Tuesday, February 22, 2011

If Supplements Don't Increase IQ...

There was a question posed last week by a mother of a toddler with DS on one of the email groups I am on. The topic of low IQ's came up and she asked why would someone (including herself) spend all this money & time on supplements and early intervention if it doesn't raise the IQ levels.

The question intrigued me, because I have never thought of it. And I thought I would bring the topic up on the blog here.

We give all the supplements to O & do so much with him as far as therapy goes, not to necessarily achieve a high IQ. But, to give him the best possible chance at being healthy & thriving. 

That is proven in the lives of those who have children with DS and also in research studies.

Early intervention helps children with Down syndrome achieve key milestones in an earlier time frame. It helps stimulate their brain, helps strengthen their muscles & improves their tone.

Targeted Nutritional Intervention helps support proper brain function & overall health. It helps reduce certain metabolic levels which are in excess due to the third 21st chromosome. It helps increase levels of certain nutrients which are diminished because of the extra chromosome. It helps their immune system. It helps their tone. And I could go on and on with what all it can help!

With all that, never once has an IQ number come to my mind. The reason why we do what we do with O in regards to TNI & early intervention has nothing to do with increasing his IQ numbers. Honestly, I could care less what his IQ numbers are. I know that he is healthy, thriving and smart. That’s what matters. Not what any test might show.

Academic tests at his speech therapist have tested him a good 6 months to 1 year above his age. And that’s all by God’s kindness & mercy. Even if he were to test BEHIND (which he does in some areas), it wouldn’t be a big deal. He’s a blessing no matter what his IQ is.

The goal with giving supplements is what it does in the long run. It may help decrease O's chance of getting Alzheimer's or any of the other diseases that can come about because of the extra chromosome. As I said in this post, we have to look at it as a marathon, not a sprint.

Not in the long run of achieving the highest IQ on some academic test. No one needs a high IQ level from some test to say whether they are smart, or whether they are capable of understanding & doing well.

My little brother does understand. He is a smart little boy. He is thriving. He has excelled in his motor skills. And he's never had an IQ test done.


Photobucket

6 comments:

CDGE said...

We supplement our 4 year old daughter with DS as well as our normal children for the simple reason that we want them to have the best QUALITY of life possible, not because of IQ tests.

CDGE said...

We supplement our 4 year old daughter with DS as well as our normal children for the simple reason that we want them all to have the best QUALITY of life possible. Not because of test scores. Supplements do so much and if part of that is an increase in IQ for some, great. But just being free from illness is a great boost.

Sea Veg said...

The natural ingredients of Sea veg make the product a quality food supplement that can supply required organic compound to our body. Newseaveg.com offers Sea Veg, a natural food supplement with 100% organic products.

vivaherbal said...

Researchers believe that changing the balance of chemicals in the brain by taking supplements might boost intelligence. Furthermore, some herbal source supplements have been found to improve memory and IQ.
herbal supplements online

Anonymous said...

My wife and I tried Nutrivene for quite a few years with our daughter with Ds. We used to visit with Dr Leichtman and would use the Nutrivene religiously. However, we had to take her off of the Nutrivene due to her being diagnosed through Stanford with Kawasaki disease. After being off of the Nutrivene, we see that all of her blood tests come back looking the same, except not so much elevation in excessive vitamin levels. Her growth still remains normal and she is progressing in leaps and bounds due to working with her daily at home and given speech therapy. She is mainstreamed in a 1st grade class with no aid. She's doing great! We were warned by most of our Dr's that it might not be beneficial and may be even harmful to her with those levels of vitamins, but we still tried it for quite a while. After doing more research, it looks like the medical community is on the same page with those Dr's, but those with an interest in Nurtivene and similar supplements still sing their praises. I'm not saying to stop using it, but do some unbiased homework if you are thinking of putting your child on any supplement and make an informed decision from your own research.

GAGAN said...

"sea veg", "seaveg"
Super Sea Veg® contains no powders or artificial

nutrients of any kind

Related Posts with Thumbnails