examination, as a benchmark exercise.”

While preparing for the 11+ Mrs Kitchen was introduced to education consultant Mrs Gwyneth Jeyes, who assessed Lucy and diagnosed the prebirth

problem.

As a result, Lucy is enrolled in a tape-listening scheme that helps her understand and replicate foetal movements, enabling her to progress to the levels she should be aspiring too.

Since starting the listening scheme, she has come on in leaps and bounds.

Mrs Kitchen said: “Mrs Jeyes informed me that my child was not average as we had always been led to believe but intellectually superior.

“It was quite a shock and very emotional to hear that in fact she was in the top 5% of the population of her age according to Raven’s Matrices (intelligence tests).

“I was informed that children like Lucy are the children who are gifted but need to be nurtured.”

Mrs Kitchen said Lucy was one of thousands of British children who had difficulty assimilating information they were given.

“Research is being done but it appears to be not yet well known enough to have an impact on the thousands of children who are probably suffering,” Mrs Kitchen said.

“The research suggests that these children do not apparently move in the womb as they should.

“In turn their primary movements

are slow. This leads to them finding maths difficult, and writing pretty much impossible.

It actually hurt Lucy to write.”

She said for many sufferers the condition went undetected, and treatment was the listening programme, with daily exercises.

Mrs Kitchen said within six weeks of starting treatment Lucy’s writing was legible.

“For Lucy, it is a joy to be able to write. She is constantly writing imaginative stories. Her writing is usually in pink ink as she is so proud of it,” Mrs Kitchen said.

“Her maths has improved, as well as her general concentration and co-ordination. Because of this, she now feels more like a clever child so behaves differently too.”

Lucy said: “I used to be sad when I couldn’t write but now I am much more confident. I enjoy my learning.”

Mrs Jeyes said she hoped schools, heads and education authorities would trust in the early years’ improvement scheme and help diagnose and help children like Lucy.