Ask the experts: Quester Therapies on helping a child struggling to learn

Quester Therapies Founder AnneMarie Smellie on getting specialist help to support a child who is struggling to settle down to learning at school

Q. My young daughter is having some problems settling down to learn at school and I’ve heard that specialist therapy may be a beneficial addition to the extra help she’s now receiving from her teachers and school support staff. Can you explain more?

A It can be very worrying when a child seems to be falling behind at school, especially when they’re already receiving extra help but still struggling. If your daughter is easily distracted and her reading and writing skills aren’t progressing as expected, there could be underlying factors making learning more difficult than it needs to be. Specialist therapy can be a powerful complement to the support she’s already receiving by looking more deeply into the root causes and not just the symptoms.

Often, emotional and learning challenges stem from deeper neurological or physiological imbalances. These can include retained primitive reflexes (early-life movement patterns that haven’t fully integrated), auditory processing difficulties, nutritional imbalances, or even inherited genetic predispositions that affect mood, energy, and focus.

Our approach is holistic and child-centred, combining multiple therapies to support the whole child. For example, our neuro-developmental therapy works to integrate primitive reflexes that can interfere with attention and learning. Auditory retraining, based on Dr. Guy Berard’s method, helps improve how a child processes sound – which is essential for concentration and communication.

“Nutrition plays a big part. Many children with focus issues or low mood have underlying sensitivities that affect brain function”

For more complex or persistent challenges, we offer Blueprint Kinesiology, which uses non-invasive genetic understanding to identify how a child’s system is uniquely wired. This gives us powerful insight into how their brain and body respond to stress, stimulation and nutrition. This is combined with kinesiology techniques to design a personalised plan that supports emotional balance, cognitive function and overall wellbeing.

Nutrition plays a big part. Many children with focus issues or low mood have underlying deficiencies or sensitivities that affect their brain function. By working with families, we are able to explore these factors and then make gentle but effective changes.

Ultimately, the goal is to empower children by addressing the root causes of their challenges, rather than masking symptoms. Families often tell us they’ve tried many routes before finding us and it’s the combination of therapies, tailored to each individual child, that finally makes a difference.

Whether your child is experiencing anxiety, trouble focusing, low confidence, or has a diagnosis such as ADHD or sensory processing disorder, integrative therapy can be a valuable complement to classroom support. We work closely with families, teachers, and also schools to ensure everyone is part of the journey. Flexible in-person and online programmes, plus an app, ensure we can be where families are, and we offer initial consultations to help discover the best next step for each child.

Quester Therapies questertherapies.com

Further reading: Nutritional therapist Alison Peacham on managing a fussy eater