Autism Reversal Toolbox + full + pdf + free + Jerry Kantor
April 7, 2017 | Author: rodolfo_soberón | Category: N/A
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Autism Reversal Toolbox Strategies, Remedies, Resources Jerry M. Kantor
Emryss Publishers
Dedicated to the mothers ofthe Thinking Moms' Revolution, a cadre ofdauntless and brilliant women who, as they know more than most oftheir doctors about autism (and act accordingly) have been a valued resource and an inspiration.
All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Enquiries should be addressed to: Emryss Publishers Email: info @emryss.com www.emryss.com First edition 2015 © Jerry Kantor
ISBN/EAN: 9789076189529 NUR873 Cover and layout : Roos Mol
Table of Contents Foreword for Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I Setting up the Workbench ............................ 13 On Terra Firma: Welcome Baby! . .......... ............. 13 Discord in Paradise: Modeling Autism Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DSM V: Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00 Autism Spectrum Disorder................ 14 "'T . . "Features ... .......... ... . ... .. .. . 15 vergmg on A uusm A Sense-Dimensional Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Sense Dimension ofTouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Sense Dimension ofTaste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Sense Dimension of Smell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Sense Dimension of Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 ]ing and the Consolidation (Inheritance) of Stress . . . . 26 The Screams offing........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Sense Dimension of Sight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The ASD Intake ............. .... ..... . ..... ... .... 31 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Engaging the Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Treating the Mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Ten Elements of a Successful Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 1. Gain familiarity with developmental delays .. ........ 35 2. More than one pair of eyes and ears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 3. The angels are in the details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 4. Consider treating the siblings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 5. Familiarize yourself with other modalities . . . . . . . . . . 37 6. Dance on a tightrope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 7. Take your time analyzing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 8. Formulate your game plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 9. Manage expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 10. Do not limit your practice to autistic clients . . . . . . . . 39 The Bigger Picture: Prophylaxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 The Promise of Homeoprophylaxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
II Conceptual Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Epigenetics .. Main Types of Epigenetic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miasms . Neural Auto-immunity .. Digital Dystopia ... . ... Six Stages of Pathology: Homo toxicology ...... Chart: Reckeweg Homotoxicology and Differentiation According to Channel Theory (TCM) . . Trauma and Stress . . . . Fetal Distress and ASD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disruption of the Infant Microbiome Iatrogenic Perils for the Fetus and Neonate .... Prenatal Maternal Stress and ASD .................. Reproductive Technology Toxic Burden .. ..... Pharmacological Burden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vaccination Imprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heavy Metal Toxicity .. ... . Pesticides ... Monosodium Glutamate Neuroglial and Neural Overload . An Overheated Nervous System and Brain Inflammation Leaky Gut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synaptic Overload, Diminished Autophagy. . . . . . . . . . Mitochondrial Damage ...................... Excitotoxicity and Neural Auto-Immunity ..... PANDAS ... . ... ... ...
48 48 50 51 59 61 62
III Workshop Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soft Focus Remedies The Unda Remedies ... ..... . . Biotherapeutic Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional and Environmental Self-Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
90 90 91 92 93
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64 66 66 67 68 73 73 74 74 76 81 82 83 84 84 84 85 86 87 88
IV Workshop Methods ................................ 96 Method One: the Banerji Autism Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Method Two: Environmental-Never-Well-Since Method ..... 97 Three Cases from the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Repertory and Materia Medica for the EWNS Method . . 114 Method Three: Sine Wave Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Preparatory Self-Help Program for Parents . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Two-Month Unda Number Program ............... . 124 Second round ofUnda Remedies or Bowel Nosodes . . . . 125 Heavy Metal Detox, CEASE or Constitutional Prescribing 125 The Four-Potency Detox Protocol (CEASE) . . . . . . . . . . 126 Soft Focus Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 V Sine Wave Materia Medica for Autism Spectrum Disorders ASD Characteristics ................................ Pregnancy-Related Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birth-Related ASD Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dysfunctional Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Developmental Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Failure to Thrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gut Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solipsistic States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Obsessiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Muteness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypersensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electro-Magnetic Field Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Never Well Since Vaccination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Childishness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Exacerbations . .... ..... ...... ............. Agitation/Destructiveness of Self And Others . . . . . . . . . Allergies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seizures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
130 130 130 133 134 137 138 139 142 143 144 145 145 147 148 148 149 149 151 151 151 152
V Materia Medica: Managing Exacerbations continued Sexual Overstimulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sleeplessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meditative Proving Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gem Essences Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cutting-Edge Soft Focus Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
152 15 3 154 154 15 5 156
Appendix I Illustrative Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Appendix II Toolshed Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HANDLE Method .......... .... . ........... . ..... Orthomolecular support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flower essences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biochemic Tissue/Cell Salts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chi Gong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Color and Sound Homeopathic Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gemmotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craniosacral therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EMDR ................ ...... .. .......... ....... Alphabiotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
178 178 178 181 181 182 183 183 183 183 183
Appendix III Will and the Soul in Chinese Medicine . . . . . . . . . 184 Chart: The Five Sense Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Appendix IV Will and the Soul: Reintroducing Emanuel Swedenborg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Relevant Excerpts from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg 194 Appendix V Notes on Autoimmunity.... ....... . ......... 198 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Understanding Autism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Methods: Resources for Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Methods: Resources for Practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
200 200 202 203
Foreword for Parents While directed at professional homeopaths, many of the ideas and strategies presented in The Autism Reversal Toolbox will be understandable to parents of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children. Many of these parents are among the most astute individuals I have encountered, having become experts in their child's care and accumulating expertise far beyond their physicians. To such a parent I say, feel free to search the book for relevant information you can apply, especially the sections on Nutritional and Environmental Self-Care, and the Toolshed Resources on pages 188-192, which are appropriate for home care. If you like, you can return to its philosophical and scientific underpinnings in leisurely fashion. One of the greatest benefits of this book could be in helping you find and work with a homeopath. If you already have a homeopath, you may wish to give her a copy of this book, as many of its methods and materials are cutting edge and not known to most homeopaths. If doing so, please be respectful of his or her training, as your homeopath may already have an effective angle from which to address autism spectrum ailments. If you do not yet have a homeopath for your child, a good place to start is by asking other parents of ASD children in your community. Even if there are no local homeopaths, they may recommend someone who will work with you by video conferencing. Word of mouth is a better way to find your homeopath than looking in a directory, since you want someone who has not only good training but also real understanding of these special children and of the family dynamics that ensue. If you can't find someone by word of mouth, try the directory of CEASEtrained homeopaths at http:/ /www.cease-therapy;com/ make-appointment/ 9
since they have chosen to specialize in autism. As you will see in this book, CEASE is only a small part of what can be done to treat autism with homeopathy, so your CEASE-trained homeopath could still benefit from this book. You will be fortunate if you can find someone locally whom you can visit in person. You could also consult the directory at www.homeopathic.org for local homeopaths and call each one and ask how much experience they have in treating autism. Homeopaths tend to say that the diagnosis doesn't matter because homeopathy can treat anything; but the treatment of autism is so specialized that it does matter and you do want someone with experience. In the meantime, while searching, there are many suggestions in this book for things y6u can do right away to help your child, starting with the Toolshed Resources on page 178. Please do not attempt the full homeopathic protocol yourself, however, as the process can have many ups and downs even at the hands of an experienced homeopath. New information helpful to parents is emerging all the time. For the latest (as of the first printing of this book), I recommend that you check out the webinars, blogs and email newsletters of • Dr. Martha Herbert (www.autismrevolution.org) • The Thinking Moms' Revolution (www.thinkingmomsrevolution.com • Epidemic Answers (www.epidemicanswers.org) • ASD nutrition specialist Maria Rickert Hong (www.mariarickerthong. com). • "Fearless Parenting" advocate Louise Kuo Habakus (www.fearlessparent.org).
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Introduction Welcome to the Autism Reversal Toolbox, a compendium of ASD strategies, remedies and resources. Whereas the topic is vast, the aim remains humble: to help the modern homeopath address the daunting scope of autism spectrum ailments. The reader will find an array of philosophical and biomedical materials concerning autism, in addition to the most extensive review to date of homeopathic approaches. Included is information derived from the Banerji brothers' protocols; Tinus Smits' CEASE methodology; an environmental never-well-since intervention developed by Farah Gron; the homotoxicology protocol of Mary Coyle; and my own Sine Wave synthesis approach that incorporates Unda remedies (a special series for drainage and detox). Also introduced is a thesis that autism now expresses the emergence of a new miasm pertaining to neural autoimmunity. I hope that this book will provide a building block upon which more formidable bulwarks against autism and neural autoimmunity can be built. Homeopathy's founder Samuel Hahnemann possessed a remarkably diverse mind. The breadth of his investigative genius encouraged generations of disciples to delve into kindred philosophies in order to expand homeopathy's curative power. Here, in the context of autism, the discussion of Traditional Chinese Medical principles and the overlapping teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (summarized in the appendices) are less an introduction than a re-visitation. For Hahnemann was aware of Chinese Medicine, and many of his most talented followers such as Kent were in awe of Sweden borg. I can think of no better context within which to reengage Swedenborgian and Chinese Medicine precepts concerning the mystery of procreation than here, when contrasting the origins of a healthy and an autistic child. I have personally found these two philosophies both illumining and practical in my choice of remedies for autistic children. However, the busy homeopath will be relieved to know that 11
familiarity with these philosophical underpinnings is not required for the practical use of the treatment methods offered. This book expresses the convergence of various events and realizations occurring over the past decade. In particular it extends a determination formulated in my first book, Interpreting Chronic Illness, that before an illness can be treated effectively, it must be accurately explained with a powerful paradigm of healing. The paradigm I use encompasses a synthesis of normally disparate theoretic and biomedical views: homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine and biomedicine (conventional Western medicine, based on the physical body) illumined by Swedenborg's philosophy.
The Autism Reversal Toolbox is an outgrowth of my wide-ranging studies, clinical experience and research efforts. I was among the first homeopaths trained in CEASE, the method for reversing autism with homeopathic potencies of vaccines and other toxins. (The training was intended to be led by its great innovator Tinus Smits MD, but sadly he passed away during the seminar, which was led by two of his first proteges in the method, Ton Jansen and An van Veen in the Netherlands.) I have subsequently spent years developing a team-oriented clinical approach with a valued colleague, Jhuma Biswas, CCH. Preparation for my presentation at the Joint Homeopathic Conference in 2013 prompted me to study all available literature on homeopathy and autism.
