FAQ

What kind of difficulties do your clients have?

The Key Clinic sees a range of people with a wide range of varying concerns, from learning difficulties at school through to to behavioural and emotional problems. They might be already receiving learning support school or require extra tuition for difficulties concentrating, reading, writing or spelling, or because exam performance is poor. They may be having meltdowns, appear anxious or have poor self-confidence. Some of our clients have been previously diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia, poor working memory, speech and language difficulties, ADHD, ASD etc. Others come because their parents or teachers feel they may be underperforming relative to their intelligence.



What age group do you see?

We see clients from a few months of age up through into adulthood. Different therapies can be started from different ages and not all therapies are appropriate for all age groups. Key Auditory Therapy can be carried out for children from 3 years of age upwards. In general, by the time a child is 5 years old, we can carry out a reliable hearing test, to assess exactly how they hear. However, if they are younger than this (3-5 years of age) or unable to complete an audiogram reliably (eg) ASD or ADHD) it may still be advisable to carry out a course of Key Auditory Therapy, if they are having speech and language difficulties, or appear hypersensitive and troubled by certain sounds. We can assess for evidence of neurodevelopmental delay and begin treatment exercises from 6/7 years of age (this can vary depending on maturity).



Do you treat more than one child of the same family at the same time?

We have completed therapy on entire families before, and discounts are applied for subsequent family members. However, every client is treated individually and all sessions are 1:1.



Do you provide a diagnosis?

Clinicians can not provide a diagnosis. The priority at The Key Clinic is to address the underlying causes of presenting symptoms in order to be able to help improve functioning. A diagnosis can be extremely beneficial in obtaining extra time and support in school. However, in our experience, these descriptive labels are not objectively measured by biomarkers and can be changed over time.



How do the programmes work?

The principle behind all of our programmes is stimulating the brain via the body to heal itself. The brain’s ability to rewire itself is present throughout our lives and is known as ‘neuroplasticity’. We achieve these neuroplastic changes without recourse to drugs, (which often merely mask symptoms) by the ears, movements, the gut, one or more senses, to encourage it to rewire to overcome former difficulties.



Can I come for an assessment only?

There is no obligation to follow any of the recommended treatments. The assessment, the detailed discussion afterwards and the written report are all of great value in understanding what may be going on and what to do next.



Will you consult the General Practitioner or other Professionals for a medical or personal history?

In general this is not required. However, we would be happy to discuss our assessment findings and the programmes we are recommending for your child with your doctor, teacher, psychologist, or any other specialist, with your written permission. In our experience, the best results are always achieved by a coordinated team approach. If there is a history of seizures or any history of Schizophrenia, Key Auditory Therapy will not be permitted. It is always recommended that clients seek medical advice regarding the cessation of any medication or other medically prescribed therapy. Appointments at The Key Clinic are kept strictly confidential.



What information am I required to provide?

We will ask for a range of information within the screening questionnaire/consultation in order to gain a full developmental history of your child (from pregnancy and birth history through to developmental milestones, any illnesses and nutritional history etc.) Prior to any consultation, we will ask you to bring along any previous reports which you may have been given e.g. Educational Psychologist reports, Speech and language therapists, Occupational therapists, previous nutritional reports, Behavioural Ophthalmologist reports etc. Don’t worry, however, if you have none of these, as it is possible for us to assess and provide therapy in the absence of any other reports.



How long do the assessments take?

Auditory assessments take 45 minutes, Neuromovement Assessments 1 hour, Initial Osteopathic assessments 1 hour and Initial Nutritional consultations 1 hour 15 minutes. There is a lovely village community store/cafe downstairs where you can get a bite to eat and drink between assessments if necessary.



What if my child is nervous?

It is important that the children coming to us are happy, at ease comfortable during the assessments. This is in order to obtain meaningful results and to ensure they will like coming back again, for repeat visits! Many of them may be lacking in confidence or just fed up with being assessed and ‘treated’. We always go to great lengths to ensure that firstly, they do not feel there is any ‘problem’ with them. They are just visiting us, like many others, to see if we can help make things easier for them. We do not discuss any areas of concern in front of them. We have set up the clinic so that it does not look like a clinic, but more like a comfortable apartment with fun toys and a calm, stress-free environment. We also allow for short breaks during the assessment if required. If you are concerned that your child will struggle, please discuss this with one of our clinicians and we can make the necessary arrangements.



Will I get a written report after an assessment?

Yes, you will get a full written report of the assessment results, with clear explanations of the findings together with our recommendations for any programmes. This is important, should you wish to share the findings with your partner, teachers or other healthcare professionals. A verbal report reading is also included, either in person at the clinic, or by phone (which can conference in more than one person, if required) with one of our clinicians. This is a good opportunity to ask any questions.



What does the Auditory assessment entail?

Regular audiograms simply measure hearing loss, but our more advanced audiograms assess how a person hears, potentially revealing hidden difficulties which may be impacting speech, learning and behaviour.​ The child is given specialised headphones to wear and simply has to respond with a ‘yes’ when he/she hears a sound. This part of the test is looking for potential distortions in hearing as well as any hypersensitivity. We then assess Laterality using a bone conduction device, where the child identifies where they are feeling pure tone sounds. From this, we will be able to ascertain if any difficulties exist which may be hampering performance and devise a customised hearing programme to help remedy the problem.



