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.		Cri Du Chat Support  Group of Australia Frederic from Canada
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		Email received from Jacques the father of Frederic in Canada.   28th September, 2000   Good day (Good night on this side of the planet)! I have to congratulate you for your superb site. It is very professional and efficient in communicating the essential information regarding the Cri-du-chat syndrome. My son, Frederic, is going on his 14th year of Cri-du-chat life. He has taught me so much about tolerance and other essential qualities. I strongly appreciate your efforts to share your experience since, like most of the parents in our situation, I have only once met with another child with the syndrome. I definitely will send you pictures of my son and write to you about his development (If you want). He, like your daughter, was not supposed to speak. Fortunately, we figured that we had nothing to loose and worked on developing his potential. Today, this gentleman speaks very good French, some English and a bit of Haitian Creole. But, he is terrible in figure skating. I hope you all enjoy the Olympic games (and all the medals) Jacques Eustache   29th September, 2000 Good morning (your time), I have seen both of your sites. The good words are for everything. I am quite impressed by the description of your daughter which seems to be so similar to my son, even for the language. We have been lucky enough to start benefiting from speech therapy and other early stimulation programs as Frederic was only 13 months old. We also have taken deep interest in the work of a French ORL by the name of Alfred Tomatis who's books gave me some cues on how the pathology has affected my son's development. Not much is written on the etiology of Cri-du-chat. But the behavioral symptoms are so close to autism that I dug all information regarding this type of problem. Since I only got a diagnosis when Frederic was 24 months old ( all clinical signs were present at birth, but Doctors had never seen one elsewhere than in books), my wife and I have explored every acceptable avenue that could help our child. We tested homeopathic remedies, naturopathic diets, osteopathic therapies, chiropractic therapy, Tens low voltage electric stimulation, cranial massage with cold and heat alternation, vitamin therapy and Tomatis sound therapy. This is a costly venture that only few parents can afford. It has been time consuming and did put a lot of stress on our couple which eventually has split as our child was 4 years of age. Fortunately, we remained friends and partners in regards of Frederic's development and education. Most of what we did seemed to benefit to Fredo, but I have strong reserves towards the effectiveness of homeopathic Rx. I also have been reluctant to techniques such as the Philadelphia method which drains so much energy, time and money for little results. Today, Frederic follows a strict diet where dairy products , refined sugar and treats, colorants, caffeine, gluten and MSG are reduced to minimal amounts. He eats large quantities of fibers and fresh fruits. He receives a daily dosage of custom balanced supplements of protein, fatty acids, vitamins and trace elements that is part of a nutritional program developed by Nutri-Chem of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Since the beginning of this program last year, his condition has improved quite a lot in regards of his behavior, his concentration, his speech, his balance, bowel regularity and the quality of  sleep. One of the objectives in this program is to eliminate a constant blood contamination by the candida albicans micro-fungus. This fungus seems to be responsible for the digestive irregularity, some of the esophageal flux as well as the hyperactivity that could be a result of an intoxication. The fungus might develop easier in their bodies because of a different chemical balance than "normal" people. So, a concentration of yeast is given everyday to fight the fungus, while the supplements are helping to find a good chemical balance and eliminate all toxins. We complete this with melatonin every night, so everyone can sleep. On the psychological front line, we apply positive intervention techniques, use TEACCH therapy (all sequences of the day are shown on pictograms) and we focus on his successes and strengths. So, humor, imagination, love and affection is the ordeal. Frederic attends a great specialized school named Giant Steps that, I believe, has a branch in Australia. He also takes part in an immersion program twice a week in regular classrooms where his strongest topic is English. He has an email address at school and I will ask him to send it to you. Frederic has a younger brother who is 3 years of age and named Emmanuel. Fred has been nice enough with his brother that we gave him a little sister 8 months ago. Her name is Mathilde (Australia in my heart). Fredo is very kind and lovely with them. Actually, Emmanuel is giving Fred a hard time at bed-time, jumping on him, tickling him and stealing his bottle of juice. Frederic takes great pride in his role as a big brother. It has been a great plus in his development. It brought some emotional stability and a friend to play with daily. Our son is crazy about horses, guitars, country and rock music as well as gorgeous women (Shanaya Twain). He loves swimming and dreams of going to the beach this winter, in Florida, USA. He tries to play the guitar with a relative success. He just started drawing some pictures this year. He can spell a sentence on a keyboard with moderate assistance. He is quite good at reading. He knew all cars makes and models at age 7. He recognizes every commercial logo, McDonalds being the first one at 25 months of age. His memory is impressive. His situational intelligence surpasses mine. He can see a police car in any traffic condition. He can tell directions for a place more accurately than his mother would (Nobody can beat me on this!). He sometimes makes us believe that he reads our minds. He is the king of manipulation. I hope my testimony and my experience can be of some help to other parents. I have deeply suffered from my isolation and will be glad to help other 5p- parents who need to communicate and share their reality. So, don't hesitate to use this testimony or give my address if someone wants to know more about Frederic. Asta la vista! Jacques Eustache Email Jacques  Please note that all first emails, except for those in other languages, go to the Co-ordinator of our group and are then forwarded to the intended family. We have to use this practice to prevent families from receiving inappropriate email and being inundated by the constant barrage of Spam emails. If you feel uncomfortable with your email being read by a third party, keep your first contact note simple. After the initial contact is made and received by the parent, we advise you to exchange emails and continue with private communication.   Links to Services mentioned in Jacques letter Tomatis Method in Australia Nutri-Chem Canada GiantSteps Sydney TEACCH
.		TOP     Back to photographs page Cri du Chat Support Group of Australia Inc. Association number A0033602W Address: - 104 Yarralumla Drive, Langwarrin, VIC, Australia 3910 Telephone: - 61 3 9775 9962 Facsimile: - 61 3 9775 9962 E-mail: - Margarette Christie info@criduchat.asn.au   Date created:- 7 September 1999 Date modified:- 1 October 2000 Created by:- Bob Ivison Maintained by:- Margarette Christie