Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Note From Neal's Tutor

My son, Neal, has a tutor 2x a week after school. She has been working with him for about 3 years. The best part is she doesn't know anything about Down syndrome. She is a retired teacher and she literally just teaches him. She doesn't know his limitations. Yesterday I came home to this note. There is a political joke --- we are in Texas after all. She doesn't know I have changed anything. I haven't told her about the time-released ginkgo at night.


I have scheduled a sleep study for Neal next Tuesday. We will see if Ginkgo Biloba is allowing more deep sleep and more REM. 
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5 comments:

  1. My Little WondersMarch 9, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    Well done Neal ... what a wonderful note to have waiting for you!

    I love reading your blog ... we are just starting this journey with our daughter, but already being people who use nutrition and supplements to bring optimum health, it is easy for us to understand the difference supplementation can make for our kiddos.

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  2. Anne and Whitney: Up, Down and All AroundMarch 9, 2011 at 7:10 PM

    that is awesome :) by the way - where do you get time released ginkgo??? is the powder that comes in a capsule form ok - whole foods was out of the liquid ginkgo that did not have alcohol in it so i opted for the capsules and have just been emptying them into whitney's yogurt to give it to her. thank you for sharing with us!!!

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  3. Maria OsórioMarch 16, 2011 at 3:43 AM

    Hi Teresa, I'm from Portugal and have a 9 year old boy with DS.
    I read your blog and I'm interested in the issue of Ginko Biloba can affect the sleep of a child with DS. My son doesn't sleep an entire night since he was 1 year, he always wakes up once or twice per night. His school performance ends up being affected as well as his behavior and mood. We have been already advised to do the sleep study, but he is a child who does not cooperate and I know that it will be difficult to do this. He takes Vitamins that increases the concentration.
    The Vitamins contains:
    Vitamin A 3,000 IU,
    Vitamin B1 4mg,
    Vitamin B2 2mg,
    Vitamin B6 2mg,
    Vitamin PP 20 mg;
    Pantothenic Acid,10mg,
    Vitamin B12 2mg; 10u.i.
    Vitamin E,
    Vitamin C 200mg,
    1mg Vitamin H,
    Vitamin D 200u.i .;
    Folic Acid,0.2 mg;
    Concentrated fruit taste.
    Minerals and Trace Elements:
    Calcium 50mg;
    Potassium 10mg;
    Iron 9mg,
    Copper 1mg,
    Magnesium 40mg,
    Zinc 0.5 mg,
    50mg phosphorus
    Herb Complex:
    Fenugreek 30mg,
    30mg Oat;
    Linden 150mg,
    Mackerel,200mg,
    Soy Lecithin,450mg;
    Chamomile 80mg,
    Excipient qbp 100ml.
    And a tablet of folic acid per week,that's the prescription here in Portugal for children with DS. I tried to give him a herbal syrup to improve sleep, but even so he does not sleep all night.
    Do you think I can give my son Ginko Biloba, even without having done the sleep study? Which quantity (for 9 years and 25 kg) and for how long?

    Thank's for your help.

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  4. UnknownMarch 23, 2011 at 1:38 AM

    Hello Teresa

    I started my son Jamie (6yrs.)on an additional dose of Ginkgo before bedtime and he has been sleeping through much better since. During the last six months he has been getting up once or twice per night, usually around two-ish and then again at 5am. Since I have been giving him Ginkgo at night in addition to his morning dose for the last two weeks, he got up only on two nights which is a great improvement, also for us parents and his sister who sleeps in the same room with him. If this is due to the nighttime dose or due to the doubling of the dose I don't know, I just thought I'd let you know and of course I'm keen on hearing your opinion.

    Thanks,
    Richard/Switzerland

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  5. TinaMarch 23, 2011 at 6:18 AM

    Teresa,
    Martha's up to 10-11 hours straight at night. How'd the sleep study go?
    Tina

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