Chiropractor's method beats odds
Girl overcomes learning
disability with Stouffville's Dr. Allen's Turner's help
By BRUCE STAPLEY
Before June, 1986,
Cheryl Clark was a very unhappy girl. She was slow; had repeated Grade-2
and seemed destined to remain a fixture in Uxbridge Public School's Special
Education class.
Her co-ordination
and attention span were below normal. As a young child, she had suffered
a head injury, causing concussion. This accident, accompanied by severe
curvature of the spine contributed to a serious learning disability that,
in turn, caused Cheryl's parents much concern. They felt both the diagnosis
and the treatment were incomplete.
Cheryl had been prescribed
various drugs to keep her condition in check. Surgery was being considered
in an effort to repair the spine curvature or scoliosis as it's known.
Painful to see
For John and Gayle
Clark, it was painful to look on helplessly as their daughter's health
deteriorated. They were sure in their own minds that Cheryl wasn't beyond
help; that somewhere there was a procedure that could reverse the syndrome.
A column in The Weekender
caught their attention. It focused on the work of Stouffville chiropractor
Dr. Allen Turner and the success he'd experienced with children with learning
disabilities and dyslexia.
"We
were ready to try anything," Mrs. Clark admits. "Cheryl's drug therapy
program wasn't working. Her teacher had actually suggested we take her
off the drugs. She was becoming much like a robot. It was scary."
The following week,
the Leaskdale couple took their daughter to see Dr. Turner.
"He was honest," Gayle recalled,
"due to the severity of her
condition, he didn't know
how much help he could be."
Skull bones misaligned
He explained, Gayle
said, that Cheryl's nervous system was badly disorganized and that her
skull bones were misaligned, resulting in pressure on nerves.
Regardless, they had
hope. For they had discovered a doctor who made it his business to research
unique forms of treatment for the learning disabled; a man who had travelled
across North America, picking the brains of experts in the field.
Soon positive things
began to happen, Gayle remembers. A month from the initial treatment, her
co-ordination began to improve, as did her reading and writing. In two
months, her scoliosis was reduced from 21 per cent to 18 per cent.
By mid-September,
Cheryl was able to retain multiplication tables and comprehend addition
and subtraction.
Confidence in her
every-day approach to life-hit a more positive note.
"Her
teacher actually broke down and cried as she listened to Cheryl deliver
a speech last spring," Gayle says. Since September, Cheryl's reading level
has progressed from a Grade 4 to a Grade 6 level.
Parents ecstatic
No longer shackled
by the chains of mental handicap, Cheryl has begun to blossom. She now
feels much better about school, her friends and most importantly, herself.
Her parents are ecstatic.
"All
I can suggest to other parents is give it a try," urges Mrs. Clark. "It
certainly can't do any harm"
Dr. Turner's treatments
are so much safer than drugs," she claims.
As for Dr. Turner
himself, he too is excited at what he's seeing not only in the case of
Cheryl Clark, but other children as well. In the past two years, he's hand
led more than 200 similar afflictions.
"In
some instances, the improvements have been dramatic," Dr. Turner says.
He points to a student in Uxbridge who was struggling to obtain marks in
the 50s. Now, this same pupil is earning 80s and 90s.
Dr. Turner's methods
have proven so successful, a TV station is planning a documentary. In addition,
requests are coming in from all over for the local chiropractor to address
various medical organizations on the subject of treating children with
learning disabilities. He's presently working on a book disclosing little
known facts on his findings.
For 12 year old Cheryl
Clark, life is finally back on track, an answer to prayer for her mom and
dad.
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