Effectiveness of homoeopathic therapeutics in the management of childhood autism disorder

http://ijrh.org/temp/IndianJResHomoeopathy83147-3744602_102406.pdf

http://www.ijrh.org

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy / Vol. 8 / Issue 3 / Jul-Sep 2014. 147

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Effectiveness of homoeopathic therapeutics in the management of childhood autism disorder
Praful M. Barvalia, Piyush M. Oza, Amit H. Daftary, Vijaya S. Patil,

Vinita S. Agarwal 1, Ashish R. Mehta 2

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives:

Childhood autism is severe and a serious disorder. Astudy was conducted by Spandan holistic institute of applied Homoeopathy, Mumbai,with the objective of demonstrating the usefulness of homeopathic management in autism.

Materials and Methods:

Sixty autistic children of both sexes, ≤12 years were selected for this study. It was nonrandomized, self‑controlled, pre and post‑intervention study, wherein the initial 6 months of observation period was used as the control period and the same patients were thereafter treated for 1 year and compared with post‑intervention findings.

Results:

The study demonstrated significant improvement of autistic features with mean change in ATEC score (ATEC1‑pre‑treatment with ATEC 5‑post‑treatment) was 15.12 and ATEC mean percent change was 19.03. Statistically significant changes in ATEC scores were observed in all the quarters analyzed through repeated measures ANOVA, with F‑value 135.952, P=0.0001. An impact was observed on all core autistic features, which included communication, 12.61%, socialization, 17%,

sensory awareness, 18.82%, and health and behavior, 29% (P=0.0001). Significant improvement was observed in behavior by Autistic Hyperactivity Scale, AHS 1 36 to AHS 5 14.30 with F‑value 210.599 (P=0.0001). Outcome assessment was carried out using MANOVA, which showed statistically significant changes in post‑treatment scores, P & lt; 0.005. Total 88.34% cases showed improvement, 8.33% showed status quo, and 3.33% cases worsened. Nine out of 60 cases showed a reversal of CARS putting them into non‑autistic zone, P = 0.0001. A sharp decrease

(34%) in ATEC scores, in the first quarter implied positive effect of homoeopathic medicines, prescribed, as per the homoeopathic principles.

Conclusion:

The study has demonstrated usefulness of homoeopathic treatment in management of neuropsychological dysfunction in childhood autism disorder, which is reflected in significant reduction of hyperactivity, behavioral dysfunction, sensory impairment as well as communication difficulty. This was demonstrated well in psychosocial adaptation of autistic children.

Homeoprophylaxis aka "Alternative to Vaccines or Homeopathic Vaccines" as CBC Marketplace would describe it as!

