My name is Leo,  I have two children. Tobias ( 5yrs) and Daniel ( 2yrs 5 months). Daniel has Downs Syndrome. Daniel has been getting Targeted Nutrition Intervention (Nutrivene D, and DHA) for nearly two years now. When I gave birth to Daniel I knew that he had Down's syndrome, because I have experience caring for adults with profound handicaps.

From the beginning I was looking for some way to improve the health of my child with Down Syndrome. When we were home from the hospital I began to look for literature that could help us deal with the lowered immune system and recurrent infections that we had been told to expect throughout his life. There was NOTHING! We started to give Daniel the normal recommended vitamin drops (Abidec) with the view that something was better than nothing.

As time went on Daniel suffered continuously with constipation/ dry skin/ runny nose. All the GP suggested was to give him drugs (enemas, senakot, antibiotics) and we were told that these health problems were "normal" for children with Down's syndrome. We  decided to increase his intake of Vitamin C and I informed the paediatrician that the drugs she was prescribing for the constipation were causing Daniel more discomfort than help. It was more than discomfort,  Daniel was screaming in pain for days on end  and the only relief  for him was after a visit to the hospital for an enema. I spent so much time at the hospital for this problem I became infuriated that this was how it was going to be if no-one could suggest anything better.

My husband and I  decided to tell the paediatrician we were going to try alternative methods of treating the problems that Daniel had and would stop relying on her recommendations. I was so nervous after I had done this because the responsibility for my child's health was now just ours. I knew we were stepping in the right direction, but we felt very alone with our decision. We started to give Daniel Magnesium and Zinc supplements and also Flaxseed oil and a mixture of vitamins that we felt would be beneficial. I was concerned that I was giving him too much / too little and needed to find a vitamin supplement that would address all his needs safely. I found information on Targeted Nutritional Intervention (TNI) on the Internet and read about Dixie Lawrence. I spoke to Dixie and to the doctors and the parents using TNI in the States and in Canada and decided that this would be right for my son. I ordered the Nutrivene D from the States and  one week  later Daniel started using Nutrivene D. He was then 6 months old.

I couldn't believe that I was the only parent questioning the use of antibiotics for children with Down's syndrome and surely this was not something we should 'accept" as 'normal' for Down's syndrome. Some time later I had the good fortune to meet up with Peter Elliott and was overjoyed to find another parent with the same views that I had. Peter had started up a new organization to get some medical research underway and together we organised a Conference to inform Parents and the Medical profession about the use of TNI and the evidence that points to the fact that Trisomy 21 is the cause of a progressive degenerative process that ultimately called Down's syndrome.

One has to realise that while there is no "cure" for Trisomy 21 yet there are ways to improve the health of our children. Most parents would agree that environment has an impact on health and so does good nutrition. TNI is simply a program to improve the health and well being of our children. Our children will still get colds and illnesses as we all do but hopefully they will be able to fight these off without the need for antibiotics each time. Their growth should also improve and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease could possibly be slowed down , if not prevented.

For the skeptics, TNI has been a  chance to postulate about the "harmful" effects of certain vitamins and to denigrate the work of Scientists whose research into Brain development and Health issues have shown that there ARE links between deficiencies of certain vitamins and cell damage. These pessimists also have a tendency to call Targeted Nutrition Intervention or TNI , "megavitamins". This is such an inaccurate statement one has to wonder how much these "experts" really know about TNI or megavitamins or the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance).

Note: Click here to read about TNI vs. Megavitamins vs. RDA

To also have these "experts" claim that Parents are not capable of making the right decisions on the health of their own children is  arrogant and  misguided nonsense. I for one, do not accept  the skeptics view  and I  know that vitamins and good nutrition can make a difference, but I also know that we  need to have scientific proof in order to get the medical profession involved. This can be achieved by running double blind trials on Targeted Nutrition Intervention and The Down's Syndrome Research Foundation has already initiated a project at the Institute of Child Health that will make this happen.

For Daniel, things have already improved. He has no constipation, only two colds in the last two years, better growth and he functions on  a higher than average basis for all areas except speech. He was walking at two years and although these things can be due to the other early intervention support that he receives,  the fact that he is healthy is very important. He attends playgroup and can concentrate on two year old tasks,  he has good skin, hair and teeth, he no longer has rough coughs and runny nose, he is a HEALTHY child.

I do not feel that as young parents we are "vulnerable" and incapable of making choices about how we treat our children with Down's Syndrome, quite the reverse. We are in fact, more resilient and strong-minded about how we treat our children. If this means that we do not accept what others think is "normal" for Downs Syndrome then we are certainly well on the way to providing a HEALTHY life for our children.