Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is
growing at an alarming rate every 1 child in 88 is Autistic. It is important to
diagnose it at an early stage so it will help in starting the treatment and
occupational therapies to achieve substantial improvement in the individual. In
this paper I have tried to touch on to the importance of Homeopathic treatment
in Autism, I have not included the detailed follow-ups but have summarized it
in a paragraph.
Autism in brief
Autism
is characterized by failure of the child to develop communicative language or
form proper social communication. But they show motor and other skills far
beyond that of a mentally retarded child.
Autism
is characterized by varying degrees of impairment to develop communicative
language or form proper social communication. Some of them are obsessively pre
occupied with inanimate objects such as lights, running water or spinning
objects, and also by repetitive behaviors. Symptoms range from mild to severe.
Some
of the children gradually develop extreme talents such as in mathematics and
these are retained mostly throughout the life. Studies of people with autism
have found abnormalities in several regions of the brain which suggest that
autism results from a disruption of early fetal brain development.
Autism Case
The biggest issue with this young
male child aged 7 years is he doesn’t comprehend when things are described to
him. If he has read a story and at the end of it if he is asked a question he
will go completely blank. He is good in mathematics, reads everything but when
there is a subjective question he will go blank.
Another major issue is he is
unable to follow directions and unable to focus on the work he is supposed to
do. The child also has problems in writing and this skill has not yet developed
in him. He cannot properly hold the pencil and write. He also doesn’t get along
well with children of his age group, as he will start screaming if things don’t
go his way.
Hyperactivity is another major
issue, he cannot stand or sit in one place properly even for some time. He
cannot sleep easily it takes a long time about one to two hours to make him
sleep.
His daily activities are he gets
up in the morning at around 7 am does his daily routine and goes to school at 8
am and comes home by 3 pm. After this he will play, do his homework, take
shower, eat dinner and go to bed. He also goes to martial arts and piano
classes. Besides this he plays video games and watches Television.
His physical development is good
and healthy. The child was perfectly alright till 24 months of age. After he
received the MMR vaccine shot he developed high grade fever. After a few months
of this episode he got a convulsion followed by few more convulsions. All the
investigations were normal except the EEG, which showed some epileptic
tendency. So the child was put on antiepileptic drugs. Even with these
medications the child used to get seizures. After sometime the doctors stopped
the medicines but he still the seizures continued.
During convulsions there was
rolling of the eyes in the upper left or right corner, he will stop
communicating, which is followed by spasms and foaming from the mouth.
The child was a planned
pregnancy; mother didn’t have any tensions during pregnancy. The delivery was
full term and normal. His birth weight was 7 pounds, Age of walking -14 months,
age of talking first word 8 months and sentence formation by 42nd
month. There were no dentitional problems.
The parents were asked what the
child does when he is angry they told that he will shout, scream and run
around. He also loves to dance especially to fast tracks
Personal history
Craving: Pan cakes, Pizzas, burgers, yogurt
Sleep and dreams: doesn’t want to sleep but when he is forced to
sleep he will fall asleep fast and sleeps in supine position and doesn’t wake
up from sleep.
Thermals: Likes fan and air conditioner, takes covers but kicks
them off. Sun causes redness of the body and increased body heat.
Perspiration: profuse
Thirst: Normal.
Prescription
Date
|
Symptoms
|
Homeopathic remedy
|
26/06/07
|
Taking into consideration the
episode of vaccination and seizures after that the child was prescribed
|
Thuja 200 1 dose for 3 days.
|
01/07/07
|
The parents say although they
can’t say for sure there is any improvement. But surely he is doing much
better in his martial arts. He is running less and focusing (But still not
his age level). Sleep is same.
|
No medicine given the parents
were advised and explained about the action of the medicine.
|
07/08/07
|
Small change in behavior
although he again didn’t focus in his martial arts, but he read a book on his
own.
He also had warm milk and went
to sleep on his own. He is communicating more but still ignores them if they
call him to do something that he doesn’t like to do.
Parents feel that he is
certainly understanding more and more every day and feel with little help he
can do better. He still has to be pushed to do work.
|
No medicine.
|
23/8/07
|
He complies with our direction
more
1. He does his homework on his own (earlier we had to sit with him
whole time) -- although still sometime sits and plays with his pencil and will
not do his home work but now it requires a less prompting to get him started again.
2. He helps out his mom a
little more than he used to -- still a long way where he can help without
even asking. But sometime he does comprehend the need (like pick up the phone
and hand over, shuts off the monitors if required etc.)
Parent requests if we can work
on his concentration and the ability of his understanding a little more as
his school is opening. He still struggles to sleep on his own. His
comprehensive ability is still poor but improving.
|
No medicine.
|
02/09/07
|
Behavior is good and the other
time it is rank bad. In the last 7 days, he did ran away once, didn't focus
on his martial arts where others were doing exercises and he was just not
doing it.
Parent says although, I am sure
he has improved a little but my expectations were a little more before he
goes to school.
|
Thuja 200 1 dose for 3 days.
|
02/10/07
|
After the 3 doses of T-200 a
lot more improvements are shown. Although he still has difficulty following
all the directions but is more co-operative.
His school has started last
week and he is doing better in school. His communication has improved and has
started asking a lot of questions. I would rate his progress to more than 10%
better than what he was when we started the medicine. So, I and my wife both
believe the medicine is surely doing something on him.
Again, some days are better
than other but last whole week (he started school too) was far better than
any other week I have seen out of him.
Hope he comprehends and
understand better soon. He still has lot to improve upon in communication as
well as playing with other kids of his age. He needs improvement in following
the direction too. He just spins around and doesn't like to sit properly most
of the time.
It surely is a good sign and we
are encouraged.
|
The patient was put under
observation and the medicine was regulated. The treatment went on for 1 year
plus and following is the last follow up.
We still monitor the case as
and when needed.
|
Last Follow up
|
He is been doing very well and
he received president award in school. He is playing piano very well and has
been excellent in his behavior etc.
I would like to thank you for
all your help for him and would surely try to come meet you some day.
|
The patient is under
observation as and when needed.
|
Conclusion
Homeopathic treatment can help in
achieving very good results if applied in the right way. Co operation from the
parents and care givers is also very important. Treatment should be goal
orientated.
Dr. Santosh R. Joshi Classical Homeopath
Website: www.drjoshis.com
Above presentation is for
academic purposes only please do not self medicate.