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I. Setting up the Workbench On Terra Firma: Welcome Baby! Before we approach autism pathology, are we confident that we know what a healthy, non-autistic infant actually is? How is the mind-body substance of a healthy baby to be understood? Where does such a baby come from? Though useful for establishing a context for autism, the spiritual overtones of inquiries like this place them outside the bounds of conventional medicine and biology. A venture into the territory of the soul's incarnation may be called for. My two unrelated though mutually reinforcing sources with regard to the soul's incarnation are the five-thousand-year old Traditional Chinese Medicine theory coming from the East; and coming from the West, the philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18rh century genius who- via his influence on James Tyler Kent and other homeopaths of his time - gained recognition as the spiritual godfather of homeopathy. Helpfully, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) exhibits a general bias in favor of female physiology, one having implications for our work with autism. Within TCM we find that the mother's energetic physiology is largely responsible for both the phenomenon of conception and a baby's hereditary constitution. We shall find, for example, that according to TCM theory an individual is born with not one but two souls. One of these souls is corporeal and mortal, as opposed to its counterpart, a spiritual and immortal soul (akin to the Collective Unconscious and known as the Hun) . The Corporeal Soul, known as the Po, is built inside the mother and deposited in the child's Lungs. 1 This accounts for the 1 When the name of an organ is capitalized and italicized, it refers to the concept in TCM, which is not limited to (and sometimes not even related to) the physical organ in Western physiology.
13
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
mother's disproportionate influence over the child, especially in its early years. Readers wishing to learn more about the fascinating but intricate concepts common to both TCM and Swedenborg may delve into the source materials available in the appendices. Our present purposes are served by summarizing the following concepts, parallel versions of which are found in TCM and Swedenborg: 1. Birth as a process of regeneration; 2. The transduction of spiritual energy as a step-down process by means of which (via conception and birth) the soul transmutes into living Resh; 3. A hereditary process wherein earthly stress, impacting on spirit, consolidates within a lineage (read as reformulation via inheritance or miasm); 4. The physiological and spiritual function of the Kidneys as having to do with spiritual purification and the soul's incarnation; 5. The preservation of intergenerational health as furthered by proper nutritional, behavioral and spiritual measures.
Discord in Paradise: The Autism Spectrum Exactly what is autism? How deeply must the condition be explored before we have a sense of its dimensions? Why does conquering autism amount to a Mount Everest challenge for health care providers including homeopaths? Let's begin with the definition of autism used by conventional medical professionals, taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
DSM V: Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00 Autism Spectrum Disorder A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):
Setting Up the Workbench
15
1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-andforth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions. 2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication. 3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers. 2 Holistic practitioners view autism much more broadly, as a whole-person condition that includes physical as well as psychological and behavioral symptoms. In fact these physical symptoms often show up first, as an early warning sign that the child is heading towards autism. I call these the "Verging on Autism" features, and they need to be taken very seriously by parents, who need to seek holistic rather than harmful drug solutions (such as giving babies Prilosec for reflux).
"Verging on Autism" Features which indicate a child may he heading towards the autistic spectrum: • A child with GERD (reflux) and projectile vomiting as an infant; • A child who cannot stand to have her hair brushed, skin touched or clothes on; • A child with low muscle tone and runny stools, who can't tan or break a sweat;
2 Guidelines concerning level of severity are included in the definition. Also compare with the similar Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder 315.39 (F80.89), http:/ /www.autismspeaks.org/what -autism/ diagnosis/ dsm- 5-diagnostic -criteria.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
• A child with eczema over 70% of her body and an inability to sleep at night; • A child with chronic constipation and behavioral problems; • A child with a perpetually scowling, grinning or expressionless face. Which of the above is the more important: the autism definition or the list of Verging on Autism Features? The question is rhetorical, for when action is taken on the basis of the conventional autism definition above, it is almost too late. Early intervention - if not outright prevention - is always key to stopping an epidemic in its tracks. Autism being no exception to the rule, the presence of fifty percent or more of the above "mildly" concerning symptoms is sufficient to prompt attention and intervention. Soon enough we will introduce preventive and interventional specifics. For now we are still only setting up our workbench, wherefore the discussion remains limited to theory. In order to establish a context for autism, our modeling of its pathology encompasses considering autism from a Sense Dimensional perspective (a full mapping of which appears in the Five Sense Dimensions chart on page 189).
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective Sense Dimensional Analysis, a tool I derived from Five Phase theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine, provides a framework for summarizing the global nature of ASD. Introduced in my earlier book Interpreting Chronic Illness, Sense Dimensional Analysis facilitates a multi-modal analysis of chronic illness states in which we look for a failure to resolve the core issue of one, and perhaps an additional one or two collaterally affected sense dimensions. However, there are two conditions- namely cancer and ASD - which display a failure to resolve core oppositions across all five sense dimensions. For the reader new to the concept of sense dimensions, this is a version of what within Chinese Medicine is known as the Five Elements (or Five Phases) system. Each of the Five Elements is associated with a particu-
Setting Up the Workbench 17
lar season, element of nature, etc. For example, Wood is associated with Spring, the nervous system and the emotion of anger. In my own reworking of the Five Phases, I have completed the association of each Element with one of the five senses - thereby establishing the prominence of the senses. In the given example, Wood pertains to the sense of sight. The system is not as complicated as it sounds, and you will soon catch the spirit of its manner of investigating. In support of this finding that autism and cancer are uniquely associated in this model: remarkably, they have been discovered to share elevated presence of an immune-suppressing enzyme, nagalase. 3 AS D's parallel with cancer receives further attention on pages 19 and 21. As in Chinese Medicine's Five Phases (a metaphysical means of diagnosis), general healthfulness attends the five sense dimensions flowing cyclically in a clockwise direction. By "flowing healthfully" I mean that a core issue embedded in a particular phase is successfully resolved. When this happens, beneficial energy or chi is able to flow into the next phase, within which a different core problem presents itself for resolution. Each core issue is a profound existential question with many ramifications, which is what justifies designating its sense-related phase a dimension. These embedded issues will become clear in the forthcoming paragraphs. Within classical TCM the phase movement has been likened to seasonal movement as in Spring (the element Wood), Summer (the element Fire), Late Summer (the element Earth though a bit of a fudge), Autumn (the element Metal) and Winter (the element "Water). The state of one harmonized Phase's exertion of influence over its successor Phase is known as the Mother-Son Rule. Thus, aspects of the healthful Touch state (related to Summer) reflect benefits conveyed from the cyclically preceding state, the sense dimension, Sight (Spring in the discussion below, introduced last).
3 http:/ /www.ageofautism.com/20 11 I 10/ dr-bradstreet-nagalase-and-the-viral-issue-inautism.html
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
The Sense Dimension of Touch Season: Summer; Phase: Fire Reflecting circulatory functions and the Fire phase in TCM, the dimension of Touch concerns a core opposition between healthful Synchrony and pathological Isolation. Emblematic Text: The Book ofTouch (Sensory Formations) by Constance Classen4 Synchrony: In a healthful synchronous state, an infant's relation to its mother is symbiotic, in tune with its needs and the mother's availability. The two have successfully bonded; breast-feeding is going well. Mother and child are in touch physically, emotionally and spiritually. As one heartbeat calls forth another, a rhythmic call and response between mother and child is established. More specifically, a relationship based on "oscillation excitability" occurs: the heartbeat of the child being 120 when the mother's is 60, 140 when the mother's is 70, or an octave higher as Andreas Richter points out. 5 The resonance is maintained until the 1yh month after birth. With regard to the preceding sense dimension, Sight resolution of the core conundrum Chaos vs. Creativity facilitates rebirth, which can be understood as creativity projected into the future. This is consistent with Sight's association with springtime. The notion of rebirth in a more general sense invites the beneficial influence of ancestors, enabling their support to flow into the child. 4 An academic but elegantly presented discourse on sensuous tactility. Extending from the pains of tortures during the Inquisition to modern day massage therapies as well as the implications held for tactility by cyberspace experience. The Book of Touch delves into how masculine and feminine identities are shaped by touch, as well as the nature of the tactile experiences of the blind, or the autistic. See Bibliographical entry. 5
Richter, Andreas, Overexcited in the Womb, Spectrum of Homeopathy, No. 1, 2010,
p. 78.
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective
19
Isolation: The inverse of synchrony reflects any combination of the following: the mother's failure to bond with her child; dysfunctional or failed breast-feeding; stresses due to family discord before or during pregnancy. Mother and child are discordant, out of sync. Call and response is non-operant. The influence of ancestors is hindered. Here is the origin of the ASD child's typical aversion to touch and the arrhythmical nature of ASD tics. The isolated child may be prone to night terrors, a lack of empathy, and vacant affect. Cancer and autism within Touch: We may take a moment to step back and consider this parallel, already touched upon in relation to the enzyme nagalase: the autistic child displays touch and boundary insensitivity, a feature that parallels the dimension of a Touch problem with many types of cancer cells, their characteristic lack of contact inhibition: where normal cells cease their growth upon coming into contact with neighboring cells, cancer cells are oblivious to their neighbor's proximity, reproducing heedlessly whilst elbowing in upon neighboring tissue.
Associated remedies: • The milks including Lac Humanum, Lac Maternum, Lac Delphinum, and Lac Equinum • Cuprum, Carcinosin, Carcinosin Cum Cuprum and Carcinosininum (these two latter remedies developed by Dr. Tinus Smits as part of the Inspiring Series of remedies described on pages 91 and 135). • Red and Middle C (we will be associating each sense dimension with one or more color remedies and note remedies developed by Ambika Wauters, often presented as pairs of remedies corresponding to a particular chakra, as described in her Homeopathic Color and Sound
Remedies). • Oxytocin (an extremely important remedy in autism, as oxytocin is the bonding hormone, the basis of empathy between mother and infant, often disturbed in the modern birth process by the use of Pitocin synthetic oxytocin -which binds to the oxytocin receptors and blocks this empathy-producing hormone.) • Unda remedies (combination remedies for detox and drainage).
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Adjunctive modalities: A valued means of helping autistic individuals overcome Touch related problems is the chi gong massage method developed by the Qigong Sensory Training Institute (see page 182). Other options include many forms of massage ranging from the gentle to the most vigorous, depending on the child's needs and preferences. Also, drumming, and animal therapy involving close and supervised contact with animals such as horses and dolphins having a known affinity for children.
The Sense Dimension of Taste Season: Late Summer; Phase: Earth Reflecting digestive functions and the Earth phase in TCM, the dimension ofTaste concerns a core opposition between healthful Challenge and pathological Anxiety. The gauntlet thrown down demands: Take as big a bite as you can but make sure it can be chewed. Emblematic Texts: Almost Autism, Recovering Children ftom Sensory Processing Disorder written by the holistic nutritionist Maria Rickert Hong, and Pre-Feeding Skills: A Comprehensive Resource for Mealtime Development, Suzanne Evans Morris. 6 Challenge: A child who is secure and well nourished (from having resolved Synchrony vs. Isolation in the prior dimensional phase) is prepared to resolve Challenge versus Anxiety. Thus a healthful challenge state allows confident and competent development. Major transitions of weaning from the breast, language acquisition, toilet training, interacting with 6 Almost Autism is an indispensable guide from a holistic nutritionist who describes diet and lifestyle issues for children with sensory processing disorder; the information is useful for all parents and especially those of children on the autistic spectrum. Pre-Feeding Skills is a state of the art resource concerning mealtime roles and influences, gastrointestinal influences on feeding, autism, sensory influences on feeding, children with food aversion and much more. Current research, references, and trends, especially the chapters on treatment, tube feeding, nutrition, blindness, prematurity, and anatomy. Information about normal development in childhood eating as well as detrimenta:l influences.
