Want Healthier Children? is our first event which is NOT Special Needs focussed, but rather it will go over matters of concern for any parent in helping their children achieve their absolute best health in life – through both prevention and treatment.

Working together with Don Chisholm is an honour, as he has travelled the world lecturing and helping parents to help their own children – with fabulous results.

I’m especially thrilled to have been offered a totally gorgeous Yoga Studio for the event. Flavours of Yoga is owned by a friend of mine and it’s a wonderfully relaxed and stylish space. Because it’s not massive, we’re asking parents to bring their own cushion to sit on – just for something different!

Of course we’ll also provide a delicious organic fruit platter, tea and coffee in the breaks…

Click here for details!

~ kristen.

Dearest Kristen,
I want to thank you for such an amazing and inspiring read. I too work with babies with Down Syndrome and this allowed me to give a copy to my mums.
There are many other points and other therapies I now integrate {into my practise] because of your book – thank you so much. You are a wonder woman. Well done

Warm Wishes
Dr Andrea Parisio
Paediatric Chiropractor

I love this image for so many reasons. These kids care for their chooks, they chase them round the yard and feed them scraps from their kitchen. They collect the eggs like it’s easter every day and now they’re selling some of them to people who will love eating them, all the more because of these stunning, healthy, exuberant children.

Thanks so much Kim and Amy for letting me share this pic. I could gaze at your angels for hours!

x Kristen.

Apart from a whole lot of wonderful new projects on the go for this year, too early to announce, our Online Wholefoods Foodstore has started the year with a bang – as of today we have 80 Members, including some internationals! And the quiet January our family anticipated has evaporated before our eyes!

But in the scheme of things, we couldn’t be happier as more and more families are getting their Wholefoods and Organics through us.

Our new shopfront is also up and running and melbourne home deliveries of fresh produce are on the rise each week.

But I have to confess I am stunned (and not very happy!) to have just found out that the company which hosted the ebook edition of my book – Naturally Better -  went out of business over Xmas, and took my ebook with them! No email, no contact at all – just disappeared.

So, while I work towards republishing it – in a better format – I’ve just created a Coupon for people to buy the paperback edition of the book with a $10 discount. This means that if you live in Australia, you could buy the book for $22.95 including delivery.

The Coupon is valid until the end of March – just enter the code JanPBack at checkout.

Cheers to a brilliant New Year!

Changes in Lester (22months)

We have seen a massive change in Lester in the last 6 months. It is hard to explain the exact change- it is like something has shifted in him cognitively, Lester’s Osteopath has noticed this too. He now understands simple requests and his problem solving and fine motor skills have improved dramatically.

I remember the day when I was making him his lunch and I heard his piggy bank toy singing away in the lounge room as Lester slipped the slim coins into the little slit with ease! Something Disability Services said was too advanced for Lester and maybe we should just put blocks in ice cream containers.

His communication has improved and whilst we are still having moments of yelling at dinner time he is starting to communicate more consistently, like saying ‘ta’ when we give him something, calling for mum and dad and signing for eat and drink, pointing at the dog and yelling ‘dog’. Every day he will surprised me with a new word.

Last week he read the word clap.

I have attached 2 hair results and a list of Lester’s supplements. (see below)

The first hair results (from March 2011) show the high Aluminium in Lester’s system. The bottom graph shows how many minerals have sky rocketed out of control. He also has really low (almost no) selenium and low zinc (this is very common in people with Down syndrome).

If the above results were left untreated it would (more than likely) mean Lester would face a life with the following problems:

Low immune system, frequent colds and flues, chest infections, allergies, itchy skin, disrupted sleep, memory loss, confusion, temper outbursts, pre-dinner tantrums, ear infections, gastroenteritis, low white cell count… what does that sound like? It sounds like Down syndrome to me.

We have been supplementing with the attached list and the results speak for themselves. The toxic elements have been decreased and the Zinc and the Selenium have  increased.

We still have a bit of work to do a tweak here and there but we are definitely on track to making Lester a HAPPIER and healthier child. I can’t tell you how much better he has been in the last 6 months. He only had one cold this winter, he hasn’t had any gastro issues in the last 6 months which he is prone to due to his Hirschsprungs.

Read the rest of this post and see the test results at the Grow Foundation website – click here.

If you find or know of a Nutritionist or Dietitian to work with you and your child and if you are happy with their help, please do send us an email to let us know as we are asked all the time for practitioner referrals, from literally all over the world. What parents of kids with special needs need, when they are using nutritional supplements for their child, is an experienced, competent and supportive practitioner who respects the parent’s research and choices. This is why we always need referrals to add to our list, to help parents from Portugal to Bali!

~ Kristen.

Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Australians with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods (many in sweat shops/slave labour) — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of Australian labour.

This year will be different. This year Australians will give the gift of genuine concern for other Australians. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by Australian hands.  Yes there is!

It’s time to think outside the box.  Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut.  How about gift certificates from your local Australian hair salon or barber?

Gym membership?  It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

And how about a yoga certificate? Great for all ages to get some movement back in the body.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed?  Small, Australian-owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers?  Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or games at the local golf course.

What about a local tradesman such as carpenter, plumber, tiler, glass repairer  or TV aerial specialist for that long awaited but never “got to” repair or adjustment? The list is endless.

