Monthly Archives: June 2013

Autism: Putting Together the Pieces One Puzzle at a Time

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autism puzzleDid you know ….

that ‘autism’ is not a true disease, nor a specific disorder? It is simply a label for certain observed physical and psychological symptoms that don’t seem to fit any other box.

The label may provide some sort of psychological relief to the parents (that it is not something ‘more serious’), but often does the contrary, generating stress, as it seems to enlighten without providing any real form of resolution. Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders are labels that essentially describe a general difficulty in interacting with the outside world and a certain withdrawal into one’s own world. There are as many variations as there are individuals with the label, and the label does nothing to tell you the underlying causes. We seem to live in a world of alphabet soup labels for children – ADD, OCD, ODD, PDD, PDD-NOS, and the list goes on. If we add it all up, with a 1 in 30 incidence of ASD, and a 1 in 10 incidence of ADD  (the most commonly ‘diagnosed’ condition) in North iStock_000004312584Large1America, not to mention all the others, it seems that we are getting close to having somewhere near 1 in 5 children labelled with some form of behavioural, learning or social disorder.

The problem is that these labels lack specificity and different professionals will come to different conclusions as to whether a given label fits or not. Allopathic diagnosis is notoriously difficult in general . When it comes to psychological issues, the capacity to ‘get it right’ becomes even more problematic, as the definitions for each ‘disorder’ is quite general and open-ended. It is a bit like having certain symptoms and then going on-line to find out what they mean only to discover that it could be one of several dozen conditions. Even professionals are not much better at narrowing the uncertainty. In one case we had, the mother felt that her son had ‘recovered’ from autism, but the professional making the ‘diagnosis’ in the first place disagreed. She even went to a different profession, but he concurred that the child was still autistic. I suggested that many professionals suffer from a certain prejudice in what they see based on past labels, and are reluctant to go against them. She then travelled to another city, presented herself and son to a new professional in the field, but this time did not disclose anything about her son, and simply asked for an evaluation. This time, the professional concluded that her son was not autistic – he had some learning issues, but then, said the professional, so did most children in one form or another, himself included!

For Heilkunst, autism itself is not real, but what is real are the various issues, physical or behavioural, that each child may have. What is also real are the underlying causes for these issues. The key is to set up a systematic approach that can get at the complex of causes at many levels in each case. In some cases, vaccinations play a role, in others birth traumas or drugs, emotional shocks, and various inherited weaknesses (some genetic, but most epi-genetic). For most cases, particularly the difficult ones, and the so-called ‘non-responders’, we have to consider all these factors.

Many approaches claim some success in certain cases of autism, such as where the cause is purely a gut dysbiosis, or an overload of toxins. Here therapies aimed at these issues can have a significant effect. But what works for one case, doesn’t work for many, indeed, most others. A one-size fits all approach doesn’t work when the problem is complex. The best approach is one that offers a method for working at a long-term resolution of each individual case based on an assessment of its own particular complex of causes. This method must also be able to distinguish between effects (such as gut inflammation) and cause (such as vaccine shock triggering the gut inflammation). Treating for effects can provide some degree of relief of symptoms (palliation), but generally does not result in fundamental change.

Heilkunst is not a magic solution or quick fix but is an effective system for approaching the complexity of causes of each case and getting consistent results. And yes, it can take time, and even quite some time in the more difficult cases but most would say that it was time well spent.

If you have any questions please contact the Clinic for further assistance at reception@homeopathy.com
If you would like more information regarding Heilkunst and our approach to treatment you can look at the following resources:
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It’s a SAD World, but It Doesn’t Have to Be.

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Did you know…

that there is a cure for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?

Yes, you heard right. The sad thing about SAD is that it affects a lot of people, and comes up in February, creating a lot of disorder on and around Valentine’s Day. It’s no surprise that chocolates are one of the favourite gifts at Valentine’s as certain components of chocolate (the real stuff, not the pretend chocolate) help to alleviate the symptoms of SAD. But while chocolate may help, it can’t cure the underlying cause, which in Heilkunst, is often linked to another of the chronic disease archetypes we bring into this world with us, called Ringworm.

In Ringworm the state of mind is “wants to but can’t”. People suffering from the Ringworm chronic miasm would feel caught in things–that they couldn’t do what they want to do. Even just the thought of doing something immediately seems to bring itself down. They feel they can never meet the expectation of family, friends and society. They have strong dependence on someone they trust and they are very loyal. But then they depend on their loved ones to function. They feel trapped. This is the ‘February blah’s’ or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Even the bowel movement shows the characteristic. It is bashful: wants to but recedes. They procrastinate and can never finish something. They are comfortable staying at home. Physically this is the misnamed “seasonal disorder” syndrome. It is a progression from the untreated chronic miasm Tuberculosis. It is caught in the incredible inertia of the winter month of February.

Classically, ringworm is well known as a skin problem. The skin lesion, which is fungal (people sometimes think it is a parasitic worm), is usually circular (but not always) and can be itchy. It used to be quite common in children and produces a characteristic eruption, a  round patch of reddish/purplish raised, rough skin that looks like it has worms in it. Ringworm as the skin problem has become rare in our days but continues nonetheless in the more suppressed form.

Acute ringworm skin problem can be treated acutely in various ways, drug and herbal related, including the simple use of apple cider vinegar, and, of course, using homeopathic medicines. But, the chronic form is less easily recognized and even less readily treated other than in Heilkunst.

Chronic ringworm can also manifest as a skin condition (not generally itchy), but more likely in psychological terms, such as a certain angry irritability that comes from the underlying keynote of ringworm, which is “wants to and can’t”. This means that the person is motivated to do something, but then loses all energy/motivation to carry out the wish, creating an internal frustration, but also a certain feeling of negativity that makes them feel and look depressed. It can involve constipation, lack of energy, and digestive issues as well (hunger, but difficulty digesting what is eaten).

If you feel trapped and irritable especially around Valentine’s Day, chances are you might be suffering from this chronic disease pattern. Don’t want to be SAD any more? Consider getting rid of SAD, and getting Heilkunst treatment. And if you still want the chocolates, that remains an option. Valentine’s Day is not as far away as you think. There’s still time to take action!