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective
21
other children, and learning to read occur with confidence and minimal fuss in a healthy child. Anxiety: Failed or incomplete resolution of Synchrony vs. Isolation predisposes a child to poor confidence in regard to the challenges required by developmental transitions. Anxiety manifests as emotional symptoms such as dinginess, bolting behavior, pgobias, ritualistic behavior, stubbornness, and eating disorders, as well as gastrointestinal (Taste) related physical symptoms including failure to thrive, parasites, and profound bowel dysbiosis so often found in the ASD individual. Cancer and autism within Taste: As polarities within Taste express the struggle to attain maturity, we can (as we did in Touch) draw a parallel between ASD (for its hyper-immaturity or regressiveness) and cancer. Many cancer cells are malignant by virtue of their determination never to grow up or ever to die: hence, their refusal to shorten their telomeres and tantrum-like insistence on synthesizing their very own enzyme telomerase. As further evidence of"I won't grow up" common to both conditions: In cancer, signaling pathways that mediate the normal functions of growth factors are often perversely affected? Autism too exhibits subversion of growth factors, at least in mice. Mice with immature synapses due to their lack of a copy of the SHANK3 gene (associated with autism and intellectual disability) displayed improved brain signaling following treatment with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) .8 Autism and cancer both share phosphorylation issues, meaning the cellular presence of undesired kinase enzymes that interfere with the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The parallel with immaturity extends if we allow the similarity between rampant cancer cell proliferation and raging appetite; or cell metastasis and bolting behavior (the tendency of ASD children to flee from an unbearable environment such as a high-EMF and/ or overly stimulating one). 7
http:/ /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ 1659742
8 http :/ I sfari.org/ news-and-opinion / conference - news / 20 11 / international-congress-of- human -genetics-20 11/ growth-factor- improves-autism -symptoms-in-mice
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Associated remedies: • Lycopodium, Anacardium, Baryta Carb, Saccharum Officinale • Scrophulariceae remedies (for biofilm issues, see page 140 of the materia media) • bowel nosodes (particularly Gaertner) • Yellow and Note E • Unda remedies. Adjunctive modalities: Due to the inflammatory effects of gluten and casein (and in certain instances carbohydrates generally) among autistic individuals, elimination or reduction of these dietary staples can promote Taste and the general health of autistic individuals. Eliminating glutamates (the common factor connecting gluten and casein) can be even more effective: for guidance see www.unblindmymind.org. Another effective option that promotes the positive Challenge pole is wrestling9 or another similarly challenging, structured and competitive activity.
The Sense Dimension of Smell Season: Autumn; Phase: Metal The sense of smell is primal for exploring our world, sexual reproduction, and survival. It orients us to the availability of food and the presence of danger within surrounding space (think of the uses of a dog's sniffing ability). As Marcel Proust described in Remembrance ofThings Past, smell enhances memory by obliterating time. Smells are conveyed via the air. Thus, this sense dimension reflects respiratory function, or what in TCM is known as the Metal phase. The dimension of Smell concerns a core opposition between healthful Centeredness, the ability to live in the moment, and pathological Disorientation, meaning a tendency to be stuck in time. Thus it can refer to grief, but also connote attachment 9 Thanks to Kenneth Lubowich for bringing this connection to my attention: one of his wrestling students, diagnosed autistic, made amazing improvements in his handwriting with no other intervention than wrestling.
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective 23
to what is rooted in the past or concerned about the future, either way outside of the present moment. Emblematic Text: An Apprenticeship in Thinking, by Barbara Rogoff10 Centeredness: A child that is confident and competent, as a result of having successfully resolved Challenge vs. Anxiety, is prepared to resolve Centeredness vs. Disorientation. The centered child plays well with others, toggling without difficulty between leader and follower roles. The child makes good eye contact with others, is adept at game playing and strategizing (knowing which way the wind blows), reacts appropriately in conflict situations, does not languish in any emotion for too long, and is prepared for cognitive challenges. He or she lives in the moment and is generally well adjusted. Disorientation: Failed or incomplete resolution of Challenge vs. Anxiety predisposes a child to disorientation in time. This can manifest as excessive grief, inability to let go of a wrong, inability to effectively strategize or advance cognitively, and panic disorders (which involve respiratory dysfunction such as gasping). At the physical level, Disorientation symptoms can include asthma, skin ailments, allergies, food sensitivities and grief Associated remedies: • Nat Mur, Ignatia, Calc ·carb, Silica, Thuja, Phosphorus • Bowel nosodes • Pink; Violet and Note B; Indigo and Note A • Unda remedies. Adjunctive modalities: Recommended are extensive nature play, board games, group play, instruction in wildlife tracking, yoga, aromatherapy, essential oils (though not during homeopathy), yoga (or even meditation!). 10 Presents an integration of theory and research on how children develop their thinking while engaged in cultural activity under the guidance and challenge of their caregivers, companions and playmates. Views development as an intellectual apprenticeship in which children engage in ever increasingly complex structured activities. See bibliographical entry.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
The Sense Dimension of Hearing Season: Winter, Phase: water This is a complex and intricate dimension. Reflecting fluid metabolism and reproductive function and what is known as the water phase in TCM, the dimension of Hearing concerns a core opposition between healthful Consolidation and pathological Entropy. Hearing is the ability to interpret audible sound, based on the collection and transformation of fluctuations in pressure. The cognitive aspect of hearing - the selective act of listening - has no equivalent among the other four senses. Within the cacophony of surrounding sound, we attend to what interests us and turn a deaf ear to all else. To a greater extent than any other sense, hearing requires our discriminating between what we permit to pass through and what we do not. That for which we have no use would be toxic if retained, meaning in service to entropy. Therefore it is discarded. That which is valued not only is retained but permanently secured, thus the subject of consolidation. This idea is at play within TCM's elaboration of the water dimension said to rule the Kidneys and Bladder, which in Chinese medicine include the bones, epithelium, and much of reproductive function:
• Kidney function involves directing impure fluid to the Bladder excreted while pure fluid is retained and consolidated as essence;
to
be
• Though the epithelium is soft and moist while the bones are dry and hard, both serve water due to their functioning as boundaries between cells and tissue. Comprising the foundation of our structural integrity, a bastion against entropic collapse and the body's most durable tissue able to survive its demise, the bones epitomize Hearing dimension consolidation; • The Yuan or original chi residing within the Kidneys represents genetic information consolidated miasmatically within our legacy or genome. The Yuan can also be viewed as conveying miasma to the Hun or
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective 25
ethereal soul (comparable to Jung's notion of the Collective Unconscious) via our parents and ancestors. These are now consolidated within the Kidneys of the newborn child. Emblematic Text: The Spell ofthe Sensuous, by David Abram. 11 Consolidation: Healthful mitochondria from the mother are established within the fetus. Kidney Yang projects the will and purpose-laden Hun into the body at birth, only to extract and eject it back to its universal source at death. A well-adjusted child, having successfully resolved Centeredness vs. Disorientation, is prepared for the onerous lifetime demands of hearing and acquiescing to his or her life mission- in other words, accessing his Hun and serving his will.
Entropy: Problematic resolution of Consolidation vs. Entropy may be due to dysfunctional resolution of Centeredness vs. Disorientation. Or it may reflect perpetuation of an unimproved upon or even worsened legacy. It is said within TCM that congenital illness manifests within the Kidney Yang. Other than a random occurrence, the presence of congenital illness represents information that has consolidated (compressed into "coded" form that can be inherited) and thereby gained immortality. What might that information be and how does it come to be consolidated? Our suspicions narrow down to a single leading suspect, Kidney Yangs often stressed out "housemate," ]ing. Let us take a moment to discuss this fascinating concept.
11 Explores the sense of hearing via phenomenological investigation of the voice and· nature. A review by the Shambala Sun captures the book's wonders and relevance to the dimension of Hearing: "Manages almost magically to stir in us long-lost memory: deep in our bones, in our blood, in the air we breathe, we know the world lives and speaks to us .. . shows that it is possible to reawaken the animistic dimension of perception and feeling without renouncing rationality and intellectual analysis:' 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (February 25, 1997)
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
]ing and the consolidation (inheritance) of stress ]ing is an essential energy stored within the Kidneys. When circulating throughout the body it is known as the Yuan which translates as Reproductive Essence, Inborn, Genuine or Original chi. The Jing issues mainly from the Congenital Essence of Life (yet another form of chi stored in the Kidneys) but also is supplemented and nourished by the Acquired Essence of Life produced by the metabolic efforts of the Spleen and Stomach. Although it also receives an impetus from (infinite) Kidney Ytmg, the ]ing is neither immortal nor infinite. When run down or depressed as a result of stress, ]ing's contraction (or under more serious conditions essence depletion) in mental, emotional and physical terms undermines us. ]ing is in fact, a precious and finite substance whose conservation we should heed. The ]ing supports the Kidney Yin's ability to supply epithelial moisture and general fluid function throughout the body. It possesses a power to motivate the vital activities of the body without which normal development, growth and healing do not occur. Depletion of the ]ing results in lassitude, vertigo, debility and susceptibility to illness. Popularly applied recourses such as acupuncture and herbal treatments owe their effectiveness to their ability to conserve and protect the fin g. Due to its origination in the Congenital Essence of Life it sometimes happens that the Jing is congenitally of a weak quality. Depending on the severity of ]ing deficiency, the reproductive organs themselves may be undeveloped, undersized or inoperative. The onset and regularity of puberty may be affected, as well as the production of gametes in a female and sperm in a male. This constitutional deficiency may prevent fertility to such an extent that all the interventions of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) are ineffective. And when ART is able to overcome this inherited weakness and force a pregnancy to occur, the unfortunate result may be to perpetuate a lineage in which the ]ing is weak. Hence the higher rate of autism and other problems in children born by ART (as well as the problems caused by the interventions themselves).
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective
27
Situations of enduring stress, such as a severe and lasting encounter with a pathogen, cannot be indefinitely withstood. There exists a point beyond which even one's emergency resources are no longer available. It is at such a point that -like a dying wish one cannot refuse to fulfill- trauma and concern long borne by an overburdened ]ing is permitted to shift over and become imprinted upon her more powerful partner, a suddenly wised up and activated Kidney Yang. When miasmatic symptoms erupt in an unsuspecting individual one or more generations later, these are in effect the reverberating screams of Jing insisting her needs be attended to. An effective response serves not only to strengthen the individual in which they are heard, but more importantly to unravel a legacy of illness. Although the concept of]ing is missing from conventional medicine as well as homeopathy, its acceptance as a theoretical concept carries practical benefits. ]ing should be thought of when (as in our ASD cases) dietary and nutritional changes in support of a mother or child's body and spirit are needed.
