Southern College of HomeopathyAppointment One:
A tall, slim, young boy of 3 who had been diagnosed with Autism recently came to see me and presented with some typical autistic traits, such as very repetitive behaviour, fixations, monosyllabic speech and a preference for white or light coloured foods. He suffered from anxiety and most of the time was unresponsive when spoken to or touched.
Unusual presenting symptoms included a need to chew on a rubber teether most of the time, a huge fear of water and bathing since his birth (but was tolerant of rain), a constant desire to run off, > for firm pressure, > for warmth, >for company at night, but otherwise waking with anxiety. He was allergic to fish, loved eating ice cubes but overall his appetite was poor. His activity level ranged from manic to complete inactivity and his sleep came when he was exhausted. He never asked for food or drink and was unresponsive to all but extreme pain. He had previously withdrawn into himself for five hours when he was unable to cope at nursery.
KB’s medical history is as follows; he was born at 38 weeks by Caesarean section and was cold and jaundiced. He was breast fed, but had problems latching on. His birth weight was 7lb 8oz. During bathing in hospital he screamed the whole time and has a continued fear of bathing. He failed his eight week sight check, as he could not focus on anything and his eyes were reflecting back white instead of red. A tumour was suspected. He had three brain scans and was diagnosed with a sluggish optic nerve. He was vaccinated at 8, 12 and 16 weeks. He has the sickle cell trait. He rolled and crawled around 8/9 months and walked at a year. At 19 months he had the MMR vaccination and he didn’t speak until he was two. His behaviour became more and more withdrawn with continued problems with his social interaction and speech.
After repertorising using Murphy’s and deciding that there might be a better indicated remedy in the meditative proving, I decided on Bay leaf, which was well indicated. I prescribed it in 1M SCD together with Adrenalinum 12c to support his adrenal glands. The indications for Bay leaf were; a need for routine; ritualistic; fixed attention; shut off from the world; anticipation and nervousness of the unknown; desire to escape, run away; poor temperature control i.e. too hot/cold; agitated, sleepless, hypnotic or trance like states, compulsive or repetitive behaviour, poor digestion and sluggish bowels, and a connection for children.
Appointment Two:
When I next saw him after two months there was a great improvement. He was using his teether about 80% less and making eye contact with family and friends. His anxiety was reduced and he was looking around checking for his parents when running around. His speech was improved, he was asking his first basic questions ever and his appetite and thirst were improved. His energy levels were better with less peaks and troughs and his sleep was improved. I decided to repeat the remedy again to see if it would hold for longer, as the presenting symptoms remained the same but had lessened in severity and the remedies benefits seemed to be tailing off.
Appointment Three:
At the next appointment after a further two months there had been a holding of the improved symptoms but not much further improvement, so I decided to stay with the same remedy, but to increase the potency to reach further on a mental/emotional level. I prescribed Bay leaf 5M one a week for four weeks. I prescribed this potency as I wanted to increase the depth of action of the remedy, but in small steps to monitor his progress. As he still had the obsessional behaviour, I also prescribed Cuprum met 1M, one a week for four weeks, which is named as a specific by Tinus Smit for Autism. In addition, I wanted to support his digestive system with the*bowel nosode program, as his diet was poor and he had skin and bowel problems.
Appointment Four:
The following consultation showed a great improvement in the child’s obsessional behaviour and he had given up his fixation on computer games. He was now enjoying books, mixing with people outside of his home, playing alongside other children and asking questions. He still couldn’t have a ‘proper’ conversation yet and his speech was still rather monosyllabic. He had been to a swimming pool without having an anxiety attack and sat in some shallow water, which he had never done before. In addition he was calmer and more aware of the world around him. He still had some anxiety and had been waking and going to his parent’s bed. There were also issues around separation from his mother when being dropped off at school. I thought that Bay leaf still had more to give, so I prescribed Bay leaf 10M SCD along with Vernix 1M OD for four weeks, for the anxiety and worry when away from home, Adrenalinum 12c to continue supporting his adrenal glands, and the next step in the BNP.
This child continues to make progress and was even able to take part in the nativity play as a king’s servant. There is still more to be done to help him access all aspects of life, but he has made tremendous progress to date, thanks to the wonders of homeopathy.
