An excellent alternative for children with behavioral, attentional, developmental, mood, and learning disorders.

We know that, as parents, you care deeply about helping your children develop well, exhibit good behavior, play amicably with other children, learn attentively in school, enjoy good health, and be happy. Homeopathy can help in all these aspects of a child's life. In fact, we can go so far as to say that most children, no matter what other therapy, educational, or healing techniques--conventional or alternative--have been used or tried, can benefit from homeopathic treatment. For those of you unfamiliar or only partly knowledgeable about homeopathy, we would like to expand your awareness with regard to using homeopathy as a highly effective alternative or, at the very least, as a complementary adjunct to conventional and other biomedical approaches to healing children with behavioral, developmental, and learning problems.

Homeopathy can help save your children from experiencing the unnecessary side effects of conventional medical stimulants like Ritalin, Concerta, Adderal, and Metadate; atypical antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal and Abilify; antidepressants like Zoloft, and Effexor; and mood-stabilizing seizure drugs like Tegretol and Depakote. These conventional medications can produce a range of side effects, from mild to life-threatening.

For example, Risperdal--an atypical antipsychotic drug that has risen to prominence in child psychiatry in recent years for the treatment of bipolar and other mood disorders, schizophrenia, and autism--has been known to cause weight gain--from 20 to 40 pounds of additional weight in a year; to produce a serious chronic neuromuscular condition called tardive dyskinesia; and also to cause diabetes and even death from Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) in a small number of cases--not a drug to be taken lightly.

Antidepressants in the SSRI group, such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Luvox can acutely cause fatigue, nausea, headache, tremor, nervousness, and dry mouth. Chronic side effects can include insomnia, sexual problems, and weight gain. The stimulant medications, mostly used for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), are known to cause appetite loss, insomnia, stomachaches, headaches, and, when the medicine wears off, rebound hyperactivity. Fifteen percent to 30% of children taking stimulants can develop a transient or longer-lasting tic disorder.

We have been specializing in helping children with these kind of disorders for more than 15 years, since before we published Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids and A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism. We know, without a doubt, from treating thousands of children, that homeopathy can help and, in many cases, cure ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), mood disorders, autism, and Asperger Syndrome (AS), with or without any other conventional or biomedical interventions.

Homeopathy can be utilized as a stand-alone treatment or combined carefully with other approaches. By itself, it can save parents thousands of dollars in doctor visits, nutritional supplements, chelation, and other costs for biomedical treatments for mood disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders. When used with nutritional therapies, homeopathy can dramatically reduce the amount of supplementation needed. Homeopathy may also make other approaches--such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, biofeedback, Chinese medicine, or Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET)--less necessary or unnecessary for recovery to occur.

Parents who do choose to use a variety of other methods along with homeopathy may find that, once the correct homeopathic medicine has been found, the need for other interventions decreases markedly. Other parents, if they find a combination that is particularly effective for their child, may choose to continue a combination approach of complementary and conventional therapies. With such an approach, however, it is sometimes difficult to find the correct homeopathic medicine because the symptoms may be masked, and it may also be challenging for the various practitioners to know which therapy is producing the improvement in the child's symptoms and which may be discontinued without losing ground.

It is not that other treatments are ineffective or without benefit or that homeopathy is the only way that these children can be helped. Obviously, all the treatments that have been developed for special needs children are well-intentioned and produce results, sometimes very good results, for many children, but not without certain costs or side effects that could be avoided if homeopathy were used primarily or as an adjunct to other therapies. Our experience is that homeopathy is a simpler, safer, and deeper-acting form of medicine than many other methods--and one that addresses the needs of the whole child more completely The goal of homeopathic medicine is to find the one medicine from nature that can stimulate healing for the entire body, mind, and spirit. For this healing process to occur, the correct homeopathic medicine must be found, followed by skillful case management during one to two years of treatment. We believe that every child is potentially a homeopathic success story, and it is very gratifying to see the profound changes in children's moods, behavior, and learning when treated with the homeopathic medicines that best match their symptoms.

We would like to share some case vignettes from our books that can inspire you to investigate homeopathy further and possibly choose homeopathic treatment to facilitate deep and even life-changing results for your child.

Bright, Loveable, and Artistic

Jared, a bright, lovable, carrot-topped, seven-year-old with artistic talent, came for treatment for his attention problems, food sensitivities, and perfectionism. (1) His teachers remarked they had never seen another child like him in all their years of teaching. Although he had not been officially diagnosed with AS, he had a number of AS features such as special interests, limited social skills, and obsessiveness.

