IAHP’s week-long parent course “What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child” is presented in several countries but has never before been delivered here in Australia. Were excited to confirm that this event will be going ahead here in Melbourne from June 17th to June 21st 2013.

This week-long course is designed to train parents to help their own children with conditions like Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Down syndrome. The course is unique, empowering and life-changing. The days are long with homework most nights, but parents leave with an action plan to put into place with their own child.

During the course, IAHP staff work with each parent to help them devise the most suitable program to help their child improve in all areas of development. Programs such as these have been used by parents to help all of the children featured on the Grow Foundation website.

Click here to watch two short videos about our son’s progress on this program.

The venue is located in inner Melbourne. If you would like more information about the course, please visit the IAHP website. For information about costs, enrolment procedure, etc please send an email to Grow Foundation and you will receive a prompt reply with all the details you need.

There is an A4 poster you can now download if you would like to help us promote this event. Click here to see the poster.

Please share if you know someone who may need this help.

Thank you,

Kristen x

After posting Gryffin’s 6-year-old video update the other night, I received this email today. I know that this Mum speaks for so many others, but the honesty is incredible (and thank you x):

I just want to thank you for sharing Gryffin’s video. I sat mesmerised, I have never seen a 6 year old child with DS come even close to such amazing speech, and I’m not talking parroting sounds, he has real conversations with imagination, something that is just missing in most kids with DS. I watched with my mouth wide open in utter adoration.

My 5 year old son has DS and I have been working hard to try and give him the best possible start in life too, and your Video was very motivating.

However, I also found your video quite confronting and I actually panic when I watch it (around 4 times now), you see there are times when I am doing my ND (Neurodevelopmental)* activities and I’m crawling around the floor with my son and I try to direct him and he just doesn’t listen and I think “what’s the point? Is it going to work? Am I kidding myself?”, my knees hurt, my son isn’t listening to me, ohh look – I then see some fluff on the floorboards and start vacuuming.

I always have good intentions, I write the programs up, I try to do too much and then I give up weeks later, which always follows with periods of guilt. There are some days that I wish I never read your book! (Please don’t be offended, but the guilt eats me up).

Do you know what? I don’t think I have your boundless energy and motivation, so days go by, then years (Crap- yes years) disappear and I have done very little. Because I convince myself that what you do makes no difference. I find I am always making excuses for Gryffin’s success, maybe he was born bright, maybe he has mosaic, maybe he doesn’t suffer health issues like my son does, it’s different for my son, you were the lucky one, my kid is always sick!

I guess I always knew deep down that I was wrong and I needed to keep going. You have shown that the work does pay off and it is ok to have such high expectations, as Gryffin is evidence that they can be met!

It was actually my husband that made me accept the truth. I called him over to watch your video, like I do with hundreds of other things I see on DS. He usually watches impatiently- trying to break free from my time consuming demands, but this time he sat down and watched, and smiled, and HOPED! (I’m crying as I type this) He said “Right let’s get the ND* up and running again, Chris is going to be like Gryffin”.

Whilst I know I can never do what you have done, I can try and do more of what you have done, even if it’s only 50 or 60% more. So I guess I’m writing to ask for your advice on what we should do now, I realise you are probably very busy and this letter is very long, but any advice would be deeply appreciated. ~ Anon

In reply, I have to say, first – I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE OVERWHELM!

Gryffin does not have Mosaic DS – as much as I wished he did at the start. Unlike some others’ suspicions, he is not secretly taking smart drugs (!) – what you see is what you get with us! (as you can probably tell from the condition of my house in some of the videos I post!)

If I could offer just a few pieces of advice, I’ll tell you this.

1. Take a deep breath, knowing that you can handle what lies ahead (honestly, you can.)

2. Hold your child’s hands in yours, look into his eyes and have ‘the chat’ – speak to him like an equal, like an adult. Tell him that you want to help him to be the best that he can be. That you’ll have to work together to achieve that goal and – if you dare to – ask him if he will help you to help him? I’d be surprised if he doesn’t give you some kind of affirmative answer, even if it’s just a slight smile. (And even if he doesn’t, assume that he is willing. What else can you do?). I had this chat with Gryffin when he first arrived. Joseph – my husband – has been telling Gryffin since he was very small, that he ‘will grow up to be big and strong, fit and fast, healthy and very very smart!’ – this is like their bedtime ritual with lots of smiles and a happy drifting off to sleep.