The Screams of ]ing We may visualize ]ing as a female personality. Had Swedenborg been Chinese and inspired to "interview" ]ing as he did his other spiritual entities, he might have brought back an account such as the following:
When we are worn out, we grow palpably aware of what may be described as her suffiring. ]ing shares a large house- for whose upkeep she is solely respomible - with an immortal force, Kidney Yang, a gentleman who has his head in the clouds, thinking about eternal verities. ]ing is acutely anxious in regard to her limited energy and available days. Her live-in partner, "Mr. Endlessly Streaming Yangfrom the Universe," could care less ifthe roofover his headfalls in. Actually, this is not entirely the case, as when confronted with the inequality oftheir concerm he argues, "Get offmy case! !fit isn't me, then who do you think is constantly watching over the fUrnace [in TCM, the Gate ofFire} seeing to it that the pantry [by means ofsurplus Acquired Essence oflife] is always well stocked!" En tropic features of a child within whom the screams of ]ing reverberate may thus include savantism, autism, behaviors and symptoms reflecting
28
Autism Reversal Toolbox
a legacy of drug abuse or alcoholism; any and all miasms, though in particular syphilitic deficiencies such as genetic mutations and organ deformities (either reflecting preexisting syphilitic tendencies or directly resulting from assisted reproductive technologies) and a susceptibility to auto-immune conditions and co-infection. Associated remedies: • the miasmatic nosodes • Lachesis, Crotalus Horridus, Alumina, Argentum Nitricum, Aurum Met., Plumbum • The Lanthanides and Actinides • Spectrum and Chord (remedies made from the combination of all colors and of all notes, respectively) • Unda Numbers 1 and 2 (Kidney detox) and other Unda remedies. Adjunctive modalities: meditation music, nurturance of core talents, commitment to overcoming a family legacy of problems such as drug addiction.
The Sense Dimension of Sight Season: Spring; Phase: Wood Emblematic Text: Virgil's Aeneid, 12 and Patty Lerner's Envisioning a Brighter Future, a guide to holistic therapies for autism including behavioral optometry. 13 Reflecting neurological, visual and Liver function (which includes significant blood physiology) within the Wood phase ofTCM, the dimension of Sight concerns a core opposition between Creativity and Chaos. The sensation of sight being stereoscopic condemns us to see or know too 12 Roman literary classic whose themes involving fate, vengeance, the will and a visionary agenda draw deeply on the sense dimension of Sight. Available in many editions. 13 Lerner, P. Envisioning a Brighter Future: Interventions that Work for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2008) Santa Ana, California: Optometric Extension Program Foundation
A Sense-Dimensional Perspective 29
much, thereby promoting chaotic anger. This is well expressed in the Bible's Genesis chapter: Adam and Eve having eaten the fruit of knowledge growing on the Tree of Life see more than they should, namely that they are naked. Confusion and shame engulf them. God sees their violation of His edict, reinforces their shame, and angrily condemns them to a lifetime of chaos and struggle. Not without reason does the English language contain the expression, "He went blind with rage," whereas no one says, "He went deaf with rage." The dimensional mandate within Sight is to transform anger into creativity. Associated with Springtime, migratory return, and rebirth, the sense dimension of Sight also reflects Sweden borg's depiction of birth as not only a regenerational event but as expressive of the soul's vision with regard to lifetime possibilities (see pages 195-197). Creativity: A child within whom ancestral and purposive resources are consolidated is prepared to master the dimension of Sight. This entails overcoming the frustration of curtailments of his will and confronting the surrounding chaos. Success hinges on his or her becoming visionary, adept at transmuting anger into creativity. As Temple Grandin points out in Thinking in Pictures, autists tend to think visually, in pictures, which is why verbal instructions are poorly absorbed. As seen below, the overwhelming power of their visual intensity promotes a chaotic inner life. Chaos: When Hearing's issue of Consolidation vs. Entropy is poorly resolved, the child lacks access to the inspirational resources of the Hun. The child will then struggle within the dimension of Sight, predisposing her to frustration, confusion, anger, and a dearth of creativity. In TCM, the organ associated with Sight is Liver. When Liver is out of balance (Liver Yang), the result is explosive or suppressed anger (namely resentment). Whether hyperactive, flaring or constrained, Liver Yang accounts for a range of chaotic symptoms. These include distractability, poor visual focus , chaotically appearing symptoms (known as Wind in TCM) such as tics and twitches, seizure and stroke; rage, depression, listlessness and confusion; menstrual disorders; hemorrhage; and chronic infection.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
ASD children literally cannot stand to see too much, which is why their preferred visual mode is peripheral. It may be accounted for (or reflected by) an overgrowth of cell signaling visual growth factors such as Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (discussed in the Sine Wave materia medica); and why ASD children present with above-normal levels of strabismus (according to Melvin Kaplin, OD 14) . Although to the outside observer the repetitive, scripting and obsessive behaviors of the ASD child appear to represent a triumph of Chaos over and against Creativity, from the child's internal perspective they represent a triumphant subjugation of inner chaos and turmoil. Associated remedies: • Agaricus, Chelidonium, Carduus, Phytolacca, Stramonium, Veratrum Album, Bromium • The Silver series on periodic table, • Green and Note F; Turquoise and Note G; Magenta and Note High C • Unda remedies. Adjunctive modality: An effective means of addressing Sight related issues found in autistic individuals is EMDR (see page 183). Also artwork, rebirthing exercises, and behavioral optometry. 15 (This specialized form of optometry reverses vision defects with exercises.)
14 http:/ I autism-help.org/ comorbid-visual-problems.htm 15 Lerner, P. Envisioning a Brighter Future: Interventions that Work for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2008) Santa Ana, California: Optometric Extension Program Foundation.
The ASD Intake
31
The ASD Intake With a basic understanding of the composition of a healthy human being and what goes wrong in autism, the time has come for venturing into the territory of specific causes. A momentous event now looms: Our first meeting with a family involved with a child (or adult), the stress level of whose ]ing to a certain degree determines his or her level of autism. We now introduce key features of a successful intake.
Preparation In advance of any such consult we ask that the family provide the following: 1. Developmental timeline for the individual 2. Medical history (or detailed summary thereof) 3. Vaccination record 4. Medication record 5. History of supplements and adjunctive modalities used 6. Meaningful array of photographs and/or videos as available (of particular importance for long-distance work) 7. A comprehensive but freewheeling document we have come to refer to as the 'brain dump'. Here the parents or other caregivers are encouraged to write a mini-biography of the child that includes wider ranging information: • Details about noteworthy events especially physical or emotional traumas leading up to the child's conception • The child's diet and food cravings (not necessarily the same thing) • Details concerning the mother's pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-partum experience (these should include medical events, licit or illicit drug use, stresses, conflicts) • Was the child breast-fed and for how long? • Legacies on either side of the family in regard to alcoholism, abusive behavior, suicidality, mental illness, disease, disillusionment, geographic dislocation or poverty • Observational and intuition-based information concerning pivotal "never-well-since-events" in their child's history
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
• Educational and career background information about the parents themselves (and perhaps grandparents) • Intra-family stresses such as the impact of the child's condition on his or her siblings • And perhaps most importantly, the parents' intuition concerning their child's innate nature. I have the privilege of working with another homeopath who specializes in autism Qhuma Biswas, CCH), and I strongly recommend that two homeopaths work together as a team when treating ASD clients if at all possible. The following guidelines will be written as if the homeopaths are working in a team. Parents seeking a professional homeopath should be aware that this is rarely possible due to geographical limitations of available homeopaths. Prior to the meeting, the lead practitioner and the members of his or her team individually read, become familiar with and prepare questions in regard to this material. A brief meeting should be held when the team's own perceptions, intuitions and questions about the case can be compared. The purpose of this meeting should be to achieve consensus about one or more "smoking gun" elements in the case: events, experiences or exposures implicated in having tipped the child onto the spectrum. Dr. Martha Herbert explains the theory of a "toxic load" in her The Autism Revolution, i.e. that autism can be the result of accumulated toxins in the environment, and the event that seems to cause regression may only be the last straw. To a homeopath, the tipping point is often an emotional trauma.
Engaging the Session The consulting room should be spacious and welcoming but also relatively free of distracting clutter. Depending on the surrounding environment, one member of the team should be assigned to safeguarding and monitoring the typically random, unpredictable, and often distracting movements of the autistic individual. This will serve both to protect the child and minimize distractions in the interview.
The ASD Intake
33
After welcoming and orienting the family to your approach, it is recommended that the family be asked if they have anything of importance to add to the materials previously submitted. Together with the family, the clinician and team members review the materials especially the "brain dump" and possible "Never Well Since" events. At the same time, the team must maintain an open mindset so as to not become married to any preconceived notions as to case analysis or remedy selection. The initial person-to-person meeting with a family invariably brings surprises.
Treating the Mother Treating the mother is highly recommended, and in fact many homeopaths require that parents be treated as well as the child no matter what the condition. For an ASD child it is especially helpful and is a natural outgrowth of the ASD intake. Doing so suggests itself as an extension of the discussion of the mother's pre- and post-natal history. Often enough, mother and child need the same remedy, as when they share equally in a pregnancy-related trauma. And there are other considerations: Especially with regard to the early years, the mother's relationship to the child is paramount. This is because the child is not only built inside the mother, but the mother provides to the fetus one of its two souls, the corporeal soul known as the Po. The Po, being mortal, resides within the child's Lungs and perishes only upon the death of the body. Even when mother and child do not require one and the same remedy, treating the mother serves several purposes. Doing so can interrupt a negative familial legacy; it can familiarize the mother (and father) with the homeopathic process; in terms of family dynamics a positive shift in the energy of a key parent can improve how an entire family interacts and functions. NOTE: treating the father concurrently with the mother (or in place of the mother) also proves warranted at times. You may very well end up also treating non-ASD siblings impacted by your client's condition. So take the time to learn about intra-family stresses emanating from rhe ASD climate.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
The Po, a Corporeal Soul •
Additional aspects of the ASD intake will become apparent as we continue to ready the Workbench.
Ten Elements of a Successful Approach
35
Ten Elements of a Successful Approach 1. Gain familiarity with developmental delays You cannot expect to understand disability without understanding health. Review the sense dimensional and TCM modeling of health discussed in the first chapter. Did you know that the vision of ASD children is primarily peripheral? That in ASD the sound of one's own chewing can be overwhelming and distracting? That ASD individuals are usually clueless about social cues? That obstruction at an early developmental stage can cripple all subsequent cognitive development? Explore the Understanding Autism bibliography (see page 200). The writings of Judith Bluestone, Temple Grandin, Suzanne Evans Morris, Barbara Rogoff, Patricia Lerner and others will illuminate these and other important considerations.