There are a lots of Australian owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates.  And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half-dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.  Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Australians with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the Australian working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mum?  Mum would LOVE the services of a local Aussie cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal.  Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves.  They make jewellery, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and. How about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love (and a little money) too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Not only will it keep the money in your local community, it is a chance to make new acquaintances!   WIN/WIN for all Australians.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house?  When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community.  If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the postie, garbo or babysitter a nice BIG tip.Or better still… ME, your email friend! ;-)

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining Australian pockets so that China can build another glittering city.  Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging Australian small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Australians, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine .

THIS is the new Australian Christmas tradition. So what do YOU think?

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list — post it to discussion groups — send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Merry Xmas!

~ Kristen

This only applies to books purchased from this website or the Naturally Better Foods site, ie directly from us, not from third party stores.

Click here to purchase.

HELEN WROTE:

It may be quite different here in NSW (compared to other parts of Australia), I don’t know, but here’s what I have discovered.

First there is the new $12,000 Better Start money that just came in for our kids from 1 July this year. You need to register for that and then you will get a client no. and can use the $$ at certain registered providers like physios etc. but they must be registered with the scheme – think most will become registered once they know about it but make sure you tell any providers you use to register.

It is my understanding that you can use $2100 per year x 2 years of that money for equipment or resources rather than services so that may be one way to get the brachiation ladder funded – you may need a provider recommendation first – I am not sure how they administer that – but I am sure most physios would see the benefit and write a letter for one.

Another way I can access money for things is through our respite provider – we have Northcott Disability Services right now and previously Sunnyfield – I am not sure if you have these same organisations in Vic as I do here – but you do probably have some kind of respite provider system – ours is coordinated by RIAP – respite intake allocation process and you make a request around Feb for services from July 1st later that year – not all requests for respite get filled but I think smaller kids have more priority – I have been approved later in the allocations and often people drop out along the way and then you may get a repsite package.

So how it works here is we get a respite package worth $5000 from Northcott and I choose to have that as weekly respite care, but as it is not started yet I requested they fund a holiday to the beach with the kids so that have paid $1400 for a week away for us (otherwise we can never afford to go away).

If I had not asked for that they do agree to fund equipment, resources etc that you may need that cannot be funded by anything else – especially if it eases the pressure at home in caring for your child – they realise not all parents want weekly respite care or even monthly so they can still benefit from the package but in other ways.

Now my previous provider did not offer that but this one does so again it may vary from place to place and from organisation to organisation.

The other funding around is called Family Assistance Funding (FAF) and that is where I have got the Brachiation Ladder funded from.

There are conditions for receiving funding whch comes from NSW Govt Dept, Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC). You would have a similar dept there I am sure – its part of the Family and Community Services Depts.

To get the FAF which can be up to $2000, you need to be using an ADHC funded service or service provider. For use we were actually receiving our physio services directly from ADHC as Zahli was registered with them from around 6 months old. In NSW they don’t like you using Health Dept services for disabled children, they want you to use disability funded services – their words not mine.

We do use some health services via the local hospital just because they are happy to see us and we can do that for free with a GP referral, but I think it depends on their resources etc. Since (my daughter) was born locally and needed care there for jaundice for a week and also feeding support, we saw a speech pathologist from week 1 there and a physio too for some basic help early on.

Anyway, back to FAF – so we were using an appropriate service and luckily a physio from them so I asked her to support the brachiation ladder request. She is youngish and quite open to new ideas so was ok to do that – although it took them 10 weeks to make a decision and they did try to knock it back being not sure what it would do for my child’s physio goals.

To apply you just lodge a form, some details of the item you wish to purchase (ie Brachiation Ladder Fact Sheet) and I left the physio to add her report supporting the Brachiation Ladder. She also handled the objection and provided more info on what it would do to help my daughter but I did have a speech pathologist (also from their dept.) on standby to add a report stating how it would help with respiratory development and oxygen levels and speech developmentt should I need more back up! Luckily they approved it.

If we had not been using that actual ADHC employed physio we would have been able to still apply through one of the early intervention providers we use – we do use 2 different ones – but either one is actually funded from ADHC even though they are a separate service.

Initially I was going to do this to get funding for a flued gas heater but was unsure how that would go and also I think you have the best chance the 1st time you apply – in theory you can apply annually but i am not sure how likely another application in 1 year would be – will wait a bit longer and aim for an ipad or something when my daughter is around 4 yrs old probably.

Also if I have used the early intervention providers to support my application, I don’t think I would have got a Brachiation Ladder approved as they do more play therapy or OT type things with her and I don’t think my application would have enough weight to it from them.

SO I guess my summary is that there is a lot of $$ out there but you have to get yourselves into the right places at the right times and see a variety of therapists…..I have actually dropped 1 early intervention provider because the travel was too much and I did not think we got enough benefit from it – we keep the 2nd one because they will visit us at home, but they only come 2 or 3 times per term for 1 hr so really do not change my child’s life in any great way at all……but the main reason I keep them on board is that they bring out different toys each time which my daughter loves, often they lend them between visits. If I need referrals they can write them and because they are ADHC funded, I am entitled to apply for more FAF funding in the future.

In addition they offer in home speech pathology to us for just $10 for an hour a fortnight which is just great and that therapist is fabulous – so I keep a pretty hopeless one in order to still be able to access a fabulous one if you see what I mean – everything I guess is a trade off and sometimes staying in the regular system is needed as well as doing your own things like IAHP :D ~ Helen.

If you would like to share information relating to funding in your area – wherever you are – please post below or send me an email.

~ Kristen