Whenever Jared made a mistake he would comment, "I'm a failure." Highly self-critical, he felt that his mistakes were deeply disappointing to his parents. When he received all outstanding grades except for one, he became upset that his report card was less than perfect. Jared's mom described him as an exceptionally creative boy and a talented artist who loved to draw. His detailed, three-dimensional images of dinosaurs and big cats, complete with teeth and claws, were quite impressive. Astoundingly, Jared created up to 50 pictures a day. Offending foods, like salicylates and wheat, caused him to become very hyperactive and to act like a tiger, growling, snarling, and pounding his fist against his hand or head. When Jared was interviewed, he expressed how much he enjoyed drawing. Fascinated by lions, tigers, and dinosaurs, Jared described how he created his own alien out of animal parts from a T-Rex, a cheetah, an eagle, and a stegosaurus, and he explained that he was working on a movie called Jurassic Park: The Allosaurus Returns. He continued, "If I make a mistake in my drawings, I kind of feel bad. I don't like it. Anger comes to my mind and I get upset or go g-r-r-r. If I get in trouble in school, I feel, 'Oh, no!' I could get suspended!"

Jared possessed limited social skills and found it difficult to recognize social cues. As a result, he had only one good friend, who himself suffered from ADD. Despite this, Jared was sympathetic and affectionate to his mother and his classmates. According to his mother, Jared seemed wise beyond his years. He spouted off information as if he were a walking encyclopedia, often beginning his sentence with the phrase, "Did you know that ...?" As intelligent and artistic as Jared was, he was not physically adept and lacked the courage to learn to ride a bicycle. Also remarkable were his numerous moles and a cafe-au-lait birthmark on his chest. Jared's mom described a strong history of cancer of various types on both sides of Jared's family, including cancers of the breast, lung, colon, stomach, and throat.

We prescribed the homeopathic remedy Carcinosin for Jared, and he has responded well on the same medicine for the past five years. He has needed a dose of Carcinosin once every three to six months. His food sensitivities to additives, preservatives, and salicylates have decreased markedly. He is much less self-critical, and both his teachers and parents are very pleased with his progress in school and at home. He is much happier socially as well, making friends and enjoying activities. He still continues to be an excellent artist.

Often, with a history of strong parental expectations, the Carcinosin child is sensitive to any situation that might suggest he is less than perfect. This makes Carcinosin patients very fastidious and sensitive to reprimands. Another aspect of Carcinosin that Jared demonstrated was his creativity and artistic talent. Carcinosin patients tend to be affectionate and sympathetic to others. He also loved to travel, another typical Carcinosin symptom. Children needing Carcinosin tend towards a delicate appearance, with pale skin, moles, birthmarks, and cafe-au-lait spots, just like Jared.

Staying in His Seat was Impossible

Jeff, seven years old, could neither sit still nor pay attention in class. (2) Kindergarten was a nightmare for him. He had a terrible attitude and staying in his seat was impossible. Jeff jumped up every few minutes to sharpen pencils or chatter with his friends. Anything and everything distracted him. His mind drifted constantly. His mother told us, "He can even hear the grass grow." Jeff simply could not hang onto directions. He talked out in class on a regular basis. His teachers lost patience with Jeff because of his interruptions and inability to focus. Jeff was quite a storyteller. He also conveniently forget to tell his mother when he got into trouble at school. His academic abilities were a real problem. He was held back in the first grade because he couldn't read. When we first saw Jeff, he had just started the second grade and was writing his numbers and letters backwards.

After his parents divorced when he was three, Jeff continued to act like a baby for several years. Jeff just did not want to grow up. He was very insecure--"a momma's boy"--and became frightened very easily. He was charming with adults and younger children, but he was shy with kids his age. Jeff had a very hard time making friends.

Jeff experienced enormous mood swings. His mother described his as "happy as a lark or mad as a hornet." He cried, screamed, swore, slammed doors, and alternately told his mother that he loved and hated her. When he was angry, he became wild, threw things on the floor, and ripped up paper. Life was scary for Jeff. He slept in bed with his brother until recently because he was afraid to be alone. He didn't like the dark and slept with a night light. He loved chicken, sweets, and hamburgers. Jeff became wound up and wild after eating sugar. His ears and face turned bright red, and he couldn't stop talking.