2. More than one pair of eyes and ears The sights, sounds and information overload of your initial consult can be overwhelming. Another pair of eyes and ears absorbing information and gathering dues safeguards against something important being missed. In the ideal situation, partner up with either another clinician or astute observer. As the information must be organized, dividing up the tasks simplifies analysis. For example, assign responsibility for analyzing the vaccination record; the medication and supplements record; the history of other modalities used; and family legacies. While every ASD individual is precious and unique, it is also true that many of these clients exhibit behaviors that are distressingly uniform. To avoid the mortification of drawing a blank when called about a particular child, or mixing him or her up with another child, make sure that at least one team member records several salient individuating features in a handy place for future reference. If you are working solo, develop a shorthand means of identifying or tagging each client.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
3. The angels are in the details Make sure your intake is comprehensive. While what is central to any case cannot be foreordained, the following areas of investigation must not be overlooked: • • • • • • • • • •
Medicinal or recreational drug use in all stages; Vaccination record (explicitly required); Medical and pharmaceutical history (explicitly required); Developmental timeline (explicitly required); Trauma of any sort; Family legacies in regard to miasmatic influence, addiction, emotional disturbance; A history of spousal incompatibility; The presence of specific incidents or a history of familial conflict; Issues of conception, pregnancy, delivery, post-partum depression; Use of Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART).
Examples of intake details revealing a family miasm: 1. A sycotic family (the father clearly needing Medorrhinum, other family members impulsive and scattered) lends credence to a Saccharum Officinale prescription for the child. 2. Lack of emotional support of husband to wife in a pregnancy is seen as contributing to a Mag. Carb. failure-to-thrive syndrome (where milk aggravates, digestion is poor, and the child is severely underweight). 3. A silent, non-reactive ASD child with the background presence of an immensely oppressive maternal grandfather indicates the child may be carrying his mother's psychic burden. Plumbum may initiate a productive course of care.
4. Consider treating the siblings The outsized attention that an ASD child requires can not only afflict his or her brother or sister but distort family dynamics as well. As an example, the healthy sibling may be drawn into the inappropriate demands of a helper role. He or she may understandably harbor guilt and/ or resentment of the
Ten Elements of a Successful Approach
37
child who demands so much attention. The exhausted parents may overlook the healthy sibling's feelings, resulting in a compounding of the psychic impact. Pay attention to the siblings and if possible treat them as well.
5.Familiarize yourself with other modalities Whether or not you wish to encounter non-homeopathic modalities, you won't have a choice. Families with one or more ASD children are so determined and resourceful that they are likely to utilize other modalities unfamiliar to you. You cannot ask them to discontinue all the other modalities - they will not - although you certainly need to ask that they not start two different modalities at once (which would then make it difficult to assess your remedy). You will have to not only learn about but also accommodate the varied requirements of these other therapies, attaining expertise beyond the curriculum of most homeopathy schools today. Homeopathy is rarely sufficient by itself to reverse a diagnosis of autism, therefore collaboration with other specialists is advised. A sampling of currently popular modalities: • kinesiology (as a testing modality) • craniosacral therapy • acupuncture • chelation • hyperbaric chamber oxygenation • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitivisation and Reprocessing) • NAET, a method of clearing allergies based on homeopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) deserves mention because although it may seem to give good results initially, its behavior modification method based on reward and deprivation can inculcate fear and obsessiveness, according to families in my practice. An excellent introduction to existing and emerging ASD modalities is Patricia Lerner's Outsmarting Autism: The Ultimate Guide to Management, Prevention and Healing (see page 202).
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
6. Dance on a tightrope This recommendation requires a delicate balance. For it asks the practitioner to simultaneously be structure-conscious and flexible. On the one hand: • Rigorously seek the never-well-since factor, the event or trauma that caused the regression to autism (with perhaps an alternative explanation or two in your back pocket, since this factor can be the key to your whole treatment). On the other hand: • Be enterprising, delving into what can be called the fault line in the case: an outer manifestation of the inner stress that caused the problem. Be alert for a key image and its related sensation. (For example, if the mother keeps repeating the phrase or image "forced out" in relation to the child's birth, explore the remedy family related to this sensation according to Sankaran's method.) Also consider whether the sensation may relate to a miasm or family legacy.
7. Take your time analyzing We spoke earlier of the value of more than one pair of eyes and ears in the consultation room. Now we speak of attending to and utilizing what those eyes and ears have absorbed. Each member of the team is likely to notice something important. No detail is too unimportant to overlook, yet the homeopath must learn from experience to focus only on the most important aspects. The entry point for a successful case is most likely to emerge from an open group discussion. If you are working alone, take the time to review your notes for rare and peculiar details, deciding the remedy after the intake interview.
8. Formulate your game plan In the Workshop Methods section of this book, formulating the game plan will be referred to as plotting the outline of your Sine Wave approach. This postulates a strategy in which constitutional care freely alternates with detoxification (or clearing) via tautopathy and biotherapeutic drainage.
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TheTo-Dos: • Extract or formulate an etiology of the case; • IdentifY noxious-influence obstacles to cure; • IdentifY deharmonized systems (e.g. the kidneys and/or liver especially important when selecting Unda remedies); • Prepare a list oflikely constitutional, supportive, and intercurrent remedies; ASD case management is harder than remedy selection. Detoxification can be onerous and so must be prepared for. Techniques to minimize or forestall the suffering of both child and family will be covered in the Materia Medica for Managing Exacerbations, page 149. Here is where non-homeopathic methods utilizing substances such as diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, zeolite, activated charcoal, and a blue-green algae extract product such as AFA-gen 16 come into play (see page 82 for more about these substances that can bind heavy metals) .
9. Manage expectations Keep in mind: • ASD families have experienced much disappointment. They now appreciate realism; • Unexpected regressions are disheartening to the family, though often explicable to the homeopath due to the nature of detoxification work; • Even successful cases can take years to complete.
10. Do not limit your practice to autistic clients Note: When you succeed in your ASD work there will be pressure to take on too many clients. Succumbing to this pressure is not advised: • Having a mix of clients is less stressful than working with a single, difficult population; • A diverse caseload amplifies one's understanding of human nature and ultimately enhances homeopathic skill.
16 Afa-gen from Genestra. I have no financial connection with any products recommended.
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The Bigger Picture: Prophylaxis At the time of his writing Autism: Beyond Despair, his guide to CEASE, Tin us Smits held the opinion that autism was one hundred percent reversible. This remains true in theory and is supported by the many positive results homeopaths achieve with their ASD clients. Mitigating against Dr. Smits' optimism is a disturbing awareness that the autism epidemic shows no sign of relenting and there are too few qualified homeopaths to counter it. Moreover, we observe that even with sophisticated treatment, autism grows increasingly challenging to treat and the road to cure oftentimes lengthier. Where to point the finger of blame? The list of likely culprits includes: * The proliferation of genetically modified foods (because they actively cause harm) and demineralized foods (because they fail to provide essential nutrients); * Continued expansion of mandatory childhood vaccination (for the research studies connecting vaccinations to autism, see Tinus Smits' Autism Beyond Despair); * Environmental toxicity including the proliferation of electromagnetic field radiation (EMF, see Zapped and Herbert reference on page 209); * Increase of pregnancies resulting from artificial reproductive technology (ART); * Excessive reliance on increasingly powerful antibiotics; * Inadvisable or excessive reliance on pharmaceuticals during pregnancy (reflecting the decline in reproductive health due to economic disadvantage; lifestyle pressure; and the deceptive convenience of drug-based intervention); * The digital dystopia ("babysitting" of children with smart-phones and video games that reinforces robotic cognition and asociality while inundating their developing brains with EMFs).
The importance ofprevention cannot be overstated. See the recommendations in Nutritional and Environmental Self-Care found on page 93.
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The Bigger Picture: Prophylaxis
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Consciousness-Related Prevention • One of Sweden borg's maxims is that marriages are the seminaries of the human race. This suggests looking upon the marital union as a holy space from which emanates humanity's power to survive and evolve. Your marital union's strength is composed of love, so evict hindrances to its flow. Strive for innocence, resolve mutual differences, repair relationships with in-laws and family members, set aside petty differences during the pregnancy. Meditate and pray. Practice joyfulness. Visualize your child's birth as occurring in a state of grace. • One way or another all religions pay homage to the ancestors and seek their blessings. Invite their support for your child. Set an intention so that beneficial ancestral influence may arrive unimpeded. • Consider undergoing a course of constitutional homeopathy for your spouse and yourself before conception, in order to clear out inherited (miasmatic) weaknesses.
Mobilize Against a Myth Contrary to what conventional medicine maintains, our bodies cannot handle unlimited medication or vaccine exposure. This is true regardless of claims made concerning the supposed harmlessness of an individual vaccine or medicine. Denial of this truth promotes hazardous care. A public health priority especially in regard to autism is recognizing the toxic load caused by accumulated vaccines and drugs. Elaboration on this topic will follow.
Support Immunological Survey Protocol Prior to Vaccination In Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride sensibly proposes an immunological survey to be performed on every baby prior to vaccination. This would include assessment of the parents' health; stool and urine analysis to assess gut dysbiosis in the baby; and a test to determine the infant's immune status. Based on the outcome Campbell-McBride recommends that either no vaccination be given; that vaccinations be delayed (with single vaccines only); or that a course of single vaccines be administered.
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Before Labor: Safoguard Your Baby's Microbiome Conventional maternity care routinely includes practices that are harmful to your new baby's microbiome (the collection of viruses, bacteria, fungi etc. living within and on the surface tissue of your child). These include C-sections; early bathing; time lapse before the mother holds the child; staff members, friends and family members other than the mother holding the infant first; and other events (see Disruption of the Infant's Microbiome within the Trauma and Stress section). Arrange ahead of time that these occurrences do not take place. Avoiding an epidural and pitocin if at all possible will help avoid a C-section.
Arrange to Harvest and Encapsulate Your Placental Tissue Within many cultures a mother's ingestion of the placenta and or umbilical cord is considered to have multiple health benefits. This view is supported by modern research as well. 17 Whereas some of the homeopathies known as Matridonal remedies 18 are themselves derived from placenta and umbilical cord, it stands to reason that one's very own placenta or umbilical cord could be even better suited to the subsequent health care needs of one's child. A qualified homeopath can be recruited to work with a homeopathic pharmacy to create appropriate potencies of such auto-sarcodes (one's own tissue converted into a remedy). A suggested guiding principle for the homeopath working with a family u~ing an auto-sarcode is that when the placental tissue is healthy, low potencies should be created. When placental tissue is necrotic or otherwise unhealthy a higher potency should be made.