Dearest Clients,
Sometime this year I received a call from a young mother expressing concerns about
the safety of vaccines for her baby and asking if she and another woman (I forget
what she said their relation was) could come in and talk to me about homeopathic
alternatives (CBC's fake client). This is a common request from (especially
educated) parents, aware of media stories of vaccine damage as well as the myopic
perspective of mainstream medicine for whom there are no alternatives, no
accommodations, no individualizing of vaccination schedules. For this, I offer a
"Free Information Session" until they decide to come in for the First Consultation
appointment so that they know I will not be offering any therapeutic advice during
this information session.
People who come to talk to me about vaccination concerns and seeking information
about alternatives are presented with a nuanced discussion. I cannot ignore the
plethora of requests for information and I believe it is against my code of ethics
as a health practitioner (See ethics on Beneficence vs. NonMaleficence) to not offer
the information which I am an expert on (homeopathy). I end these discussions with
the advice that the parents go home, think, read, research, talk, and then let me
know the ways that I can best support their child’s health and wellbeing, no matter
what decision they make in the end: full vaccination, no vaccination, partial
vaccination.
This was exactly the sort of conversation I had with CBC's fake client. The fake was
not actually a concerned mother, but a reporter for CBC Marketplace who came into my
clinic (with maybe a fake baby and friend) under false pretenses, and then proceeded
to clandestinely tape and film our meeting for the purpose of “undercover”
journalism in preparation for an upcoming episode on CBC Marketplace on vaccination
alternatives. The ethical issues involved in this approach are extraordinary, and I
think it important that all Canadians know the sordid activities of their public
broadcaster. The extraordinary thing is that the CBC’s own regulations on
clandestine reporting suggest that it is allowed only in situations in which there
is “antisocial” behavior, “abuse of trust”, or there is no other way to get the
information needed. I am not sure which of these descriptors cover the visit to my
office, but certainly, the homeopathic community has been fully forthcoming in
offering Marketplace information on homeoprophylaxis without any secret high jinx
involved.
For some of my clients, the bully tactics of my patient-in-disguise did not end
there. Upon leaving, “the fake” asked for a nosode remedy to protect her baby
against measles while she and her husband were making their decision about
vaccination; she told them they would be travelling to an area where there had
recently been a measles outbreak and they were concerned about exposure. Of course
they helped her – this is what homeopaths do. It turns out that Marketplace then
made a formal complaint to Health Canada about the labeling of the remedy(ies) that
had dispensed (the ONLY complaints made to Health Canada regarding homeopathic
treatments ever made as far as I know). Unfortunately, “the fake” and their team
didn’t do their research and were unaware of the regulations that cover homeopathic
practitioners. Needless to say, Health Canada found the complaints spurious and
dismissed them, assuring the homeopaths that they were practicing well within
regulatory norms. I might add, that Health Canada has conferred a DIN-HM number on
many nosodes plus over 6000 different remedies, giving them a “seal of approval” as
it were. There is no salacious story here, no matter how Marketplace frames it.
So it turns out that the Marketplace episode on vaccines will be aired tonight on
CBC. If you watch the program, please know the producers have a strong bias against
homeopathy -- and are likely to present homeopaths as luring parents away from
vaccination. The illicitly filmed segments of myself and the other homeopaths
similarly witch-hunted are most assuredly small excerpts of much more complex
conversations, taken out of context and presented without any of the other
information offered.
Perhaps this offers a good opportunity for people to speak up for homeopathy and to
speak up for free choice in making decisions about the health decisions we make. If
you are invested in the vaccine issue you can go online to CBC Marketplace's site
(www.cbc.ca/marketplace ) for the episode entitled "Vaccines: Shot of Confusion" and
post about your experiences, and share your decision making process around this
issue. It is important that homeopaths do not allow themselves to be pushed into the
closet because of the bully pulpit of media shows such as CBC Marketplace. Speak up
– let them know what you think.
If you would like any other resources to refer to, please feel free to refer to
http://www.homeopathiccures.wordpress.com
for research and other publications on homoepathy and homeoprophylaxis from around
the world.

Homeoprophylaxis (What CBC's Marketplace is calling an alternative to vaccines)

