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.