Alfie Redman
Alfie’s story
Vital stats
Age – 9
Problem areas – concentration, academic underachievement, self-confidence and self-esteem
Completed Dore – May 2009
Background
When Alfie Redman started playgroup, at age 3, his parents were made aware there was a problem. He didn’t interact with other kids and preferred to be isolated. When he started school, Alfie was referred to the school’s paediatrician who suspected he was on the Autistic spectrum. However, despite displaying signs of obsession, conversational difficulties and other peculiar behaviour he was never officially diagnosed. At age seven Alfie became more and more isolated from his peer group and as a consequence became depressed. Despite the additional help his school made available, in the form of a classroom assistant and extra support, Alfie lacked self-confidence and would rarely interacted with other children. Failed attempts at football and other means to develop his social skills resulted in Alfie becoming more withdrawn. It was only after a Harley Street doctor finally diagnosed Alfie as Autistic and displaying signs of ADD that his parents were made aware of the Dore Programme and enrolled him.
“I hate being me…why did god make me like this?”
Alfie Redman
Alfie’s journey
Following Alfie’s assessment at Dore, his parents were advised that his Prorgramme would take in the region of 18 months to complete. When it came to physical skills, Alfie’s development was heavily stunted. He was unable to ride a bike and couldn’t walk on tip toes without his knees banging together. As part of the Dore Programme, Alfie was given a range of physical exercises to perform on a daily basis from ankle stretching to balancing on wobble boards. Within six months, Alfie was able to walk properly without any knee banging. His academic journey was also one of the other major noticeable improvements. In a structured assessment at school just months after completing Dore, Alfie displayed massive improvements with his performance reaching an ‘average’ standard.
The future
In a matter of months after finishing the Dore Programme, Alfie confidence and awareness of his own abilities increased dramatically. From a young child who would sit in the corner of his classroom and not engage, Alfie transformed into a social, confident young man. In a SATS exam Alfie scored above average for his age group.
At age 8, when his parents encouraged him to take up a hobby, Alfie chose the electric guitar. Less than a year later, Alfie had learned the basics and had set up a band called Ghost Town with his younger brother and a few friends. Shortly after, Alfie decided he wants to be a rock star!
“What a journey. Alfie has completely transformed his attitude towards so many aspects of school.”
Alfie Redman’s school teacher