The medicine that Jeff needed was Lycopodium (Club moss). It can help fearful children who act immaturely and try to cover up their mistakes. They try to appear courageous and powerful, but inside they feel timid and afraid. Kids like Jeff often feel more comfortable playing with younger children rather than their peers, because they feel older and can boss the younger children around. These children are very concerned with what others think and try to look cool at all costs. A deep insecurity inside often causes them to feel very anxious about performing in public or taking examinations where their inner weakness or lack of mastery might be revealed. There may also be a tendency to dyslexia and distractibility. These children often go wild for sweets but can also react adversely to sugar, often physically as well as behaviorally.

Two months after he was given Lycopodium, Jeff received his highest marks ever in school. His dyslexia improved. The boy was able to sit sill, raise his hand, and pay attention in class. Over the next 18 months, Jeff's behavior steadily improved. He was able to make new friends more easily. He acted less impulsively, and his teachers reported that he was extremely well-behaved. He accomplished two years of math in six months. For the first time, the teachers recognized that Jeff was very bright. They removed him from special education classes, where he had been placed due to his unruly behavior. Now, three years after beginning homeopathy, he continues to do very well in a regular classroom.

Mischievous Molly

Nine-year-old Molly was a tough cookie, not a "sugar and spice" type at all. (3) Her parents were just plain annoying to her. She lamented, "Talk, talk, talk, that's all they do, and they make me do things I shouldn't have to do!" She continued, "My teacher and my friends are annoying, too. And so is my brother!"

When Molly became irritated, she was known to scream, slam doors, and throw her stuffed animals around the house. She derived great satisfaction from sneaking up behind people and scaring them. The child's blow-ups were so frequent that her parents were at their wit's end. Molly had perfected the art of glaring, and she loved to roll her eyes in disgust at other people's foibles. Defiant rudeness was her modus operandi. Apparently disgusted with life, she nevertheless refused to admit even the slightest mistake on her part.

A talented gymnast, Molly was a natural performer and boasted that she was the best kid in the gym. She complained bitterly, though, of her ankles and legs hurting after workouts. Sore throats at bedtime and headaches also bothered her. Molly loved pepperoni pizza, fruit, and candy. Very afraid of "big, fat, ferocious dogs" and bees, she was also frightened of riding on mountain roads and of being alone. She very much disliked hiking or walking on trails, partly because it aggravated the joint pain.

The combination of overall discontentment and complaining, temper tantrums, obstinacy, along with Molly's athletic abilities and her ankle and thigh pain led us to prescribe Calcarea phosphorica (calcium phosphate). Another characteristic common to those needing this medicine, which might be expected to arise a bit later in Molly, is growing pains. The desire for smoked meat, such as pepperoni, is a classic symptom of those needing this medicine.

At her first follow-up visit seven weeks later, some improvement was evident. Her behavior was worse for one day after taking the Calcarea phosphorica, then the anger and frustration diminished. She was more able to control her moods. Molly had more energy at her gymnastics workouts. Four months after beginning treatment, her father informed us of more changes. "Molly has responded well. There are still occasional angry periods, but the amazing tantrums have not come back. She agrees that the medicine has helped. The sore throats still bother her, and she has infrequent headaches, although she complains less about her ankles, thighs, and feet."

It has been two years since we first saw Molly. Her headaches and sore throats are no longer a problem. But her parents are most grateful that her behavior has improved so dramatically: no more tantrums, no longer a pain to be around--Molly's just a nice kid.

We hope these real cases inspire you to check out homeopathy seriously as a way to help your child function better at home, in school, and in life. No matter whether your child suffers from attention and learning problems, poor behavior, rage, or autism spectrum disorders, you are likely to find help with homeopathy. We and many other homeopaths have found that homeopathy can open the door to a better life, not only for your child, but for those in your child's world as well.

Notes

1. Reichenberg-Ullman J, Ullman R. A Drug Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism. Edmonds, Washington: Picnic Point Press; 2005.

2. Reichenberg-Ullman J, Ullman R. Ritalin-Free Kids. Roseville, California: Prima Health; 2000.

3. Reichenberg-Ullman J, Ullman R. Rage-Free Kids. Edmonds, Washington: Picnic Point Press; 2003.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are licensed naturopathic physicians, board certified in homeopathy. Their books include A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism; Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids; Prozac Free; Whole Woman Homeopathy; Homeopathic Self-Care, The Patient's Guide to Homeopathic Medicine; and Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages: Stories of Enlightenment. They teach and lecture internationally and practice at The Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine in Edmonds, Washington and Langley, Washington. They treat patients by phone and video conference as well as in person, and can be reached by telephone at 425-774-5599 or by fax at 425-670-0319. Their website is www.healthyhomeopathy.com.

by Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP, LCSW and Robert Ullman, ND, DHANP

www.healthyhomeopathy.com

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