Transcript Document

AD/HD, Autism
Spectrum,Tourettes,
OCD, Bipolar Disorders
(Assessments and Clinical & Classroom
Interventions)
Presented by
Gregory Peechatt DHM., Ph.D., ND.
Doctor of Homeopathic Medicine (UK), Certified School Psychologist and
Professional Naturopath.
242-8565 or 281-0899
Emergency: 436-2560 Ex.1350
What exactly does a normal child look like?
Nobody knows any more!
We have long since passed the time when childhood was an
un-graded test—take your time, build your forts, play your
games…the clock does not start until high school, may be
college. Now we give home-work as early as in first grade.
We are very busy people. Parents who value education
(especially those from Asia, Latin America etc.) will do
anything, to help their child get ahead.
Very soon a teacher in a middle school may say to the students
“and now I’ll take a 5-minute break while all of you check
your cell phones for messages”. Now-a-days children and
adolescents are always on the go. Frontal lobe stimulation is
non-stop or constant: video games, music, I-pod. all do it.
Some statistical facts
• AD/HD affects 2 million school-aged children (3-5%)
• Preschoolers diagnosed with a language disorder have
80% chance of having AD/HD
• 60-80% of LD have co-occurring AD/HD
Percentages of children 6-11 dx. w/ AD/HD and/or LD
all AD/HD AD/HD only AD/HD & LD
LD only
All Children 6.8
3.3
3.5
4.2
Boys
9.6
4.7
4.9
4.7
Girls
3.7
1.7
2.0
3.7
White
7.8
4.1
3.6
3.9
Black
5.9
1.8
4.1
5.4
Hispanic
4.0
1.4
2.6
4.6
Source : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May ‘02
What is going on in America!
U.S. News & World Report 2001 had an article ‘Does America has ADD?’
• Lately a typical classroom in U.S. has at
least one child with an AD/HD Diagnosis
• In some schools almost one third of the
student body is on stimulant Rx.
• In 1988 half a million children were on
Ritalin. Now more than 3 million are on it.
• From 1990 to 96 Rx. for AD/HD increased
500%. Imagine the %age from ‘97 to 2005!
• Autism was extremely rare prior to 1943.
• 1966 research found 5 per 10,000 children
autistic while presently it is 67 per 10,000.
Some alarming findings:
• Recent studies are finding that MMR vaccine may
be one of the etiological factors of Autism,
AD/HD, Allergies, Diabetes, Encephalitis,
Asthma etc. and even SIDS.
• AD/HD is easily misdiagnosed confusing it with
similar Psych. Conditions like LD, ED, ODD,
OCD, RAD, SAD, PDD, Aspergers, Anxiety
Disorders, Panic attacks, Tourettes etc. and
Physical conditions like high lead levels, adenoid
inflammation/tonsillitis etc.
• Sky high Rx. of stimulant medicines is due to the
‘quick fix’ mentality of the general public, media
attention & advertisement, drug pushing & lack of
research and information on alternatives.
What is autism/autism spectrum disorder?
• It is a neurological-developmental disorder that affects
socialization, communication and behaviors.
• Neurological: Malformations in the following areas of brain
can lead to symptoms of autism.
- Frontal lobe – planning
- Hippocampus – memory and learning
- Temporal lobe – auditory, speech and memory
- Amygdala – emotions
- Cerebellum – motor skills, shifting attention
• Though neurological there is no brain scan or blood test for
autism. Research is being conducted by NIH, NAAR
(National Alliance for Autism Research), UC Davis MIND
Intitute (Mental Illness and Neurological Disorders)
Instruments used in Assessment/Diagnosis
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Daily Functioning: Vineland (both editions), Observations both
in structured and non structured settings (structured-often no
signs)
Social & Emotional Dynamics: BASC : Parent and Teacher
Rating Scales : BASC Clinical Scales has the A-typicality column
which can show the following:
- Seems out of touch with reality, - Tries to hurt self
- Babbles to self - Rocks back and forth for long periods of time
Attention: Conner’s or other rating scales, IVA-CPT
Cognitive and Achievement: Speech/Language testing etc.
Clinical Diagnosis: Check whether the child has developmental
disabilities significantly affecting his/her verbal and non verbal
communication abilities and social interaction.
Repetitive action, stereotyped movements, resistance to
environmental changes in daily routine, unusual responses to
sensory experiences. GARS can identify many of the above.