Will CBC bring more attention to Homeoprophylaxis (what they’ll describe as an alternative to vaccines) than homeopaths can?!?
A few years ago, a journalist requested information on homeopathy for a show on CBC. I am a typical Canadian and so therefore I have a strong affinity for CBC. I asked clearly to the organizers of the show that this would be a fair and true representation of homeopathy. I know that it is easy to target aspects of homeopathy because of its complex and unique principles of healing. However, the producers of CBC’s Marketplace expressed specifically and clearly that this would not be the way they would use the information they gather. I met with them and they interviewed me at my clinic. I also faithfully gave them a number for one of my clients that had agreed she wouldn’t mind being interviewed. I printed out for them a thick pile of many research reports that presented sound science backing up many of the principles of healing used in the science of homeopathy. That show which has repeated more times than any other episode of CBC’s Marketplace ended up being truly blatantly biased and absolutely NOT scientific. There was no mention of the scientific reports that I and others had given to them.
When that episode was shown, there were many people who posted words of support and commitment to the option of homeopathy in the healing choices. The Marketplace website seemed to edit and only release a certain number of the responses. People writing in support of homeopathy reported that their posts had not been published. People wrote in to CBC’s producers, CBC’s Ombudsman, and the homeopathic community bonded over the outrage of this slander. This fall, CBC plans to release another show about an aspect of homeopathic practice known as homeoprophylaxis. Homeoprophylaxis is the use of homeopathic remedies in anticipation for prevention of a specific health concern. The founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann writes about using the principles of homeoprophylaxis back in 1798 in his publication on Scarlet Fever called “The Cure and Prevention of Scarlet Fever”, in ‘Lesser Writings’ (B.Jain Publishing. New Delhi. P.369ff). http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/article/viewFile/360/407 using the homoeopathic remedy called Belladonna. He also refers to the ways to conduct homeoprophylaxis in the Aphorisms number 100, 101, 102 and 241 of his written guide to homeopathy known as ‘The Organon’ first published in 1810 (Hahnemann S. Organon of medicine. 6th Edn. (Translated by William Boericke). New Delhi: B Jain Publishers, 1991). The most contemporary uses of homeoprophylaxis are based on the science conducted mostly by Dr. Isaac Golden http://www.homstudy.net/Research/ and Dr. G. Bracho. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20674839
Despite that currently there exists (and will continually be more of) quality research to demonstrate the effective use of homeopathy to address specific health concerns, CBC will attempt to convince you that there is none. Let me guide you to the BOX WIDGET on my blog https://homeopathiccures.wordpress.com
That is where you’ll be able to access homeopathic experts advice or writings by homeopathic experts. In the words of Merriam-Webster Dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expert), an expert is defined as “having or showing special skill or knowledge because of what you have been taught or what you have experienced”. With this in mind, please QUESTION who CBC will refer to as ‘experts’ on topics of homeopathy.
Instead of truthfully facing the experts on homeopathy (myself and a known few of my colleagues) CBC Marketplace’s approach to get information from us was to plant a fake client into our private practice. A few months later, an email was sent to me stating that they had done this and would I do an interview them?

ARRGH!

Instead they chose a mysterious random bunch of people https://homeopathiccures.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/centre-for-inquiry.pdf…random people who don’t know that you can NOT overdose on homeopathic remedies – and that this is a GOOD thing BUT that it is IRRESPONSIBLE to try to do your own ‘experiments’ on a form of medicine that you don’t have a clue about.
Needless to say, I am NOT doing any kind of happy dance http://animalfactoftheday.blogspot.ca/2012/04/manakin-bird-can-moonwalk.html in anticipation of a new episode focussing on Homeoprophylaxis.
The tragic irony is that I have a feeling that CBC Marketplace’s blatant show of ignorance will be apparent to most critical thinkers that are their audience and those people will either look for more information to satisfy their curiosity OR they will stand stronger in their commitment to choices for health care options for Canadians. In case this is the place you’ve come to for more information, let me assure you that maintaining the homeopathy as a choice made available to us is more important than our regular freedoms of choice as it has to do with the most important aspect of our existence because as they say, ‘if we don’t have our health, what do we have?’ That is the essence of what drives most people to homeopathy. In ONE country alone there are over 100 million people using homeopathy (http://drnancymalik.wordpress.com/article/status-of-homeopathy/)(India). Also keep in mind that the top two most debated topics on Wikipedia are Jesus and homeopathy
If you’ve seen the CBC Marketplace’s representation of homeopathy and would like to take part in some discussions about it, please keep in touch at https://www.facebook.com/AccessNaturalHealing/photos/a.119846306893.123640.10145471893/10152470442151894/?type=1&theater
Sincerely Yours in Homeopathy
Elena Cecchetto (EL)
info@accessnaturalhealing.com
604-568-4663
http://www.accessnaturalhealing.com
© 2014 Elena Cecchetto

CBC's Marketplace and Homeopathy; The Real Truth

Will CBC bring more attention to Homeoprophylaxis (what they’ll describe as an alternative to vaccines) than homeopaths can?!?