Fanciful Proposal for Societal Consciousness One of the deficits of modern society is its absence of acknowledged prophets, individuals who by virtue of their expanded consciousness forewarn credibly of coming tribulation so that protective measures can swiftly be adopted. The prophecy function in our time is ceded to unauthorized 17 http:/ /www.placentaencapsulations.com/links.html 18 Matridonal Remdies of the Humanum Family: Gifts of the Mother, Melissa Assilem, Idolatry Ink, 2009
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soothsayers, cultural figures such as authors and filmmakers whose prescient visions concerning climate change, for example, are readily dismissed by the authorities, themselves constrained not to act until it is too late. Not every artist's nightmare comes true or represents a genuine vision. Yet a constellation of related cultural visions suddenly and unpredictably appearing may be prophetic. In hindsight, I believe that the late 1950s and early 1960s erupted with prophetic films and books warning of onrushing depersonalization, electronic culture, and robotic behavior. In particular I am thinking of two movies: the 1956 film Invasion ofthe Body Snatchers, a vision of mysteriously depersonalized people; and the 1962 film Creation of the Humanoids, whose techno-dystopia depicts a class of life-like humanoid robots devoid of normal emotion but otherwise indistinguishable from human beings. fu a mere recitation of facts is a snooze, the properly motivating vision of alarm must garb itself in lurid packaging, such as that of a popular movie. Extraction of the prophecy's embedded import requires snooping behind and disregarding the film's commercial veneer that in foolish and sensationalistic fashion equates unusual children with the devil's spawn.
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The Promise of Homeoprophylaxis (HP) Granted, our knowledge of autism spectrum attaches serious risk to the ever-expanding vaccination schedule. How then to reduce that risk while also providing protection from historically lethal epidemic diseases? A body of evidence introduced by the Australian researcher Isaac Golden provides a compelling possibility: That an effective substitute for vaccines apparently exists, namely their homeopathic equivalent, homeopathic nosodes (not vaccines). Dr. Golden's argument is presented below verbatim, preceded by the following caveats: 1. Dr. Golden has proposed (or at least his work has been interpreted to mean) that the entire government vaccination schedule should be replaced by the corresponding homeopathic remedies. He supports this proposal with evidence that homeopathy can be used preventively during an epidemic, going back to Hahnemann's use of Belladonna as a prophylaxis during a scarlet fever epidemic. However, giving a remedy to be used on the spot for an immediate threat cannot be compared to giving a series of remedies against a possible and unlikely future danger. These are two quite different situations that Dr. Golden conflates. Dr. Golden also recommends much higher potencies than Hahnemann used. 2. Dr. Golden justifies his proposal with research showing that children who were given homeopathic nosodes are healthier than children given the comparable full-strength vaccines. But this may be a classic example of confusing correlation with causation. Parents willing to experiment with a homeopathic substitute for vaccines are likely to be supporting their children's health in many other ways such as natural childbirth, lengthy breastfeeding, organic/non-GMO foods, use of non-toxic household products, avoidance of antibiotics and other drugs, and protection from EMFs. It would be difficult to find three large cohorts of children matched in all respects except the use of homeopathic vaccine-substitutes, which is what would be necessary
The Promise ofHomeoprophylaxis
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for a valid research study. A proper study would require one cohort of children who received the standard series of vaccines; a second who received Dr. Golden's recommendation of homeopathic nosodes as substitutes; and a third who received neither. The children would have to be matched in all respects, not only age and gender but also in all lifestyle factors such as those listed above. It is possible that the "homeopathic substitute" group in Dr. Golden's example below were healthier because of other lifestyle choices made by the parents, not because of the homeopathic protocol. 3. Dr. Golden's book, The Complete Practitioner's Manual of Homeoprophylaxis, sometimes promotes a pared-down HP schedule, in other words the minimal use of nosodes as substitutes for vaccines. But he also advocates the substitution of high-potency homeopathic nosodes for mandated vaccinations, including for diseases the child is unlikely to encounter. If HP moves in this direction it strikes me as unnecessary and possibly unsafe to mimic with homeopathic nosodes the American government's onerous version of the vaccination schedule. All homeopathic remedies are powerful, the nosodes unusually so (because they are made directly from diseases), and it may not be safe to introduce the vibration of fatal diseases into the body's energetic system. We may not know for several decades, perhaps not for several generations, whether it is safe to give these high potency nosodes. For parents wishing to avoid conventional vaccines, Golden's proposal to substitute a full protocol of homeopathic nosodes does not provide
legal exemption and I cannot recommend it at this point. Instead I recommend working with a professional homeopath or naturopath who can provide protection as needed against an illness to which your child is being directly exposed, such as measles or whooping cough (using those examples because those vaccines have lost some of their effectiveness.)
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Here is Dr. Golden's proposal in his own words: 19 We know that homoeoprophylaxis (HP) is non-toxic so the crucial question is "does it work?" Put simply, there is no point in using something which is safe if it doesn't work. There are four types of evidence now available. (i) Historical Evidence: Vaccination was first used in 1796 and HP was first used in 1798. There is over 200 years of recorded clinical evidence showing the real-world effectiveness. The founder of homeopathy, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, was the first to use HP in epidemic situations and it has been used by many masters of homeopathy since then. However much of this information is not collected into statistical studies and does not suggest rates of effectiveness. It has value, but we shall next examine statistical studies. (ii) Epidemic Studies: There have been a number of studies published in English describing the effectiveness of HP in epidemic conditions. Most have found an effectiveness of around 90%. Other studies from South America and India have yet to be translated. The most thorough study in English undertaken by orthodox practitioners and scientists was from Brazil in 1998. The Brazilian Experience In 1998 there was an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis type B in a region of Brazil. Many doctors in that country are also homeopaths. There was no vaccine available at the time (there is still no vaccine available for Meningococcal type B in Australia), so a group of doctors who worked in the region used the meningococcal nosode to immunize 65,826 children. Another 23,539 children in the region were not immunized. The doctors followed the two groups for 12 months. The efficacy ofhomeoprophylaxis was 95% after six months and 91% after 12 months. It was a complete and statistically rigorous report and was published in a leading peer reviewed homeopathic journal, and 19 http:/ /www.homstudy.net/Research/
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is available for study (reference: Mroninski C, Adriano E, Mattos G (2001) Meningococcinum: Its protective effect against meningococcal disease. Homoeopathic Links Winter Vol14(4); pp. 230-4). (iii) Long-term Endemic Studies: My own research into a long-term HP program for use against potentially serious infectious diseases commonly present in the Australian community collected and examined data from 1986 to 2004. The results of the research have been published and are now available. The research which has been completed comprised two parts: a. A National Health Survey - this research studied 781 children between 5 and 10 years of age. Through a questionnaire completed by parents, measures of each child's general immune competence (using the diseases of asthma, chronic eczema, chronic ear infections, allergies and behavioural problems) were compared to the method of disease prevention which the child used, including vaccination, homoeopathy, general constitutional treatment, no method at all, or a combination of all of these. The relative safety and effectiveness of the different immunisation methods studied was then calculated. b. A Twenty-Year Clinical Study- using responses from parents whose children used my 5 year homoeoprophylactic program for disease prevention from 1985 to 2004. 2,342 responses were collected, each one covering one year of a child's life. The effectiveness and safety of the homoeopathic option to vaccination is fully discussed, and the actual comments by parents are reported. The single figure measure of effectiveness is 90.4% (95% confidence limits 87.6% - 93.2%). Using national attack rates as a control, HP efficacy for three diseases was whooping cough- 86.2%; measles- 90.0%; mumps- 91.6%.
Author's note: please go back and reread my critique ofDr. Golden's research design on page 45. He has not provided details ofthe cohorts in his study.
II Conceptual Tools The following topics are conducive to a modern understanding of autism spectrum conditions.
Epigenetics 20 Inheritable changes within the germ cells Samuel Hahnemann's theory of miasms (the idea that someone who contracts a disease can pass along a related weakness to his offspring) was controversial because it was associated with the theories of Lamarck, which seemed to be disproved by Darwin's theories of evolution. Epigenetics -the study of how environmental factors influence whether or not a gene is turned on - is changing that. Moreover, the biochemical basis for the perpetuation of these changes, what homeopaths have long understood as miasms, has now been established: Epigenetic factors are chemicals able to attach themselves to DNA and proteins in information-coding chromosomes. Environmental effects on the DNA due to diet, stress or pollution are generally washed away shortly during genomic imprinting. Yet it has been found that after conception, epigenetic factors can undergo wave upon wave of resetting in support of gender appropriate fetal cell development. In a validation of _Lamarck, rodent studies reporting that epigenetic effects due to pollutants such as Vinclozolin, Dioxin, Bisphenol (BPA), and DDT persist transgenerationally, through five generations of rodent pups, confirm the reality of non-genetic inheritance. 21 20 For an enlightening discussion of this topic see Dr. Man ish Bhatra's website: http:/ I www.doctorbhatia.com/professional/homeopathic-research/miasms-a-new-look-throughepigenetics21 A New Kind oflnheritance, Skinner, Michael K. Scientific American, August 2014. Pg.
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Generational persistence is consistent with Sense Dimensional theory: Lifestyle excesses, poor nutrition, and trauma consolidate within the dimension of Hearing. The conceptual gap between epigenetics and chronic miasms is also bridged when suppression of skin lesions characterizing each of the miasmatic diseases (scabies, tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea, ringworm, leprosy and cancer) are included among environmental influences consolidating within Hearing so as to reappear epigenetically.
Epigenetics and chronic dysfunction The term 'epigenetic' derives from epi- (Greek: ml- upon, over, outside of, around) genetics. The specific molecular and genetic effects it describes likely also apply to the chronic diseases Hahnemann studied, accounting for how the susceptibilities of scabies, tuberculosis, syphilis and gonorrhea can consolidate within genetic inheritance. Epigenetic changes are alterations in the transcriptional potential of a cell that are either not caused by changes in the DNA sequence, or not necessarily heritable alterations in the transcriptional potential of a cell. These chemical groups thus command cell fate. Importantly for our purposes, modified epigenetic groupings can be seriously pathogenic when abnormal. Only two percent of our DNA is necessary, according to conventional medicine- that part that codes for proteins. What about the other 98%? In a failure of the imagination, until recently this surplus DNA was labeled "junk." We now know that portions of this important evolutionary byproduct switch on RNA performing the work of proteins interacting with other genetic material. Epigenetics thus connotes a control system of switches turning genes on or off. Epigenetics also denotes the changes themselves, the functional actions within the genome not involving a change in the nucleotide sequence. 22 .