I have been working in a primary school alongside children with special educational needs for the last 16 years. During that time I have had the privilege of working with several autistic children, from whom I have learnt much about the condition. I have become aware how many of these children struggle to cope in mainstream schools. Having studied homeopathy, I realized that there are many remedies that could help these children and was keen to treat a child with autism. The case above highlights how much can be done to improve their lives, by helping to ‘unlock’ them and allowing these children to, in their own unique way, become integrated into our society. As I expand my practice, I would like to continue to treat children with ‘special needs’, knowing that homeopathy will provide the key to helping them improve their lives.
*The bowel nosode program can be used over seven to eight months as a complete programme or remedies in isolation. Reasons for use include; bowel problems, skin problems, if well indicated, stuck cases, toxic situations from allopathic or recreational drugs, poor diet, low vitality, detox or where a remedy has failed to act or to finish a case.
The program below was written by Doris Beauchamp.
| Chakra | Time span | 1st Remedy | 2nd Remedy | Tissue Salts |
| Base | Morgan 200c SCD to clear intestines, skin as well as clearing medical treatment. | Sulph 10M SD (if hot/skin probs) or Psorinum (if chilly) one week later. | Tissue salt according to star sign OD 9x for 21 days. | |
| Sacral | 3-4 weeks later | Syc. Co 200c SCD to clear vaccination. | Merc Sol 10M SD one week later. | Support with Skook/Sil with skin damage, Gels low potency if it was the flu vaccine, Kali-Chlor for kidney detox or where there are nosebleeds all in a 6x. |
| Solar Plexus | 3-4 weeks later | Morgan Gaertner 200c SCD if the patient suffers from all sorts of allergies including food, pollen, chemical, antibiotics. | Sil or Nit Ac 10M SD one week later. | Tissue salts 6-9x All C or Ars low in cases of hay fever type allergies Ars-I for asthma types. Apis for anaphylactic Shock Urt U including hives Phos or Nat-c for sensitivity to chemicals Nat-p or China antibiotics or NBWS. |
| Heart | 3-4 weeks later | Proteus 200c SCD to clear nervous system and relieve any intracranial tension. | Lyc 10M SD one week later. | Support with Kali-Phos am and Kali-mur pm for 2-3 weeks. |
| Throat | 3-4 weeks later | Gaertner 200 SCD to clear colon/liver/ kidney and spleen. | Calc Carb 10M SD one week later. | Support with Nat Sulph 6x am and Calc Sulph 6x pm for 3 weeks. |
| Brow/Third Eye | 3-4 weeks later | Dysentery Co. 200c SCD to clear every tissue in the body as this is the Nosode suitable for many slow and insidious chronic states. | Thuja one week later. | Support with Nat-Phos am and Sil pm for 2 weeks then for a further 2cweeks support with Calc-f am and Kali-mur pm for a further 2 weeks all in a 6x. |
| Crown | 3-4 weeks later | Bac. No 7 200 SCD if further detoxification is needed. | Clay 10M SD as it is a good purifier or Thea 10M SD because so much tea is drunk. Alternatively Coffea 10M SD for the same reason one week later. | Can be supported with Ars-i, Calc-i, Ferr-i, Nat-i or Merc-i-f to stimulate the metabolism. |
| 3-4 weeks later | If the need for Bac. N0 10 200c SCD arises then it can be used as the associated remedy. | Sepia or Pic-Ac 10M SD one week later. | Support with tissue salt Ferr-p or Calc-f twice daily in 6x. |
Tissue Salts and Star signs:
Aries, 21/3-21/4 – Kali phos
Taurus, 22/4-21/5 – Nat sulph
Gemini, 22/5-21/6 – Kali mur
Cancer, 22/6-23/7 – Calc flour
Leo, 24/7-23/8 – Mag phos
Virgo, 24/8-23/9 – Kali sulph
Libra, 24/9-23/10 – Nat phos
Scorpio, 24/10-22/11 – Calc sulph
Sagittarius, 23/11-21/12 – Silica
Capricorn, 22/12-20/1 – Calc phos
Aquarius, 21/1-19/2 – Nat mur
Pieces, 20/2-20/3 – Ferr phos
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