A few years ago, a journalist requested information on homeopathy for a show on CBC. I am a typical Canadian and so therefore I have a strong affinity for CBC. I asked clearly to the organizers of the show that this would be a fair and true representation of homeopathy. I know that it is easy to target aspects of homeopathy because of its complex and unique principles of healing. However, the producers of CBC’s Marketplace expressed specifically and clearly that this would not be the way they would use the information they gather. I met with them and they interviewed me at my clinic. I also faithfully gave them a number for one of my clients that had agreed she wouldn’t mind being interviewed. I printed out for them a thick pile of many research reports that presented sound science backing up many of the principles of healing used in the science of homeopathy. That show which has repeated more times than any other episode of CBC’s Marketplace ended up being truly blatantly biased and absolutely NOT scientific. There was no mention of the scientific reports that I and others had given to them.
When that episode was shown, there were many people who posted words of support and commitment to the option of homeopathy in the healing choices. The Marketplace website seemed to edit and only release a certain number of the responses. People writing in support of homeopathy reported that their posts had not been published. People wrote in to CBC’s producers, CBC’s Ombudsman, and the homeopathic community bonded over the outrage of this slander. This fall, CBC plans to release another show about an aspect of homeopathic practice known as homeoprophylaxis. Homeoprophylaxis is the use of homeopathic remedies in anticipation for prevention of a specific health concern. The founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann writes about using the principles of homeoprophylaxis back in 1798 in his publication on Scarlet Fever called “The Cure and Prevention of Scarlet Fever”, in ‘Lesser Writings’ (B.Jain Publishing. New Delhi. P.369ff). http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/article/viewFile/360/407 using the homoeopathic remedy called Belladonna. He also refers to the ways to conduct homeoprophylaxis in the Aphorisms number 100, 101, 102 and 241 of his written guide to homeopathy known as ‘The Organon’ first published in 1810 (Hahnemann S. Organon of medicine. 6th Edn. (Translated by William Boericke). New Delhi: B Jain Publishers, 1991). The most contemporary uses of homeoprophylaxis are based on the science conducted mostly by Dr. Isaac Golden http://www.homstudy.net/Research/ and Dr. G. Bracho. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20674839
Despite that currently there exists (and will continually be more of) quality research to demonstrate the effective use of homeopathy to address specific health concerns, CBC will attempt to convince you that there is none. Let me guide you to the BOX WIDGET on my blog https://homeopathiccures.wordpress.com
That is where you’ll be able to access homeopathic experts advice or writings by homeopathic experts. In the words of Merriam-Webster Dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expert), an expert is defined as “having or showing special skill or knowledge because of what you have been taught or what you have experienced”. With this in mind, please QUESTION who CBC will refer to as ‘experts’ on topics of homeopathy.
Instead of truthfully facing the experts on homeopathy (myself and a known few of my colleagues) CBC Marketplace’s approach to get information from us was to plant a fake client into our private practice. A few months later, an email was sent to me stating that they had done this and would I do an interview them?

ARRGH!