22 http:/ /www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/ l3728ll/epigenetics
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Main Types of Epigenetic Information DNA methylation, which has an important contributing role in the regulation of gene expression and the silencing of repeat elements in the genome. The dysregulation of DNA methylation is a major problem for many on the autistic spectrum. Examples: Methylation is an important biochemical process vital to the regulation of chemical reactions enhancing attention, mental focus, awareness, language development, detoxification, sleep, immune support and more. Its pathway describes the conversion of homocysteine to methionine, an amino acid supporting the heart and blood vessels, muscle tissue, immune and nervous systems.23 In an alternate pathway known as trans-sulfuration, homocysteine converts to two different amino acids, taurine and cysteine. Taurine is recognized for its important role in heart and liver support, detoxification, bile acid formation and cholesterol excretion. Cysteine directly influences production of a powerful anti-oxidant, glutathione. Glutathione protects against DNA/RNA damage while also aiding heavy metal and chemical detoxification, and immune function. Not surprisingly, numerous ASD individuals exhibit dysfunction with regards to methionine, taurine and cysteine production. 24 Histones (chromatin structures at hundreds of genome-wide localities acting as spools around which DNA winds) also play a role in DNA methylation because (to the extent to which they are modified) they too can impact transcriptional modification. 25 23 Can occur via transference of a methyl (CH3) group from methylcobalamin (Bl2) or betaine (trimethylglycine or TMG). 24 http: / I asp ergers .live b etterwi thi t . com / autism-treatment-understanding- themethylation-cycle-in-autism/ 25 Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012 Mar;69(3):314-24. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.151. Epub 2011 Nov 7. Epigenetic signatures of autism: trimethylated H3K4landscapes in pre-
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Due to their importance in growth and development, imprinted genes are major players in cancer and related disease pathology when cell and tissue growth is found to be atypical. Imprinted genes in which the maternally expressed copy from the mother is turned on usually suppress growth, whereas paternally expressed genes usually augment growth. Homeopathy's equivalent of epigenetics is the phenomenon of miasms, described in the next section.
Miasms According to Henny Heudens-Mast, author of The Foundation ofthe Chronic Miasms in the Practice ofHomeopathy, "The more the miasms become combined in our patients, the more aggressive diseases become. In the disease of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), there are symptoms from all five miasms. The more we suppress strong diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, tuberculosis, or cancer, the more dangerous the miasm that comes after." 26 In a related conclusion in The AIDS Miasm, Peter Fraser appears to equate the influence of technological advancement to the pressure of pervasive diseases: 27 He depicts miasmatic progression from Psora to AIDS as paralleling evolutionary breakthroughs in technology such as writing, printing, and the industrial revolution. Miasmatic progression thus extends the powers of man's senses, while also distancing him from the immediacy of sense perception. Fraser says: "With printing and industrialization the feeling of being a small part of the bigger machine is met by Syphilis, a destructive reaction in which suspicion and fear are important elements. In time the society becomes used to the Industrial World and is forced frontal neurons. Shulha HPl, Cheung I, Whittle C, Wang sard A, Akbarian S, Weng Z.
J, Virgil D, Lin CL, Guo Y, Les-
26 The Foundation of Chronic Miasms in the Practice of Homeopathy, Heudens-Mast, Henny, Lutea Press, FL., pg. 205 27 Fraser, Peter, The AIDS Miasm, Contemporary Disease and the New Remedies, Winter Press, Kent, GB, 2002.
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to accept its role, to conform and to dispense with individuality, though at the same time to rage against the system. This is the Cancer state." 28
He later continues, "In the Electronic Age, the AIDS miasm reacts to a world that is too big and complex by throwing itself open." Hence the boundary-transgressing features of the AIDS miasm are derived. Writing in 2002, Fraser goes on to speculate that following AIDS, the next great miasm could be spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow disease") or its non-infective relative, Alzheimer's disease. Twelve years later, considering the combination of its infectious and autoimmune elements, the AIDS miasm appears transitional to what has in fact come next: a miasm I call NeuralAutoimmunity Miasm (NAIM), epigenetically based and thoroughly auto-immune. It encompasses "mad cow disease", Alzheimer's and autism spectrum disorders, all of which have in common a closed mindset at the opposite end of the spectrum from the over-openness of the AIDS miasm. The How of Condition Suppression Heudens-Mast makes a point that encourages exploration of an important territory: the relationship between how a disease is suppressed and the expression of a consequently developing miasm. This is especially relevant in regard to NAIM due to the unprecedented toxic assault on the vital force that the prefiguring AIDS miasm signifies. Since we are accustomed to associating miasms with infectious diseases, the concept of a (non-infectious) neural autoimmunity miasm may require as large a revolution in thinking as Hahnemann's original introduction of miasmatic theory. Classifying Miasmatic Remedies Numerous challenges attend miasmatic reasoning. These include addressing compelling but unanswerable questions such as: Was there ever really a single, primordial miasm and if so, was it the "original sin" -like Psora? Does the direction of cure exhibit a determinable, miasm-shedding sequence? With so much overlap among remedies "belonging" to each of the various 28 Fraser, Peter. The AIDS Miasm, Contemporary Disease and the New Remedies, Winter Press, Kent, GB, 2002 pg. 38.
Conceptual Tools: Miasms
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miasms, how does it help our prescribing to differentiate among the miasms? Cumbersome though it may be, the theory provides a point of entry. For example, we can classifY remedies pertaining to the miasms in three ways: 1. Remedies made from physical products of the disease (i.e. nosodes) 2. Remedies extracted from nature: remedies not made from the disease whose proving and empirical evidence amazingly approximate the miasm's key symptoms. Please note that remedies selected for representing a miasm in nature also exert an actual curative influence. Additional remedies also fit the criterion. 3. Remedies derived from a medicinal substance historically used to suppress the disease or, a substance approximating the general tenor of the disease's historical suppression. In maintaining both an allopathic and homeopathic relationship to the disease, these third-category remedies both promote and reflect miasmatic elements. This point compels us to expand upon Hahnemann's understanding of a miasm as the terrain resulting from a disease followed by suppression of its symptoms: Perpetual weakening of the immune system as via iatrogenic influence (e.g. circulation of live viruses from vaccines) equates with miasmatic pressure to become inheritable and chronic. As the following examples illustrate we should beware of the substances and circumstances associated with each miasmatic suppressor representative. In the original jive we now also include Leprosy, Ringworm, Yersinia, and AIDS. Thus:
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Psora • Nosode - Psorinum (scabies), possibly Candida Albicans (by Psora Hahnemann may have been referring to the complex of candidarelated ailments) • Reflection in Nature- Sulphur, Sarcoptes scabiei (the scabies mite) 29 • Suppressor Representative -Antibiotics (gut) and cortisone (skin)
Sycosis • Nosode- Medorrhinum or Bowel Nosodes • Reflection in Nature- Thuja • Suppressor Representative - Antibiotics and Kali Brom (because it was known in terms of its treatment of sexual guilt. Its allopathic use was originally to suppress seizures resulting from masturbation)
Syphilis • Nosode- Syphilinum • Reflection in Nature -Aurum • Suppressor Representative- Mercurius (due to the role of mercury in environmental toxicity and artificial reproductive technology) 30
Tuberculinurn • Nosode- Tuberculinum • Reflection in Nature- Rhus Tax or Pulsatilla • Suppressor Representative- Kali Iodatum (via its use as a respiratory expectorant; emblematic via its less common utilization as a protector of the thyroid in radioactive exposure)
Cancer • Nosode- Carcinosin, Schirrinum • Reflection in Nature - The sarcode Folliculinum; Staphysagria; 29 For a differentiation between Psorinum and Sarcoptes see the Insect edition of Narayana's journal Spectrum, 2014-2 30 http :/ /www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/ 20 13 / 11/potassium-bromide-sedative-trenches-tea
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Arsenicum Album (self-criticism, failed rebellion, excessive responsibility, environmental toxicity) • Suppressor Representative- X-ray, hormone deactivating drugs, DNA binding alkylating (chemotherapy) agents As reported in his Miasms and Nosodes, Louis Klein's investigation into new nosodes reinforces Heudens-Mast's point about heightened severity in subsequent miasms. The Pertussis miasm (emanating from expanded suppression of tuberculosis via vaccines) extends the Tubercular miasm in a direction that includes a parasite-like dinginess. Thus:
Pertussis • Nosode- Pertussinum • Reflection in Nature- Coccus Cacti • Suppressor Representative- Sambucus and DPT Other miasms Klein discusses suggest (in my own interpretation) a secondary status and differentiation from the classical core of five by virtue of 1) their lacking a characteristic skin eruption and; 2) sharing a rootedness in and an exacerbation from, crisis circumstance, as opposed to manifesting deeply existential themes: struggle (Psora) alienation (Syc), resistance (Syph), lack offulfillment (Tub), the futility of rebellion (Care). For example: the Clostridium nosode, Tetanus, reflects a feeling that the ego or consciousness has been punctured in a mortifYing event. Although a miasm in its own right optilfllized via its vaccine, Tetanus also represents heightening of the Tuberculo~is and Leprosy (prolonged struggle) miasms.
Tetanus • Nosode - Clostridium • Reflection in Nature- Hypericum and Angustera Vera • Suppressor Representative- Strychnine, Tetox (Tetanus vaccine)
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Typhoid The Typhoid miasm that according to Klein is a cohort of the Yersinium (Black Plague) miasm (so they mutually reinforce), features alcoholism, abuse, business failure, and collapse. It reflects and extends the impact of crises related to overwhelming circumstances. • Nosode- Eberthinum • Reflection in Nature - Bryonia, Gaertner (Bach) • Suppressor Representative- Muriatic Acid, Typhoid vaccine
Diphtheria • Nosode - Diphtherinum (actually three different nosodes m the literature) • Reflection in Nature- Lac Caninum • Suppressor Representative - Mercurius Cyanatus, DTP vaccine The Diphtheria miasm, resulting from the anaerobic actinobacteria corynebacterium, might be described as the Cancer miasm turned on its head. This is to say it expresses the same futility-of-rebellion theme as Cancer, as well as its insecurity in relation to a forthcoming task. The difference is that Cancer is highly sensitive and nice, whereas Diphtherium is angry and tough. Its increasing prominence as a miasm can be attributed to its widespread application as part of the DPT vaccine.
Malaria • Nosode- Malaria Compound Nosode (Malar-Co) • Reflection in Nature - China • Suppressor Representative - Carbolic Acid, but of course also, famously China Klein's discussion of Malaria - including a discussion of the toxoplasmosis nosode - places the Malaria miasm among parasitic protozoa as a whole. Its situational stress reflects exposure to emotionally charged situations involving toxic experiences with love, family members, racism, death, and the gain or loss of wealth. Malaria's polarity reflects on the one hand, large ideals for dealing with these issues, and on the other hand stuckness: the problematic release of emotions and bodily wastes.
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Antimalarial suppression of the miasm reflects and promotes emotions and stresses attending modern day economic impoverishment.