3. Add a supplement. Is he taking a multi-vitamin? Probiotic? If not, add one of these and build from there.

4. Go back to your ND program and start with just one thing on your to-do list each day – and do it everyday.

And lastly, consider doing the IAHP parent course coming up in Melbourne this June (and in other parts of the world too). (For the record, I have no financial interest in this course, but it will help you – and your son.)

I know it’s hard, believe me! I’ve had my crappy days (you may have read this post from May 2011?!) But the results are there to be had – for all our kids.

Thanks so much for your refreshing honesty. Onward and Upward xx

*Neurodevelopment (ND) is a phrase describing neurological programs based on IAHP’s therapy method which trains parents to help their own children to optimise their development.

Last week, I came home from having presented at the ‘Mission Possible, Sailing To Solutions’ Conference in the Caribbean. What an experience I have to say – my first visit to Haiti and Jamaica was spectacular (and a week of uninterrupted sleep and me-time was pretty special too!) More about that to follow.

My presentation covered the approaches we have taken with our son to help him achieve his best. Nutrition, Osteopathy, NAET/EBT and IAHP to name a few – and I don’t mean just one session of each method, I mean intense, targetted work to achieve exceptional outcomes – in each case. (It’s all covered in Naturally Better)

To illustrate the progress from birth to 6 years, I presented a series of videos. I’m sharing two of these videos now because 1. We are very overdue for an update about Mr G! and 2. Gryffin’s progress is in no small part due to The Institutes’ program for children with neurological conditions.

This June, The Institutes are coming to Melbourne for the first time ever to present their course for parents to learn how to help their own special needs children at home.

This is the course we did to help Gryffin and we cannot rave about it enough.

Grow Foundation is bringing this course to Melbourne in the week of June 17th, 2013 – Venue to be announced in the coming days. For more information, visit www.GrowFoundationForKids.org

GRYFFIN – 4 – 5 YEARS OLD

GRYFFIN – 6 YEARS OLD

{Copy of letter being emailed to subscribed families in Australia & New Zealand this evening}

August 7th, 2012

Dear parents and friends of Grow Foundation,

We are excited to write to you about a wonderful development involving The Institutes For The Achievement of Human Potential helping families here in Australia.

You are more than likely aware of IAHP’s parent course “What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child.” This week-long course is designed to train parents to help their own children with conditions like Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Down syndrome. This unique, empowering and life-changing course is delivered in centres around the world, but has never before been held here in Australia.
Grow Foundation is proud to announce that there is a possibility we might bring the “What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child” course to Melbourne, Australia in March 2013.

We write to you seeking expressions of interest from parents who would like to attend the course. Clearly, the event being brought closer to home will bring this invaluable training within reach for many families for whom the distance has been too great. But this is no small production and in order to make it possible we have a minimum number of seats we would have to fill.

If you and/or your partner would be interested in attending, please do let us know ASAP. If someone you know would be interested in attending, please feel free to share this email with them. If you need to read more about this course or about some of the results children are achieving through this approach, visit – www.growfoundationforkids.org or www.iahp.org

We very much look forward to hearing from you. And if you are interested in helping us in any way, please do get in touch.

Yours in health,
Kristen Morrison
Co-founder
Grow Foundation Ltd

*If you are interested in attending, please send an email to GrowFoundation@gmail.com, indicating the names of interested parents. Course price will be the same as it is in every other country, plus a modest contribution to staff travel.

I’m fortunate to have met some amazing and inspiring people these past few years, and I love the opportunities we have to share our stories and experiences. This is the story of Kristen Wiseman and her daughter, Macie.  Their story is moving, uplifting and quite frankly, is one that we should all hear for reasons which will become obvious. Thank you Kristen & Macie for allowing us to share this with our readers. ~ Kristen.

