Imagine if your child began screaming in the night, thrashing around... and you were told to just let it happen.

Well one local parent who couldn't stand standing by found an amazing solution. Dawn Palmer and her husband had trouble getting pregnant But after using acupuncture to increase fertility they had two sons in less than two years. Alex, now two, started having what are called night-terrors over the holidays.

" He was thrashing and fighting us, he was not awake he was screaming at the top of his lungs and we didn't know what to do."

After taking Alex to the pediatrician, Dawn was told to just let it happen.

" This lasted a half an hour... and as a parent you can't console your own child! It was awful. "

So she decided to try her friends at Isthmus Acupuncture in downtown Madison.

"I know how much acupuncture helped me to relax... to get pregnant... and I thought maybe there is another option because just watching these happen is not an option for me."

The solution was quick... and simple. And just like with all children, involved accu *pressure* not needles.

"In Chinese medicine they look at the tongue to see what's going on inside the body. And a lot of times when kids have night terrors or trouble sleeping, it's related to too much heat in the body"

Michelle Buchanan says Alex seemed agitated and had a hard time sitting still. The solution, with this holistic approach, is to massage the webbing between the toes.

"He did not like me looking at his arms and legs and as soon as I grabbed his toes, he settled right down."

From that point on, Dawn massaged his toes three times a day. By the end of January, the night-terrors stopped!

"Once I grab a hold of his feet, he's done in two minutes! And it's amazing to me."

Isthmus Acupuncture is holding a class this Saturday, April 11th called "Treating Children with Traditional Chinese Medicine."
It's from 10-11 am at their center downtown and runs, $15 A PERSON.
For more information, log on to NBC-15 dot com and click on newslinks.