Autism: An Overview & Its Treatment in Homeopathy
Autism is a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first two-and-a-half years of life. Most autistic children look perfectly typical, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviours markedly different from other children — showing up as difficulty with social and communication skills, impaired intellectual faculty, and disrupted developmental behaviour.
How Common Is Autism?
Causes of Autism
The exact cause of autism is not yet fully understood. There are known structural and functional changes in the brain of patients with autism, but why these changes occur is still not fully clear. Several triggering factors are considered contributory:
Genetic Predisposition
A family or hereditary tendency toward the disorder.
Environmental Chemicals
Exposure to certain environmental toxins and chemicals.
Drugs During Pregnancy
Intake of certain drugs or medicines during pregnancy.
Metabolic Imbalance
Underlying metabolic disturbances in the child.
Vaccinations
Considered by some as a possible triggering factor.
Symptoms of Autism
Autism presents a wide spectrum of symptoms — mild, moderate, or severe — and these may occur in different combinations. The major areas affected include marked deficits in communication and social interaction, language impairment, preoccupation with fantasy, abnormal repetitive behaviour, excessive possessiveness toward certain objects, and intellectual impairment.
The common end-symptoms may include an annoying obstinacy in behaviour, poor verbal expression relying on gestures to indicate needs, repeating words or phrases, laughing or crying without apparent cause, throwing tantrums, difficulty with social interaction, unresponsiveness to teaching or verbal instructions despite normal hearing, underdeveloped fine motor skills, and a failure to perceive danger — which can lead to risky behaviour such as jumping from heights or playing with pointed objects. It's worth noting that autism affects intellectual development, but autistic children can still express, and respond to, love and affection.
Diagnosis of Autism
There are no laboratory tests for autism. Diagnosis is reached through clinical evaluation and a detailed developmental case history of the child, typically carried out by a professional with expertise in autism assessment, supported by standardised autism screening tests.
For Parents of an Autistic Child
- 01 Don't judge the misbehaviour of your autistic child
- 02 Don't compare the autistic child to other siblings or other kids
- 03 Teach your other children and friends to appreciate the diversity and specialness of your child
- 04 Include the autistic child fully in your life
- 05 Don't give up — have patience to re-teach anything and everything
- 06 Remember that reinforcement, stimulus, and task variation help motivate autistic children
- 07 Feed Vitamin E, C & Selenium-rich foods — broccoli, brown rice, garlic, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, berries, citrus fruits, soybeans — to help neutralise mercury and strengthen the immune system
Homoeopathic Treatment of Autism
Recently developed Mind Method technology encompasses many behavioural rubrics that help in selecting the best homoeopathic medicines for each individual child. Homoeopathy is very strongly recommended for autism and is effective in reducing annoying behaviour while improving verbal communication and social interaction.