Understanding diagnostic criteria is important because
• There are wide range & wide combination of symptoms
• No two children dx. with autism will look alike
• There will be wide range of how the disorder is presented at
home and in the classroom
• Each child has to be taken as an in individual with a unique
profile. This is why autism is looked as a spectrum disorder
• Autism is on the continuum of Pervasive Developmental
Disorders (PDD)
• Asperger Syndrome is a neurological/social disorder
involving a cluster of behaviors including lack of empathy,
decreased ability to form friendships, one-sided
conversations, clumsy movements, and intense interest in
specific subjects. Usually has average or above I.Q.
More facts on Autism Spectrum Disorders
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3 : 1 male to female ratio
70-80% IQ scores within MR range
50% of siblings having autistic traits
Causes are unknown – still research going on genetic and
pre-natal levels
• Can MMR vaccine be a culprit? It is controversial
• No “cure” for Autism in conventional medicine. Rx.
Address symptoms, not the delay.
• In alternative approaches especially the CSEs (Cell Signal
Enhancers). Homeopathically prepared medicines appears
to be quite promising for partial ‘cure’ of the Autism
spectrum disorders, gut problems, communication (verbal
and non verbal) difficulties, sleep disturbance etc.
AD/HD- History, Definition & Description
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In the 1950s it was known as MBD
In 1970s in DSM-II, it was Hyperactivity
In 1987 DSM-III-R coined the term AD/HD
Latest description came out in the DSM-IV (1994) It
organized the criteria of ADHD in 2 subtypes: (i)
symptoms of inattention, distractibility and
disorganization (ii) behavioral problems, such as
hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Definition: AD/HD is a neurological disorder
involving a cluster of behaviors including problems
with concentration, attention, impulsivity and often an
excessively high level of motor activity that emerges
early in a child’s life and persists over time.
In assessing, following should be strictly observed
• Age at the onset of the disorder: for formal dx. the
child should be at least 6 years old (for children who
are M.R. or otherwise developmentally delayed,
instead of their C.A. their M.A. must be the criterion
for dx.)
• Number and severity of symptoms,
• Pervasiveness and severity of impairment,
• Persistence: for formal dx the symptoms must be
continuously present at least six months.
• Alternative dx. & co-existing mental disorders
In short: The essential features of AD/HD are:
developmentally inappropriate degrees of Inattention,
Impulsivity and Hyperactivity.
Best practice for Assessment/Diagnosis
• Assess all three dimensions of AD/HD – Inattention is
the most important dimension:
• Attention must be viewed from four angles:
- coming to attention or focus
- choosing the stimulus to focus (selective attention)
- staying focused on task (sustained attention)
- resisting distraction (freedom from distractibility)
• Assess functioning in different settings
• Use multiple sources of information: Interview parents,
teachers, coaches, baby sitters – Observe the child in
different settings and times – use rating scales completed
by different persons – Psycho/educational tests – If
possible use continuous performance tests like IVA-CPT.
A sad fact: Usually dx. is done by short parent/child interview by MD
Definition of Tourettes and OCD
• Tourettes Syndrome is a neurological disorder involving a
cluster of behaviors that include involuntary movements
and uncontrollable vocal sounds.
• Smaller basal ganglia (tics comes from this area) specifically the
area of the caudate nucleus (Arch Gen Psy., 4/2003). Frontal
inhibitory mechanisms are altered in TS and OCD (Beh. Neurg 03)
TS w/ADHD shows significant impairment in many executive areas
(Neuropsychology – 2003)
• OCD is a neurological disorder involving a cluster of
behaviors that includes repetitive thoughts and behaviors.
• OCD showed enhanced amplitude in the right tempo-parietal and
prolonged latencies in the right parietal indicating significantly
impaired memory performance. (Psychiatry Research 7/2003)
• OCD & TS patients show impairment in frontal striatal-thalamic
circuit (Behavior Neurology, 2003)
How common is childhood bipolar disorder?
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Epidemiologic studies are few and are mainly “follow-back”
studies of adults with bipolar disorder.
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Life time prevalence of BPD I and BPD II
- in adults is 3-6 %
- 30% onset before age 20
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Lifetime prevalence of sub-threshold BPD
- through age 18 = 4.5%
- peak incidence at age 14
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Like all the other neuro-psychiatric disorders, the dx. of BPD is
on the increase.