Instead they chose a mysterious random bunch of people http://homeopathiccures.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/centre-for-inquiry.pdf…random people who don’t know that you can NOT overdose on homeopathic remedies – and that this is a GOOD thing BUT that it is IRRESPONSIBLE to try to do your own ‘experiments’ on a form of medicine that you don’t have a clue about.
Needless to say, I am NOT doing any kind of happy dance http://animalfactoftheday.blogspot.ca/2012/04/manakin-bird-can-moonwalk.html in anticipation of a new episode focussing on Homeoprophylaxis.
The tragic irony is that I have a feeling that CBC Marketplace’s blatant show of ignorance will be apparent to most critical thinkers that are their audience and those people will either look for more information to satisfy their curiosity OR they will stand stronger in their commitment to choices for health care options for Canadians. In case this is the place you’ve come to for more information, let me assure you that maintaining the homeopathy as a choice made available to us is more important than our regular freedoms of choice as it has to do with the most important aspect of our existence because as they say, ‘if we don’t have our health, what do we have?’ That is the essence of what drives most people to homeopathy. In ONE country alone there are over 100 million people using homeopathy (http://drnancymalik.wordpress.com/article/status-of-homeopathy/)(India). Also keep in mind that the top two most debated topics on Wikipedia are Jesus and homeopathy
If you’ve seen the CBC Marketplace’s representation of homeopathy and would like to take part in some discussions about it, please keep in touch at https://www.facebook.com/AccessNaturalHealing/photos/a.119846306893.123640.10145471893/10152470442151894/?type=1&theater
Sincerely Yours in Homeopathy
Elena Cecchetto (EL)
info@accessnaturalhealing.com
604-568-4663
http://www.accessnaturalhealing.com
© 2014 Elena Cecchetto

Your Homeopath; CEASE Certified since 2012

Elena Cecchetto

101-1416 Commercial Drive
V5L 3X9 Vancouver
Canada
Phone: 604-568-4663
info@accessnaturalhealing.com
http://www.accessnaturalhealing.com

Bio

Elena Cecchetto is on the Advisory Board for the Council for Homeopathic Certification and on the founding board of Side by Side Homeopathy, who are helping people in the Downtown Eastside with their health concerns. Some of the common complaints she helps people to address include anxiety, PTSD, depression, migraines, digestion concerns, skin complaints and insomnia. As of 2012, El has been CEASE Therapy Certified; . In 2004 Elena Cecchetto was on the founding board of the Canadian Society of Homeopaths. In June of 2007 she presented at the BC Society of Homeopaths (BCSH) Case Conference. In September, 2009 the Health Action Network Society, requested a presentation of her "H.I.P." Homeopathic Program. She loves hearing back from new parents about getting the teething, colic, nursing issues, sleeping, coughing, and rashes successfully addressed with homeopathic care. Her focus on fertility and children have been supported by extra conferences with Dr. Sunil Anand and Louis Klein plus monthly case conference nights with Laurie Dack.

http://www.cease-therapy.com/make-appointment/practitioner/elenacecchetto

Homeopathy Rocks!

WHY HOMEOPATHY ROCKS!

Submitted by cchm on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 13:54

It works!

Homeopathy is the second most popular form of medicine in the world according statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO).  It is supported by many governments around the world.  The millions of people around the world who have used Homeopathy to successfully treat a variety of health issues can’t be wrong.  And, in spite of the claims of the detractors of Homeopathy, there have been many clinical trials conducted demonstrating that Homeopathy is more effective than placebo and in many cases, more effective than pharmaceutical medicine.

It’s Holistic

Holistic medicine treats the patient as a whole person by looking at an individual's overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being.  Homeopathy is holistic because it views physical, mental and emotional symptoms as being interconnected.  Think of it this way.  How many times do you walk down the street and say “look, there‘s arthritis?”  More likely, you would probably say “look at that person with arthritis”.  Homeopathy treats people with certain types of conditions or diseases; not just the diseases themselves.

It Works with the Body’s Own Ability to Heal

Homeopathic medicine thinks of our bodies as more than a collection of mechanical parts.  As Homeopaths, we use natural medicines (remedies) that stimulate the body to heal itself.   When the best medicine is chosen for you, your body will respond by working to return to a state of balance.

No Side Effects

We all know that there is a risk of experiencing side effects with pharmaceutical medications.  It is important to realize that just because herbs are natural, it does not mean that you can’t experience a side effect or a negative interaction with a pharmaceutical medication.  This is where Homeopathic remedies shine.  Because of the way they are made (through serial dilution and vigorous shaking), Homeopathic remedies won’t interact with a drug or create side effects.  Homeopathic remedies are safe and gentle enough to give to a baby, to a pregnant woman, to the elderly and even people weakened by serious diseases.

