Natural therapies are not just for healthy kids, or for treating colds and tummy upsets.  Yoga, osteopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy and a multitude of therapies are now being used for Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome, Autism spectrum disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other conditions.  One aussie mum who knows all about the huge (but often dismissed) benefits these therapies can have is Kristen Morrison.  Her story is here (copied directly from her website, with permission).

Down syndrome – there is hope!

I woke this morning to my son trying to ‘bite mummy’s nose’ with Dad’s glasses case.  I buried my nose in his delicious soft neck – ahh the smell of your own child’s skin! It’s kind of irrelevant to me now that as well as being cheeky and smelling divine, my son has Down syndrome.

Then I read today’s news. Two families from my home town are taking their doctors to court because they had children with Down syndrome – their diagnosis was not picked up during pregnancy.

The Herald Sun says ‘..in Victoria, people can sue for compensation for the continuing costs of raising a child to the age of 18, where the child was born as a result of negligent care’.

I am not one to judge.  Human challenges are many.. daily.. for all of us, and we all respond differently. I hear stories every day about how different parents react to a situation like this and I feel for every one of them.  It’s hard!

I had no idea I would react the way I did when my son was born.  I don’t know how I would have reacted had I been told during pregnancy. But for me, research into healing was therapy – for me AND my son. Others find a situation like this utterly anihilating.

I TOTALLY understand!

There is a common thread through the articles I’ve read today – everyone I’ve seen interviewed, every interview I have read, talks about the FACT that Down syndrome equals health issues. The FACT that it is to be avoided – at all costs, better screening is the solution. Avoid it.

On Channel 9′s Today Show, Mia Freedman talked about children with Down syndrome having ‘enormous health problems’.

I can honestly say that our experience of Down syndrome has not fitted this mould in any way.  I know there are plenty of people who will say we got lucky, everything we did is placebo – our successes would have happened anyway.

We have worked our guts out to help our son since he was born! But apparently we got very lucky that he has no heart defect, no thyroid problems, no mobility or vision issues.   We got lucky with his hearing, lucky with his ability to walk, lucky that he has only had to go to emergency once in his life (when he had a nasty cold) and has had no other serious illness.  We got lucky that he has no food intolerances or behaviour problems, lucky that he now speaks, lucky that he cuts with scissors at 3 and could read words at 18 months.

That’s pretty lucky.

And that’s exactly why I wrote my book.  It’s a case study. It’s only one child’s story, I understand this doesn’t constitute a double blind scientific study. But I felt the need to tell others what we did, what supplements and therapies I selected for him and what results we achieved in his first few years.  We observed miracles I had thought impossible. And now I read more and more stories from other parents who are doing some of what we have done and are observing similar improvements.

I guess they got lucky too.

I produced a documentary about our experiences to bring awareness for other parents that Down syndrome is NOT a life sentence. Children with Down syndrome DO respond to natural and alternative therapies very well.

I want others to know what is possible for their kids.  Or for the kids of people they know.  This is a human problem.  Humans should know there is something that can be done to make things better.

My son delights us just as our daughters did at 3 1/2.  He steals my wallet and runs away, wants to cook all the time and counted ’3 white utes’ on our walk yesterday. We love him to pieces.

Click here to watch the documentary – Part 3 shows my son at 3 1/2.  And no, he doesn’t have mosaic Down syndrome (the mildest form).  Trisomy 21 – the most common kind.

Here’s to healing!

Kristen took her experience, knowledge, research and passion and brought it all together to write the book 'Naturally Better'.  It details her personal journey and the therapies she used to help her gorgeous son beat the odds, despite facing those 'enormous health problems'.  The book is written in a way that not only lets the reader share the close relationship between Gryffin and Kristen, and learn about the practical applications of the various therapies for Down syndrome, it also gives great advice and information to help us raise our kids to be the best (and healthiest) they can be.  

At the heart of this amazing story of hope lies the sad fact that today, the Australian Government gives little or no funding either to parents wishing to use natural therapies to assist their children, or to the research on how these therapies can be effective, or applied.  This is a topic I could blog about for hours- funding the research into or the use of natural therapies could save the country millions of dollars spent on conditions like the ones mentioned, but also cholesterol, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and immune conditions.  With the correct application we could prevent so many degenerative or lifestyles diseases, and stop unnecessary reliance on prescriptions medications which often just cause more problems.  We could also offer so many more effective treatments for kids with Down syndrome, ASD, Asperger syndrome and ADHD- without the need for Ritalin!

In response to the needs of families in similar situations to hers,  Kristen along with Sarah Delarue have co-founded the GROW foundation.  With the help of sponsors, the foundation gives families the opportunity to attend the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, USA.  The Institutes teach parents to provide home based therapy to help kids see, hear, read and walk.  GROW also lobbies the Australian Government to provide funding for natural therapies, something that is desperately needed if we are to become a truly healthy nation.

I'll leave you with a quote from Kristen:

"We as parents have the instinct to help our own children, and these instincts can – in my opinion – be honed, validated and fine tuned. All we need is education and some encouraging results – instead of being expected to just ‘take a pill’ or accept a professional’s word unquestioningly. I am meeting so many parents who are feeling deflated because of their child’s diagnosis and who have been left thinking they can’t make a difference, but they can! And I am LOVING being able to help them get the confidence to research their own healing campaigns for their kids. (And I’m now hearing some stunning results too!) Natural health options have remained the world’s best kept secret for many years, now the internet allows us to share our own family’s experiences and help others have similar benefits."

If you would like to help the GROW foundation please jump on the website to check out the fundraiser packs or see their Facebook page.  You can buy the book from their website, or on Kindle!