This is Macie. Macie is 11 years old and as you can see from her picture, she is a bright, healthy and happy child. She just graduated from the 5th grade and will be attending Jr. High School as a 6th grader in the fall. She is an extremely bright kid, who was at the top of her class in all subjects, excelling in reading and writing. She is artistic and loves to draw and create stories.Her teachers have all told me that her writing style is superb, and none would be surprised if she becomes a writer someday. She has a funny sense of humor and a quick wit. She ran for Student Council, Vice-President, is a Bronze Award winner in Brownies and has played on various soccer and softball teams. She is self-taught on the piano and has perfect pitch. She has taken acting and modeling and was scouted by several talent agencies in Los Angeles. She has dozens of friends and was voted Best Smile by her peers. She loves cats, Radio Disney, Starbucks soy hot cocoa and fights with her little sister, but defends her to the end. She is, to all who meet her, just a normal kid.

Macie was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not-Otherwise specified) which is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder,  just before her 3rd birthday. She had developed normally, hitting every milestone until her shots at around 13 months. She got a 5/1 combo, the MMR and shortly after, a flu shot. The doctor told me I might as well get them over with and save myself an extra trip. For a long time, I felt so much guilt about her diagnosis, but I just wasn’t educated about vaccines. She was my first, and I was just doing what my doctor told me to do.

Almost immediately, we started to “lose” her;  loss of eye contact, loss of words, tantrums. She went from being a truly happy baby, to one who developed rashes on her face, body, diarrhea, and would only eat certain foods. She cried constantly. She would spend hours spinning in circles in the corner of a room, playing with her fingers and babbling. She rarely responded to her name, other kids, her pets and had no expressive or receptive language. Echolalia ensued, repeating some single words over and over. She became extremely over-sensitive to sounds, like the toilet flushing and had inappropriate behavior, such as laughing when someone was crying or hurt themselves. She rarely smiled, but just had a constant blank stare about her. She really was in her own little world. It was a daily struggle and I began to hate going to the park each day, watching the other children run around and play and listening to the other moms talk about their child’s newest accomplishment. Those were tough times, and looking back now, I realize how utterly helpless I felt.

Macie had persistent rashes on her face

Upon diagnosis, we were told that we should prepare ourselves emotionally and financially for the possibility of having to find someone look after her when John and I passed away. That was hard enough to hear, but later, when a doctor told us that Macie might never have friends, I lost it! It was that statement that sent me on a quest to find a way to heal her. I remember telling the doctor that he was simply “NOT allowed to ever say that to another parent” and walked out.

I called my dad, crying, venting, not knowing what to do and he told me he knew of someone that might be able to help. 3 days later, my stepmom flew out to watch our new 3 month old and John and I boarded a plane with Macie to Texas to go visit Dr. Mary Ann Block of the Block Center. She lectures around the world, has written several books and follows the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now)  protocol, among other therapies.

Click here to read more.. »

Following on from discussions on our Natural Parenting Tips facebook page, I’m inspired to share this chapter from Naturally Better: ~ kristen

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On Immunisation
What a very controversial subject this is.

When Bronte was a tiny baby, I asked a parent friend of mine, whose opinion I valued, whether he had immunised his daughter.  He said that he wouldn’t tell me, that I needed to make up my own mind but that I shouldn’t tell anyone what I had decided – end of conversation.  I found this answer strange and unnecessarily secretive, but of course this made me think I should really do some research.

At the time, we were living above my retail store in St Kilda, a part of Melbourne with a colourful population.  I had Bronte in my shop and workroom with me most of the time and people were in and out all day.  Because of Bronte’s exposure to so many people, I decided to immunise her.  I left the shots until later than is usually advised, to let her body get stronger before giving her these horrible injections.  When Pelé came along, soon after, I was still unsure about the issue and so she had her first round of shots; by the time her second ones were due I had decided not to continue with either of the girls.  We were moving out of St Kilda by then and I had found out that homeopathic immunisation was an option to replace the injections I now knew to contain poisons.  I discussed this with many friends, some of whom as adults were fit and healthy having never had immunisation.

Our girls were rarely sick.  We went to the Naturopath periodically to make sure everything was tracking along OK, but apart from the odd cold, our little girls were strong as the rest of our clan.

