• AUTISM AND HOMEOPATHY •

Autism has been at the forefront of medical news for some time now. The epidemic we are currently suffering from is truly mind boggling with the amount of children suffering from this illness doubling and in some places tripling over short periods of time.

On January 26, 2004 The New York Times confirmed what I wrote a year ago! (see below) NYT quotes Dr Volkmar of Yale University "that hard scientific evidence to support any specific environment cause has been lacking." The Danish trail which looked at the MMR vaccine was not conclusive and neither was the possible role of a mercury based vaccine preservative.

The point, that I made a year ago, is that ONE agent rarely causes autism. It is rather a COMBINATION of factors including vaccines. When I speak with the parents of autistic children, I find a very wide range of what in their view may or may not have been a factor. Some parents have categorically said that they saw a dramatic change after the vaccine, usually either the DPT or the MMR. Others, say that it did not make any difference, the child was withdrawn from the very beginning. Yet, others said that they felt the child took a turn for the worst after several ear infections. More parents report a combination of "problems" after ear infections or colds and then a change following vaccination. I have been told many more stories but it is not the subject of this introduction. Suffice to say that I don't think the causes of the illness are about to be discovered. Yet, something must be done about it NOW! Many people are looking at their children and wondering what is going to happen to them once they grow up. The overriding point, is to be able to do something about the present condition NOW and homeopathy is absolutely crucial in that regard. Waiting for a cure from the medical establishment is simply not going to help.

By the time parents bring their children to me they have gone through the elimination diets (which I used to do 20 years ago), they give B6 vitamin and magnesium. By and large these measures bring about some improvements but generally not what is expected. From what I have seen, the improvements help a little with the hyperactivity and/or the fixed behaviors. This is good but much more can be done with homeopathy. I have seen a good amount of autistic children and I use several approaches in my practice in order elucidate the proper homeopathic remedy. The most important thing to remember is that everything is relevent information in homeopathy and no stone is left unturned. A very important book for parents to read is "impossible cure" by Amy Lansky available at www.impossiblecure.com. This book is written from the heart by a mother whose child was cured of autism. It elucidates homeopathy very well.

SEVERAL CASES.

5 year old boy

This child has a history of frequent bronchitis, sinusitis, otitis and rhinitis with green, thick, purulent and very tenacious mucus. "It just accumulates and does not come out." the mother said.

The child did not take the breast. Started eating vegetables at 3 months especially green vegetables.

He was born hypertonic (very tight muscles almost cramping) his back was often arched back due to the cramping (opistothonos). At 8 months he became hypotonic (not enough tone in the muscles) and "he began screaming when sitting. We could not touch him it was as if he were hypersensitive to touch. Also, he seemed to have some tactile sensitivity in the hands." At that time mother says he was already feeling apart.

At 12 months he stopped gaining weight eventhough he was eating very well. He also began to rock back and forth with his thumb in his mouth. Mother says she thought he was anxious duringthe day. He would sleep 11 hours a night plus a 3 hr nap. He had no contact with other including children. Now, "he has uncontrollable hyperactivity. His hands are often in front of his face. He likes to roll his eyes backward. We can't touch his hands. As soon as we approach his hands he seems terrorized."

I gave a homeopathic remedy and this is what the mother told me about two months later. "Everyone has noticed a major improvement in his behavior. The teachers are happy. The doctors and therapists are truly amazed. He performed very well on all the tests.

His improvement was great but I knew that the winter was coming and it was going to a test as to how much the remedy had reached into his constitution and actually made him better in a very fondamental way where he would not regress. I don't rest until I know for sure. When others see great improvement I look for what I might have missed. Indeed the winter came and his sinusitis, bronchitis came back as strongly as before. Not good but one bright spot was that I knew this child could get better. I tried many remedies to get rid of these rhinitis, otitis etc... sometimes with great success and sometimes with marginal success. It was one problem after the other and he had regressed. Teachers in school were exasperated and wanted to get rid of him as he was disturbing the class. Then, in the middle of the winter, I gave a remedy which not only cleared all but also improved the autism. I judiciously repeated the remedy again at different times and he continued to improve. We were clearly onto something solid.

Here is what the mother told me after several months. "His doctor has determined that he is not autistic any more. He may have some ADD type of problem but he is not even sure of that. He is doing great in school and he will be able to stay in the normal school. Although it was extremely difficult on the teachers they now feel that he is basically a normal child.

A word of caution. This is clearly a great outcome. It can be achieved but it requires perseverence. It is not to be undertaken thinking that within a couple of month a child will be cured. If only it could be that easy. Autism is extremely difficult, experience is important. The time spent is great and it can easily be discouraging. Don't be. I'll stick with it.

ANOTHER CASE.

This case presents to you what I generally see in practice. A slow but constant improvement over a period of time. These improvements are clearly traced back to the time the correct remedy was given. They are not due to other circumstances. The child is 3 years old. The pregnancy was smooth but the mother was not happy. Anti biotic was given to the mother during labor. There is some history of 2 ear infections within the first year. The child started walking and talking at around 10 months. 6 month later development stopped and he started to regress. The hand flapping started. He is very sensitive to sound. He now has very poor eye contact. He has a lot of night terror. Wakes during the night screaming. Eventhough he was developing well, the mother says was always better in his own world. He does not mind when the parents leave. He can be left alone for hours and he won't complain. He never asks for anything.

I gave 2 remedies before I could get the right one. The parents have reported over several months now steady improvement. There is much better eye contact. He is more into the world, social contacts are much easier. He is starting to talk. Interaction level has much improved, coming out of his shell. The mother says "when we say something now he responds quickly most of the time rather than before we had to repeat many many times. He is asking to play now and the interaction with other people is far greater. The therapist is also reporting the same.

This progress is general and common once the proper remedy is given. We must recognize these improvements as break throughs since the condition itself is in part a lack of taking part in the world. This case is representive of many of my autism cases. With steady homeopathic treatment these children will, in all probability, be normal.