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Treatment with antidepressants &/or stimulant medications may
worsen the severity of the disorder.
Fundamentals of Homeopathy
What is Homeopathy?
It is a more than 200 years old, well established
medical practice based on three basic principles:
(i)‘similia similibus curentur’ = ‘likes are cured by
likes’
This means, the disease syndrome which is caused
by the intake of a substance in large enough quantity
can be cured by the very same substance when
administered in the Homeopathically prepared from.
(ii) ‘The more a substance is diluted, the
greater its potency’
This is done through an alchemical process
called potentization. In this, a substance is
systematically diluted (sometimes even to
the point of leaving no original molecule in
it) and then either by grinding it a certain
number of times (trituration) or by shaking
it vigorously in liquid solution (succussion).
This decreases the material part of the drug
and increases its effectiveness as a remedy.
Hence no side effect.
(iii) ‘An illness is specific to an individual’Wholistic Medical Model.
Allopathic Tx. Vs. Homeopathic Approach
The Downside of Ritalin (the most commonly used
Rx. for AD/HD)
• Derived from the same family of cocaine
• Effects lasts only for four hours of so (even the
sustained release Rx. like Adderall, Concerta,
Metadate etc.do not last for the whole day)
• Treats only some of the symptoms of AD/HD
• Provides superficial healing, do not treat root of the
problem
• Can cause side effects such as appetite loss, anxiety,
insomnia, tics, headaches, stomach upset etc.(though
very rare, even Tourettes Syndrome)
• May need to take for a long time, sometimes even
for an entire life span.
• Prescription medicines are several times more
expensive than homeopathic remedies.
• Although very rare, may get children into the habit
of taking drugs.
The pros of homeopathic tx. for AD/HD
• Treats the whole person at the root of the problem.
• Observed to be 100% safe without any side effects.
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Major differences between Allopathic Tx. and
Homeopathic Tx.
Allopaths often prescribe the same medicine (at least
generically) for all the persons who has the same
diagnostic disease name.
Homeopaths almost always recommend entirely
different medicines for persons with the same
diagnosis.
This is because homeopathic prescription is based
on the matching of the profile of a whole person
with the total symptom picture of a remedy.
Homeopathy focuses on the whole person than the
differential dx.
Homeopathy uses all natural and non-toxic Rx.
• Homeopathy treats each person as an individual.
• Homeopathy heals physical, mental as well as
emotional symptoms.
• Effect lasts for months or years (in some cases
even a life time)
For personality profiling collect all the data:
• in the area of physical health,
• in the area of social development,
• in psycho/emotional/behavioral patterns’ areas,
• current functioning in the cognitive, auditory
perceptual, visual motor & academic areas.
• Look for a particular physical or psychological
symptom which stands out as a hallmark.
• Check for symptom aggravation or amelioration
relating to different modalities.
Modalities means:whether the prominent
symptoms get aggravated or ameliorated
• by heat or cold, when body is covered or
exposed, by rest or movement,
• by soft touch or hard touch on the body,
• by rest or by movement, while sitting, standing
or lying down, in different seasons, during day
or night, at a.m. or at p.m.
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How Homeopathic Medicines are developed?
They are developed not by testing on animals but by
testing on healthy humans, recording their responses
and compiling them into ‘materia medicas’
These medicines are derived from all the three
kingdoms, namely plant, animal and mineral.
Some of them are made even from poisons (arsenic),
snake venom (lacheses), toxic compounds like toad
stool (bufa rana), chicken pox virus (varicella) etc.
In spite of the above fact, these medicines are not
poisonous, toxic or sickening due to the homeopathic
process of diluting them to decimal, centesimal,
millennial or even infinitesimal potencies leaving no
molecular element of the original substance in it.
Difference of vaccines and homeopathic Rx.:
• Vaccines are administered when a person is well
whereas homeo Rx. is given when the person is ill.
• Vaccines help the immune system to produce anti
bodies for fighting against future invasions by the
same nature virus as contained in the vaccine while
homeo Rx. fights against the same disease factor
with a more powerful (potentized) form of the same
disease but without any molecular element of the
disease virus in it. (only the disease code is there)
• Vaccines are administered as preventives while
homeo Rx. is given as treatment for the illness at
hand.