Homeopaths Listen!

Many people are very surprised by how many questions Homeopaths ask.  In today’s quick-paced lifestyle, it is refreshing to sit down and actually be able to talk about yourself to someone who wants to hear what you have to say.  Imagine what the experience of being fully heard by a medical professional would really feel like.  Homeopaths rely as fully on the experience of each patient as much as our own knowledge of the science of Homeopathy.

It is Inexpensive

Have you ever gone to buy a few supplements and ended up spending over $100?  Homeopathic remedies are really inexpensive.  If you buy a tube of a remedy it will usually range from $7 to $9.  The 80 pills in each tube will last for a long time.  Also, many Homeopaths will provide remedies as part of their consultation fee or for a small dispensing fee.

Low Impact on the Environment

Given all of the concern over our environment, Homeopathy is a green medicine.  Obviously it is green because it doesn’t require chemicals or other toxic substances in order to make remedies.  Also, we only require a drop or two to transform a mother tincture into the final form as a Homeopathic remedy.  In this way, we are using very little of Mother Nature’s bounty of minerals and plants.

http://www.homeopathycanada.com/blog/why-homeopathy-rocks-0

Book Review of "Melissa Assilem's Matridonal Remedies" by Elena Cecchetto

November 11, 2011:

 I was looking forward to reading this book and now that I’m into the first four pages I am super excited about reading this book! I can already see that Melissa Assilem has the type of philosophical insight to speak with authority and with the most eloquent and enlightening filter on menopause. The first four pages (read last night at midnight) have already brought me back to my twenties when first enthusiastically delving into feminist reading. This is going to be sooo excellent.

 November 15^th, 2011

So, yes, I could’ve easily been finished this book by now. However, I got stuck at page 63 when I put it down for a while. I wasn’t so sure exactly where my enthusiasm waned until I picked it up and reread the section that I left off at. Here is where Assilem has tackled the subject of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Such a pertinent and essential topic. I’m so grateful that she wrote about a herstorical perspective leading us to where we are today. It illuminates and gives confidence to a developing more solid opinion of my own. However, the segment I left off at went a bit too far and reminded me that everybody has their own filter. Assilem describes the side effects of hormonal treatment as follows: “This also means these women will not only have a period and increase in cancer risk, and the cherry on the cake, they may also experience an artificially raised libido. The risk persists for upwards to 10 years after ceasing HRT”

 Well, maybe Assilem is highlighting that the conventional medical system ignores the raised libido as a problem side effect as misogynistic because it serves the male wants/needs and assumptions that women want that. But I would say that Assilem’s idea that women wouldn’t want a raised libido sounds reminiscent of the patriarchal and repressive concept that women shouldn’t have nor express their own sex drive. More likely, Assilem is just pointing out that there are unnatural consequences of HRT! As far as side effects go, I’d prefer the libido ‘problem’ to the cancer one!

 The other thing that has me a bit distracted from the book is the minimal references to Homeopathy, or Homeopathic Remedies. On the other hand there are some straightforward and very useful analyses on the conventional treatments for Menopause. These types of perspective are difficult to find. The way she’s lead up to it by including the way that our medical system has a mechanical view of our bodies and the idea of our hormonal system as the problem is the essential and invaluable understanding.

 November 21^st, 2011

The message that I see so clearly out of this is that the only thing that the medical system does ‘holistically’ is to wholly ignore our own body’s inherent intelligence and abilities. Instead attempting to kybosh our perfectly designed transformation into the wise women that we’re meant to become after reproduction is no longer our system’s focus. This is a book I can see myself quoting from and referencing many times over some of my favourite clients. It will help me to illuminate some important points of consideration when discussing the transformation into Menopause and beyond.

By Elena Cecchetto DCH, CCH, HMC, RSHom(NA)