Then Gryffin arrived, with his ‘manifest weak immune system’ and barrage of advices from just about everyone I spoke to.  My mothering confidence out the window, I thought that I should probably immunise him for protection.  Our Naturopath was adamantly against it when I told her.   She told me that there was evidence to suggest a link between immunisation and Autism… that she had seen many patients whose bodies and brains had been very badly affected by the heavy metals contained in the vaccines and she had helped them to undo some of the damage but why take the risk with a little guy who is already compromised?  People with Down syndrome are often on the Autism spectrum anyway… immunisation might trigger something which may not be presenting?  She gave me some literature to read, including the following:

• Vaccines contain formaldehyde. ‘There is no safe amount of formaldehyde if being injected into a living human body.  It is a toxic substance and should be avoided at all costs’. Poisons Information Centre, Qld.
• Vaccines contain mercury, a known brain poison which has been linked with many forms of brain damage and which is believed to be partly responsible for the 1300% increase in Autism (in developed countries) over the last 10 years (as of 2001).  Whilst the (Australian) government has licensed mercury-free and mercury-reduced vaccines, unless a parent specifically requests these newer vaccines, they will not be used until the old stocks are used up.
• Vaccines do not guarantee protection from disease, furthermore vaccines such as polio, measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox are carried in the body for up to 90 days after vaccination and can be transmitted.  The only cause of polio in Australia for the last 30 years has been the polio vaccine.
  -      www.avn.org.au

So the decision was made; no vaccines for Gryffin.  And as I have explained, his health is excellent.

When Gryffin was 3 months old, the Paediatrician wrote to our family GP and included the following comment:

‘One area where I guess philosophically there is a difference of opinion is that of immunisation.  His mum is keen not to have him normally immunised and we have basically come to a compromise in saying that we know we have different perspectives.’

There is a school of thought that to not vaccinate a child is to put the rest of the population at risk; that those of us who choose not to immunise have the luxury of doing so only because of those who do; that if everyone on the planet were immunised there would be no polio, no diphtheria, no whooping cough, etc.  This is probably all true, but with all of our modern advances, could we not find a more humane way to protect our race than injecting known poisons into a baby at just a few weeks old?  I absolutely respect a doctor’s or parent’s decision to vaccinate, but as an untrained idealistic parent, I can’t help feeling that to  inject poison into a tiny baby’s body is more like a Human Rights violation than responsible parenting.

‘Homeopathic immunisation is effective against poliomyelitis, chickenpox, meningococcal disease, hepatitis (all types), Japanese encephalitis, Hib, influenza, measles, pneumococcal disease, cholera, smallpox, typhoid, typhus, whooping cough, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, malaria, tetanus, yellow fever, dysentery, and many other epidemic diseases. Communities around the world have used its protective effect for over two hundred years.

Homeopathic immunisation is safe for all ages. It protects babies through to the elderly and can even be used during pregnancy. It has none of the adverse reactions or side-effects associated with vaccines. ‘

-      www.homeopathyplus.com.au

Homeopathic immunisation is definitely worth looking at.  Some other sources of information on the subject are:
www.welladjustedbabies.com
www.avn.org.au
www.pilgrimsmovie.com

If your child has been immunised, there are things which can be done to help remove some of the heavy metals from their bodies.  A good place to start is to have a hair analysis test done, from which a report will be provided showing any areas which need attention.  A Naturopath can then help with these areas and strategies for improving health.

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Click here to watch an interview with Dr Isaac Golden, PHD in childhood homeopathic immunisation.

I’ve been looking for months for a suitable replacement for the ebook version of Naturally Better – ever since the company hosting the original ebook edition went broke! But since Amazon’s most recent update to their ebook product, I’ve finally decided just to stick with the one format – Amazon Kindle.

For those who don’t know, Kindle books can be downloaded in 2 formats – either for use with the Amazon Kindle e-reader, or – if you don’t have a kindle e-reader, you can purchase the ‘Kindle Cloud’ edition, which allows you to read Kindle books on a Windows PC or Mac using the Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari web browsers, on Linux computers using Google Chrome or Firefox, and on an iPad using the Safari web browser. You can even download a free app and read this version on your iPhone.

Click here for Naturally Better, Kindle edition, just $9.99 USD, and if you’ve already purchased the original ebook and would like to upgrade, send an email and we’ll see what we can do for you!

~ kristen.