Symptom pictures of few homeopathic remedies
used for children with AD/HD diagnosis:
1. Lycopodium Clavatum:(club moss)
They were cowardly with feelings of insecurity
and fear which they covered up with tendency to
boss others around, esp. younger children.
They often assumed the role of class clown, they
tend to be very distractible and some of them were
dyslexic, they were reluctant to try any new things.
They were candy cravers with tendency for
hypoglycemia.
2. Tarentula Hispanica (Spanish Spider)
• Their hallmark was ‘rhythmic movements’- They
were very active, climbing, jumping, restlessness
resembling Spider) behavior. They loved music and
rhythmic activities like dancing, tapping, or
drumming which soothed them.
• They were cunning, mischievous and played tricks
on parents, teachers and other children, telling lies,
and loving to hide, very hurried and impatient, often
very destructive needing to watch them always very
closely.They were capable of breaking anything they
got their hands on. They were extremely impulsive
and distractible. Twitching and jerking of the
muscles were common symptoms. They were often
3. Cina (worm seed)
‘Cross’ may be said as the middle name for those
children. Most irritable of children for no good
reason. They did not seem to know what they really
wanted and rejected whatever was given to them.
They reject even ‘choices’ because they did not
know whether they wanted anything in the first
place. As babies although they wanted to be rocked,
they did not like to be carried (except on shoulders),
touched or even looked at (mad and asking others,
“what you looking?”). They pinched, kicked, and
hit out of irritability and contradiction. They often
picked or bored into their ears, scratched their
bottoms, and ground their teeth in sleep. Some such
cases even had fits.
4. Stramonium (thorn apple)
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Main characteristic : extremely disturbed sleep
with nightmares or terrors with shrieking.
• Their nature is a mixture of fear and violence. They
had constant terror feeling of being in a dark jungle
surrounded by wild animals who might attack any
moment. Response is not flight but fight.
• They often became violent when provoked.
• They exhibited fear of animals, water and violent
death. Stammering, cursing and jealousy were
common behaviors. A traumatic event like a violent
abuse or birth trauma might be traced in some.
5. Androctonos (Scorpion)
Scorpion lives under rocks in the deserts or tropicaol
places and stings its prey to death by sudden attacks.
These children lacked a conscience and compassion
for the suffering of others. They were extremely
violent, ready to hurt or even to murder others if
they were provoked.
They were loners and liked to be alone, removed
from the demands of the society, as though were
desiring to live in a small hole in the rocks.
They were absolutely selfish and egocentric.
They were indifferent to pleasure or pain, to other
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6. Bufo rana (toad)
The poisonous sweat from toad is used as a
homeopathic medicine for slow, coarse children with
particularly strong interest in sex and masturbation.
Their comprehension was very poor. They had dull
look on their faces with thick lips, which they would
lap with their tongue.
They relied mainly on basic instincts and instant
gratification. Music or bright objects were
intolerable to them.
They had a particular aversion for being
misunderstood. Different types of seizures were
common with them
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7. Baryta carbonica (Barium carbonate)
Dependence on others for everything. Unable to do
anything without help. Passive, indecisive, I.Q.
usually in deficient range. Adaptive behavior scale
scores very low.
Social characteristics involved hiding behind their
mothers or under furniture in the presence of
strangers.
They were timid to try anything new. Lacked selfconfidence and liked to keep things simple.
Some of them were delayed in their physical growth
and maturity.
A prominent physical symptom was chronic
tonsilitis and adenoid inflammation.
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8. Natrum Sulphuricum (sodium sulphate)
These kids were prone to depression primarily from
being criticized by friends or family or from simple
existential anxiety. They constantly thought or felt,
“nobody likes me”.
These children felt bad about themselves all their
lives. Because of that they isolate themselves and
contemplate even suicide.
Their sadness was made worse by music.
Most of these children were subdued or with a
dormant wild side. As teenagers they tended to
experiment with smoking, alcohol or drugs.
Physical symptoms included asthma and warts.
9. Crotalus Cascavella (rattle snake)
This medicine is from the rattle snake venom.
Children who needed this felt
that someone was behind them or heard foot steps
following them. They had a
characteristic fear of being alone and of spirits,
ghosts and snakes. They sometimes
had fear of hairy spiders. Intense, animated, hurried,
restless and talkative, they
could strike out at others in a fit of rage. A
characteristic physical symptom was
hives, usually in one part of the body, with
prominence for right-sided symptoms
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10. Arsenicum Album (Arsenic)
These children were extremely restless due to feelings of
insecurity and inadequacy associated with lot of anxiety
about their health and often fearing death.
