Down Syndrome is not a disease, disorder, or defect. The extra chromosomes attached to the 21st chromosomes effects all the individuals with DS differently. Commonly, though, it does effect their brain function and learning style, with great variance. Down Syndrome is a genetic occurrence that often results in a global developmental delay, predisposition to varying medical conditions, and disinclination to other certain medical conditions.

The brain of people with Down Syndrome grows differently. Its size is generally smaller, its shape is altered, and its function develops differently than a genetically typical person. Interestingly, at 4 months old a child with DS has a very similar dendritic tree to his peers. Dendrites are the branches that basically grow and reach out receive information from other neurons and feed it back to its cell body. They are essential in learning and memory. In the first year of a child with DS, his dendrites stop growing and become almost atrophic.  (HERE is a super clinical, very medically written article that explains some of the science I just mentioned. *Disclaimer* It uses the R-word as it is still accepted and in some cases required in the medical field*)

Stress affects kids brains negatively. (You can read a less clinically written article about this claim HERE.) Brain matter is reduced, cells age faster, cognition and memory recall is impaired and hormones are released that can effect the entire body.

We have even more to consider when we think about institutionalized children (children from orphanages) and brain function. Due to neglect, abuse and malnutrition they show deficits in memory, attention, inhibition control, language and learning (HERE is another clinical read).

Sofie falls in to all of these categories. She is a post-institutionalized child with Down Syndrome who has experienced prolonged stress and trauma. Her brain was always in fight or flight mode when we first got her. It didn’t function the way her typical peers brains did because of all these factors mentioned above. Thanks to stability, nutrition, love, family and therapy Sofie has come a long way in these past 4 years, but she still has difficulties. Her brain function is still affected. Down Syndrome and trauma lend to a smaller brain size and her dendritic branches not receiving info well which makes it difficult for her to learn.

Just over 5 weeks ago we started using essential oils. We put some oils in a roller ball that we thought would be beneficial and we let her choose some oils that she liked the smell off. We thought letting her body/brain choose what she needed would be the most beneficial. Jon was not convinced she’d be able to tell us but her choices where clear. She pushed away some oils and grabbed at others.

The oils she LOVED were the Lemon and Lemongrass. Lemon cleanses and purifies. It is also great for cognitive ability and uplifting mood. Lemongrass is similar to lemon but aids specifically to awareness and positivity. Interestingly lemongrass is known to help with the symptoms of hypothyroidism, something that is very common in people with DS. She also liked patchouli which is a grounding and emotionally regulating oil.

There are two oils that we added because of their known benefits. Vetiver, a wonder oil for sensory issues with a calming and grounding effect. Frankincense is the oil that is proving to be the real gift from God! The wise men got it right when they brought it for baby Jesus! Studies are being done on Frankincense and it’s amazing qualities. (Check out a write up on some of the studies HERE) Some research has found Frankincense actually grows dendritic branches. Those branches that receive information so vital in the process of learning. Those same branches that become atrophic in kids with DS at a very early age. Amazing to me!

I can’t deny the impact these oils have had on Sofie. She has been using this rollerball for just over 5 weeks now and is learning and developing at an incredible rate! A growth spurt for her has never lasted this long or covered so many areas.

• Day 1 she was able to think clearly enough to respond appropriately to a flash card test at her hearing appointment. It was a test she had never been able to do before.
• Day 5 she started feeding herself breakfast. She has not fed herself breakfast before 9 am in years! She usually takes a while to wake up and get going.
• Week 2 there had been enough awesome days in a row at school to mention that something was different, aside from issues around a specific EA that she was not happy with.
• Week 2 we saw Sofie talking way more, not yelling so much, thinking before doing things, and generally being more alert and responsive.
• Week 3 we were in the middle of a crazy 12 day schedule with over 30 appointments and obligations. Sofie sat patiently, quietly and respectfully for hours in waiting rooms, not typical for her. She was playing better with her sisters and eating dinner more appropriately.
• Week 4 she started consistently using 3-4 word sentences and showing us obvious problem solving skills like getting herself another chair instead of fighting with her sister over one, and asking for her roller when she was feeling down and grumpy. She was showing us that she is recognizing the oils help her.
• Week 5 she toilet trained herself! She decided she didn’t want her pull ups anymore and I rolled with it. She had 2 days of little drip accidents but would then race to the bathroom to finish. On day 3 & 4 she didn’t have any accidents, even used public washrooms! Toilet training kids with DS usually takes longer. Little drips are still occasionally happening but she is stopping it and holding her bladder until we get to a toilet! (She did already know how to use the toilet. She had her regular bm’s on the toilet every night but would not use the washroom for anything else.)

It’s just amazing to see what these oils have been doing for Sofie. There is another blog post HERE about essential oils and adopted children. It is a great resource too. From our experience I can see oils having so much potential for kids who have issues from adoption or foster care, kids with special needs, kids who have experienced trauma, kids like Sofie.

The oil quality does make a difference too. I use a much cheaper quality and brand of oils in my cleaning products and had diffused them a little bit for sleep seeing no results. DoTerra is great quality and I really like them because they indigenously source the plants. DoTerra’s main competitor green houses the plants in the States. I’m much more comfortable with getting a better quality plant from the source where they have grown for thousands of years. Others like the control the other company gets from the greenhouse. Whatever you are most comfortable with really. I also like that doTerra is seeing the potential in these oils for kids with special needs, specifically kids with autism, and partnering with organizations to assist with therapies! That alone is very encouraging!

Because of the amazing results we are seeing with Sofie we of course have started using the oils for the whole family. Jon has an anti-stress/balancing one. I use Balance and an uplifting/energizing blend. Livi and Evelyn use a balancing one for anxiety and moods and sometimes a sleep roller. Livi also uses cypress for bedwetting as well. We used it for 3 weeks before we saw any result but the fourth week she has been completely dry! This is the longest stint of no bed wetting in over a year! Maggy uses an Alzheimer’s blend and my mom uses deep blue for her pain and lavender for sleep. We have all seen results. It hasn’t been quite as magic for us as it has been for Sofie, but our house is calmer and more peaceful. Maggy is showing less symptoms. My mom is feeling better rested. I am too happy and thankful to be mad that I didn’t try doTerra oils earlier.

I am now officially selling these oils… I know, crazy. I’m not that person. I just can’t ignore what they can do for us and maybe you! I’m educating myself daily and eating all this knowledge up. If you want to talk about oils that might help you or if you want to try a roller ball blend let me know!