What does the Neurodevelopmental Assessment entail?

A Neurodevelopmental Assessment involves standardised neurological tests (used by doctors) to assess gross and fine muscle coordination, balance, patterns of motor development, the presence of aberrant reflexes, laterality, oculo-motor functioning and visual perceptual ability. Should the results reveal any immaturities in development (ie.the persistence of primitive reflexes beyond the normal age of inhibition and or the absence of postural reflexes) we will recommend an exercise programme to help mature the system.



What are your success rates?

We have very high success rates in helping improve children’s functioning, with our latest analysis showing an average neurodevelopmental maturity of 93% following Key Neuromovement therapy. Following Key Auditory therapy, of those clients presenting with hearing distortion, 95% of clients achieved improved auditory function. Most importantly, our growth has been driven purely by word of mouth from our satisfied clients. Please refer to the testimonials section of our website for a small selection of these. There is also a significant body of research evidence, documented over the past 30 years, showing the evidence of improvement through INPP devised neurodevelopmental exercise (which we use) and AIT. Please refer to the research section on our website. The idea of neuroplasticity is a relatively new concept, but is now firmly established as a cornerstone of neuroscientist’s understanding of how the brain works.



Are results guaranteed?

As with any form of therapy or medical intervention, we cannot guarantee specific results, as every client is different. The vast majority of our clients experience improvements of some degree, and display very positive results in educational, cognitive, emotional, behavioural or social performance as well as general physical well-being. Improvements are sometimes immediate, sometimes continuing in subsequent weeks and months, sometimes not starting until 6-12 months following the the programme.



What does a Key Auditory Training (KAT) programme entail?

Two half hour listening sessions per day with a minimum three hour interval between sessions over 10 days, either consecutively or two five-day weeks within a 12 day period (Please refer to the KAT section under our ‘Key Therapies’ tab)



What does the Neuro-developmental programme entail?

A personal programme of Reflex Inhibition exercises is prepared for the client to carry out either at home or in clinic: The home exercise programme is a prescribed programme of exercises to be completed at home taking 30 minutes a day over a 3 month period. The Clinic Fast Track programme involves two 30 minute exercise sessions per day with a minimum three hour interval between sessions over 10 days, either consecutively or two five-day weeks within a 12 day period. Each session is conducted on a 1:1 basis with a qualified clinician and intermittent assessments will be completed throughout. (Please refer to Key Neuromeovement Therapy on our website)



Are these programmes safe?

Yes, all our programmes are non-invasive. There may occur a few temporary side effects, such as tiredness, as the body and brain begin to change.



Will I get a report after each programme?

Yes. We accurately record the results of the standard clinical tests, both before and after treatment, to assess progress and to tailor programmes accordingly. We report any improvements that have been identified during the course of programme.



Do you conduct longer-term follow-up research?

Yes, this is a very important part of our practice, so that we can continually measure and improve upon what we do. Clients will be sent post-treatment questionnaires at 3, 6 and 12 month intervals after treatment ends, to assess progress.



What happens if my child becomes ill during a programme ?

We would not want to continue if your child becomes ill, so we would offer a break until he or she was feeling better. In the case of auditory therapy, we continue from where we left off or start again, depending on the time lapse.



Do programmes have to be repeated?

With Key Auditory Therapy, improvements often continue to occur in the weeks or months following the treatment and one single programme is normally sufficient. However if the audiometric test or observed behaviour indicates that further improvements can be made, a second programme may be considered, but normally not for at least 6 months time. For Key Neuromovement Therapy, improvements are sometimes immediate, sometimes continuing in subsequent weeks and months, sometimes not starting until 6-12 months following the the programme. In general, 1 programme is sufficient to fully mature the central nervous system. However, if our clinicians feel that progress is slow, and significant maturation has not occurred they may advice a second programme, although this is rare. Following completion of a programme, clients are adviced to sign up to our membership programme, which includes 6 monthly reviews to ensure results are sticking.



Can I contact clients that have completed these programmes in the past?

Unfortunately due to client confidentiality, we are unable to provide contact details for past clients. You can find, however, written testimonials on our website.



What are your opening hours during term breaks, holidays and weekends?

During term time we are open for assessments and programmes weekdays only 9am until 17:30 pm. However, as many of our clients complete programmes during school holidays, we open weekends during half term breaks and work through bank holidays when required during the summer holidays and Easter.



Are you insured?

We carry appropriate Professional and Public Liability Insurance



Do you carry out CRB / DBS checks?

All of our staff receive Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service checks



What will happen during an Initial Biomedical Consultation?

To allow us to make best use of our consultation time together, we ask that you complete a comprehensive health questionnaire prior to the appointment. Your initial appointment usually lasts for 1 hour and will involve a detailed discussion of the patient’s (and their families) health history, diet and lifestyle with the aim of understanding symptoms, potential triggers, goals for treatment, and review of any prior diagnostic testing and/or therapies. You will recieve a Biomedical Assessment Report following your appointment detailing any recommended tests and intereventions.