They also exhibited great concern about germs and
contamination and great terror of being left alone.
These children were more anxious and adult-like than a
child should be at his/her age.
They were extremely needy, whiny and impatient.
Their common physical ailments included burning pains,
asthma, diarrhea and stomach aches.
Physical signs include also some unhealthy skin conditions.
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11. Hyoscyamus (Henbane)
Matched the profile of children who were chronic
attention seekers. If they did not get it by positive
behavior, by all means they sought for it by negative
behaviors by being excessively silly, joking
inappropriately, showing off, talking too much,
swearing, throwing tantrums etc.
They played the “kick me, kiss me” (If you don’t
kiss me, I want you to kick me) game a lot.
Jealousy was another problem especially at the birth
of a younger sibling.
Some of these children were precocious and liked to
masturbate in public, run around naked or expose
themselves. A persistent complaint was bed wetting.
12. Anacardium Orientale (marking nut)
• Such a child is like both an angel as well a little devil
locked in the same person.
• Such a child can be sometimes the most charming,
obedient, decent, enthusiastic, outgoing, sensitive – in
short with all the positive qualities we can think of a
child – at other times s/he is the opposite of all the
above as if s/he has no conscience or super ego, amoral,
cheating, lying, stealing, arguing, cunning, malicious,
striking out on other children and quarrelsome, cursing
or using abusive language towards parents, teachers,
peers and so on – with all possible negative qualities.
• The personality of such a child may be depicted to that
of a person who has classical ‘demon possession’.
Homeopathy for Healing Autism
Homeopathically prepared Human Growth Factors are the
latest breakthrough medicines for AD/HD & Autism.
In Autistic children their Immune, Nervous and Hormonal
systems are not intercommunicating appropriately.
This is because in Autistic children the above systems are
either damaged or deteriorating.
The lympic system and the cerebellum in the brain are
responsible for emotions, primitive sense of reality, self
non-self discrimination, memory, speech and ability to
process information. Hypothalamus regulates appetite and
the hormonal system handles the overall gut functions.
HGH or IGF-1 have specific receptive sites in the lympic
system and cerebellum, PDGF (platalet derived g.f.) is
specific for memory and communication and FGF (fibro-
• These new line of Homeopathic formulas made from
the human growth hormones and factors are called
CSEs (Cell Signal Enhancers).
• They are generated by recombinent technology. By
this technology the scientists working under FDA
certified labs duplicate the materials our body
creates naturally.
• CSE formulas are made by homeopathically diluting
and potentizing the HGH, IGF-1, PDGF and FGF.
• A good protocol is CSE 14 & 15 for 3 months, CSE
12 for 2 months and CSE 16 for a month.
• The firm that produces CSEs is called Biomed and it
assures 100% bio-availability and safety from
contamination for CSE products.
Concluding Remarks:
• Although Homeopathy is the best known alternative to
stimulant medications, those who want to pursue that
path should bear in mind the following:
• Since homeopathic treatment is very different from the
conventional one, there is nothing wrong in being
skeptical about it and is a good idea to ask the
homeopath about the procedures and the odds of getting
better by the treatment.
• Homeopath will not only be targeting the symptoms of
AD/HD, but also the overall psycho-emotional &
behavioral issues of the child together with physicals
• Homeopathy postulates that the bio-chemical imbalance
which is responsible for AD/HD is a result of an overall
imbalance & the right constitutional Rx. can correct it.
• Biomed. is conducting pilot studies which show that
CSE formulas can correct most of the damages in the
nervous, immune and hormonal systems responsible for
Autism spectrum disorders.
• Initial consultation with homeopath can last an hour or
more while the follow-up sessions can be shorter.
• Usually homeo treatment is for less than 1 year period.
• Visits are biweekly, monthly, bimonthly or even longer.
• No known side effects or addictive tendency is reported.
• Make sure the homeopath has training & credentials in
classical homeopathy and the medicine selection is
based on an in-depth clinical interview rather than use
of gadgets, muscle testing or even computer programs.
• For more Info: (585) 242-8565 or 436-2560 ex.1350