AIDS • Nosode- AIDS nosode proved by Misha Norland 31 • Reflection in Nature- Trees, Propolis, Anacardium • Suppressor Representative- AZT, Berlin Wall As determined by Misha Norland the miasm concerns overly porous boundaries: the inability to keep what is in, in and what is out, out. The disease itself is characterized by immune system collapse. Implications for the Neural Auto-immunity Miasm and Autism Within our schema nosodes continue to play a major role in the treatment of autism. Yet now, as the extensive list of tissue-derived remedies and their related suppressive category influences below suggests, sarcodes (remedies made from healthy organs, tissues, hormones, etc.) assume a heightened importance: Nosodes -All the usual nosodes but with a heightened role assigned to. the bowel nosodes, due to their prominent role in treating bowel dysbiosis Sarcodes • reproductivity sarcodes such as Umbilical Cord, Placenta, Amniotic Fluid, and Vernix Caseosa • endocrine sarcodes such as Anterior Pituitary and Hypothalamus • glands such as Thymus and Pineal • Ocular Growth Factor • the hormone Secretin There are many possible tissues and hormones which could be made into remedies in the future, including • engorged glial tissue • mitochondria • enzymatic nagalase 31 http://www.modernhomoeopathy.com/ aids_nosode_proving.htm
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
• autistically characteristic brain tissue such as from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex • the posterior superior temporal cortex or the occipital cortex • and perhaps most importantly, the hippocampus (for its role m memory, spatial awareness and learning) This list will narrow down over time based on homeopaths' clinical experience in treating autism. • Reflections in Nature- The net is even wider, encompassing a large portion of the non-nosode materia medica. As of now: • gases (polarities involving inertness and hyper-·reactiviry) • Lanthanides (the attached and detached poles of autonomy) • remedies from every miasm (and their nosodes) • the milks (each expressive of a nurturance disjunct) • plants expressive of attachment disorder themes in accordance with Sankaran • Suppressor Representative - Remedies to be drawn from the vast field of: • environmental influences (the expanding list oflmponderables such as remedies made from ultrasound, EMFs and cell phone radiation) • lifesryle toxins (glyphosate/Roundup® for example) 32 • antibiotics • hormones • tocolytics (drugs used to suppress premature labor), Pirocin (synthetic oxytocin), and other drugs used in the birth process • vaccines • pharmacological medicines (in particular, psychiatric drugs such as anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, and anti-anxiery medications such as Risperidone, Prozac, Ritalin, and Strattera whose major side effects including depression, liver problems, tremors and slowed growth, themselves figure prominently within ASD pathology)
32 Dr. Seneff's research is available on her home page, http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/
Conceptual Tools: Miasms
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In summary: It is hoped but hardly certain that in the near future homeopaths' extensive experience with the autistic population will winnow the wide range of treatment avenues suggested above. The objective would be a more manageable number of remedies. In the meantime refuge can be sought in our toolbox approach generally, and in the Sine Wave method introduced on page 119, specifically.
Neural Auto-immunity The AIDS virus's epochal breaching of the blood-brain barrier and mitochondrial depletion denotes an entrenched vulnerability to which (if we pursue Heudens-Mast's and Fraser's line of thinking) the miasm to follow is an inevitable response. In terms of its being self-referential, the neural autoimmunity "response" is cocoon-like, protective. As opposed to the AIDS miasm's helplessness in the face of burgeoning technology (as seen in the forthcoming section "Digital Dystopia''), the new miasm embraces it. NAIM also represents completion of an evolutionary movement directed away from externally-derived infection and towards selfreferential auto-infection, namely autoimmunity, conjoint with its cohort, autistic solipsism. NAIM and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) Axis NAIM can be co-morbid with dysfunction within the HPA axis, a component of the autoimmune system responsive to stress and restoration of the homeostatic state. This mini-system regulates release of the body's anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids (GCs) that act on virtually every type of immune cell. Neural autoimmunity thus either reflects or promotes pathology in HPA-related conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (adrenal exhaustion), Lyme disease, and fibromyalgia. Radical Disjunct: Autoimmunity as the Return of the Repressed? In a sense, autoimmune pathology is as old as homeopathy's oldest precepts: Suppression of a symptom not only fails to rid ourselves of it permanently, its subsequent return is aggravated and persistent. As I explained in Interpreting Chronic Illness, "radical disjunct" (satisfaction of the original need, as in obtaining relief from an itch by scratching it, or
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
relieving hunger by eating) not only no longer brings relief, but worsens suffering (scratching makes the itch worse; a normal meal after starvation proves toxic). In regard to immune function, the insult is not merely suppression but its aftershock, depletion. Chronic inflammation from an obtaining cause such as starvation, poor quality food or toxic exposure imprints epigenetically. Conditioned to the state of inflammation, the immune system begins to react to phantom inflammatory agents. Inflammation in the absence of a genuine trigger secve; to deplete.
chr )y
Conceptual Tools
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Digital Dystopia
Is our society integrating autistic values? 11
Social indifference modeled in movies, TV and games
11
Extensive use of computers · tionism)
11
Extens ve relating to electr , nic robotry (talking gadgets)
11
Video game addiction (repetitive and obsessive behavior)
Apart from the toxic EMF radiation they emit, electronic gadgets' addictive repetitiveness reinforces some of the most troublesome autistic behaviors, solipsism and robotic behavior. Regardless of how complex, the circuitry within our many devices is self-referential, a succession of feedback loops comprising a closed system. The child handed an electronic gadget while yet in the cradle has been immersed in coding, babysat by a software engineer. By promoting isolation at the expense of synchrony within the dimension of Touch, electronic technology promotes the likelihood of social and developmental deficits. We would do well to counter this trend. While the predictable behavior of robotic caretakers, educational _gadgets, and electronic entertainments distract and appear to soothe children, they also reinforce regressive tendencies. Unwelcome as the observation that ASD and digital technology are reciprocal may be, we must act decisively to break the vicious cycle that links them.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
Six Stages of Pathology: Homotoxicology Demonstrating a Confluence of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Homeopathy denoted by the term Homeosiniatry The toxicity we encounter may be material (for example industrial pollutants), energetic (for example electromagnetic fields) or situational (for example enduring psychic trauma resulting from a stress-laden personal relationship). Our organism possesses an impressive capacity to accommodate, assimilate, redirect and expel all three types of toxicity. Yet as the example of autism vividly demonstrates, this capacity has its limits. Theory within both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Homeopathy permits assesjn-~mits to the body's toxicity resilience. The two systems offer parallel mode' wherein a six-stage descent from health to chronic illness is depicted/ Seen juxtaposed below, the dual explanatory modes represent a convergence resulting in a hybrid medical system known as homeosiniatry that offers a useful schemata in regard to autism pathology. The TCM version, referred to as Diffirentiation According to Channel Theory, depicts a transformation of external influence into inner pathology in energetic terms. The homeopathy version is known as The Six Stages of Homotoxicology according to Reckeweg. Though not presented here, a similar journey accounting for the deterioration of emotional health can be modeled according to (hypothetical) sequential miasmatic transformation, extending from Psora to Syphilis.33 The following introduction to homo toxicology is offered by Mary Coyle, a practitioner and teacher based in New York City who obtains excellent results treating ASD clients with this method: Homo toxicology was the brainchild of a German physician, Dr. Heinrich Reckeweg (1877-1944). Its adherents consider it a bridge between allopathic and homeopathic therapeutics. Dr Reckeweg believed that today's 33 Formulated in Rediscovering Real Medicine: The New Horizons of Homeopathy, Elmiger Jean, Element Books Lrd (May 1998)
Conceptual Tools: Six Stages of Pathology
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complex and increasingly toxic environment challenges our ability to gain and maintain proper health. Therefore he developed compounded homeopathic remedies which he believed stimulated more efficient elimination of these toxins. In order to chart the biological process towards optimal health, Dr. Reckeweg created the Table of Homotoxicology. This table includes the six phases of healing. The first three phases- Excretion, Inflammation and Deposition - are the reaction phases. When the body functions within these first three phases, it demonstrates its strength to respond and react to toxic invaders such as viruses, bacteria, heavy metals, and pesticides. These positive reactions could appear as a fever, cough, a runny nose, loose stools, or increased urination. The latter three phases - Impregnation, Degeneration and Neoplasm- are the exhaustion phases. Those languishil}g in these latter phases have been pushed beyond the limits of human phy,logy. Their ability to react and eliminate xenobiotics and pathogens is lir;Yted, and the toxins have now penetrated the cells. When tracking the progress of an autistic spectrum individual in the course of his or her care, the Table ofHomotoxicology is an invaluable resource. According to Reckeweg's chart, these children's systems are overwhelmed by our modern society: The barrage of toxins both in utero and upon infants and toddlers exceeds their capacity for proper elimination and they have attained a saturation point. Toxins then are found to have migrated from the extra-cellular matrix to the interior of the cell. No longer able to stay within the reaction phases of health, the child is found to have devolved into the exhaustion phases with an ASD diagnosis. Being compromised and fragile, ASD children lacking the resources to recover from their physical and emotional assaults display critical impairment. Many are unable to mount fevers, tan 34 , sunburn, sweat, or form muscle mass. Some of the more affected children are so compromised 34 The inability to tan is an odd feature discussed by parents of ASD children, some of whom relate enhancement of tanning capability to a product, Respen-A that contains the mitochondrial enzyme MAO-A whose activity is required by melatonin production itself related to tanning. http:/ /thirning.blogspot.com/20 10/06/tanning-autism -and-respen.html.
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Autism Reversal Toolbox
they fail even to lose their baby teeth according to the typically developing childhood schedule. Invading intracellular toxins have attached onto organelles, such as the mitochondria, severely compromising their fuel metabolism. Lack of energy places ASD kids squarely within a pattern of adrenal stress wherein, forced to function in a chronically wired-but-tired state, inflammation is perpetually stimulated. In accordance with many of the same dietary and environmental recommendations found throughout this book, Mary Coyle implements a program of biotherapeutic drainage via remedies and detoxification. Drainage remedies are made from substances from the plant, mineral and animal kingdoms. They are low in potency (3x, 6x, or 4 to 5CH or 30K potencies). Biotherapeutic drainage and detoxification will be revisited in the Workshop Methods section, page 121.
R£ckeweg,H~Jtoxicology Stage One EXcretion: Permits toxic expulsion
Differentiation According Channel Theory (TCM)35 Tai Yang disease: Conditions due to exogenous evils invading bodily surface
Stage Two Inflammation: Initi- Yang Ming disease: Conditions ated cleaning via activation of where exogenous wind and cold the defense system. Resistance have converted into heat evils mito toxic expulsion grating directly into the bodily interior, attacking the Yang Ming meridians traversing the Stomach and Intestines. Yang Ming diseases exhibit the height of conflict between exogenous influence and the body's immune defense
35 Adapted from http:/ /www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/firesixevils.html
to
Conceptual Tools: Six Stages of Pathology
Stage Three Deposition: Storage of toxic products in the extra-cellular space. Accommodation of toxicity
Shao Ytmg disettSe: Conditions due to enduring exterior syndromes migrating into the interior though not yet fUlly arrived. The pathological changes reside in a netherland between the body's exterior and interior regiOns
Stage Four Impregnation: The main effect of toxification becomes intracellular. As the enzyme system degrades, toxins are incorporated within the cells. A point of demarcation, meaning where acute conditions turn chronic.
Tai Yin disettSe: Cold-deficient (xu) types of condition resulting from a deficiency of Spleen chi (energetic function) and retention of cold-dampness in the interior. Represents constitutional frailty.
Stage Five Degeneration: Toxification destroys the cell.
Shao Yin disettSe: Pathological changes impacting the Heart and Kidneys. As these organs represent core function, their involvement signifies systemic breakdown and serious pathology.
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