What comes around goes around...

I have found when someone in my family or friends needs a remedy, usually two more people end up needing the same one and not because they are sharing an illness. They can be clear across the country and completely unrelated. It's just because it seems like it's always in threes. It's in the air! Of course it is, it's energy.

My family is very sensitive. We tend to share each other's energies. When my kids get sick, I feel their symptoms. It's hard to tell if I am sick or if it's just them. I've noticed when someone calls me for help in selecting a remedy, I end up feeling their symptoms, too. For example, I'll wake up the next day and think, 'huh, I have this strange pain in my foot' after helping my friend's husband with gout the night before! I've learned now not to treat it as it's not really my symptom to treat and it usually goes away as quickly as it came. I would say it is not the power of suggestion as I can talk about symptoms all day long and not experience them. It's only when someone else is experiencing them that I do.

My nine year old daughter does the same thing. She has always been extremely sensitive. As you can imagine, it makes for difficult prescribing! The summer we began homeopathy, both she and I were on Carcinosin and we would both wake up at 4:00 a.m. with a stomachache every Saturday morning. I wasn't sure if it was her or me or both of us!

My five year old son, on the other hand, will talk in rubrics. For example, he was recently sick with a terrible cold/flu thing and I was trying to decide which remedy to give him. Hepar Sulph was looking pretty good and I decided to ask him a few more questions.

Me: Honey, can you tell me what the pain in your ear feels like?
Kaiden: It feels like a fishbone.
Me: WHAT (thinking - how could he know what a fishbone feels like and isn't Hepar Sulph for a sorethroat like a fishbone)?!
Kaiden: It hurts in my throat into my ear like a fishbone.
Me: OK, if you say so! Hepar Sulph it is! (And it worked perfectly.)

Another time he was under the weather and his symptoms were pointing to Sulphur but I wasn't completely sure. I went in and asked him to close his eyes, think down deep into himself and ask his body what he needs. I said it could be one word or a story or anything. Just tell me the first thing you think of. So he does this and a few minutes later he opens his eyes and he says, "My body said Sulphur?" in the form of a question like he didn't know what that was but that's what the answer is. He has never had Sulphur before but sure enough, it did the trick. (Note: this is not an advisable or reliable way to select a remedy!)

Last week he was displaying some pretty clear Lachesis symptoms and I asked him to stick out his tongue and his tongue was forked in a very pronounced way. I was surprised and wondered if it was always like that but couldn't remember it ever looking like that. I decided not to give him the remedy and wait it out a bit. The next morning he comes into my bedroom and says, "Oh mom, I forgot to tell you, the other night I had a dream that I went to my friend's house and there was a huge snake in his room." Huh?!

I think people know what they need intuitively and their body will do everything it can to tell us. Sometimes all you have to do is ask!

There is no cure for the common cold!

My dad has come reluctantly into homeopathy. OK, that may be an understatement, he has come kicking and screaming into it! His first remedy was for his itching eyes which had bothered him for a year and a half and his doctor could not provide an answer. One dose of Apis Mellifica, 30c and the unbareable itching went away! But he kept having to repeat the dose over time so clearly this was only ameliorating the symptoms temporarily.

His second remedy was for a toothache. He wanted to call me at 3 o'clock in the morning because the pain was so bad but waited until morning. A dose of Sulphur 200c which matched the symptoms of this particular toothache took the pain away immediately.

His third remedy was for an ache in his elbow that was so bad he couldn't move his arm. One dose of Arnica 30c and he gave my mom the thumbs up while swinging his arm all the way around and then left to go play golf. Clearly that worked well!

So he half-heartedly agreed to constitutional treatment about a few months ago for a host of ailments and his itching eyes were the first thing to go away (following Hering's law of cure as they were one of the most recent of his chronic symptoms). However, last week, he came down with the nasty flu/cold making the rounds. He refused to take a remedy.

When my sweet mother tried to figure out his symptoms in earnest, he was really irritable and insisted, "There is no cure for the common cold. If homeopathy could cure the common cold we would have heard about it a long time ago!" Rubric: mind, anger, irascibility (3).

So I said, "forget it Mom, let him suffer!" And suffer he did! Four days later my mom called me again. "Isn't there something I can give him? His cough is really bad, it wakes him up around one in the morning, he's really restless..." I was pretty sure of what the remedy was but I asked my mom several more questions which she tried to answer and then my dad yelled out in the background, "Does she have a remedy for euthanasia? I'm so sick... I think I'm going to die!"

I didn't need to ask anymore questions as I knew the remedy was Arsenicum Album. He then yelled, "There is no cure for the common cold. A remedy isn't going to help me." I apologized to my mom but said, "let him suffer!"

A full week later my dad came to our home to help my brother with some remodeling work. He was very irritable and still sick! I went and got Arsenicum Album and since all I had was 30c, I put it in water, succussed it 30 times, poured almost all of it out, refilled half way, succussed 30 times and repeated this two more times. I then brought the bottle to him and said, "Here, take a sip." He said, "What are you giving me now? This isn't going to help my cold, I just have to wait it out." I said, "Just shut up and drink it!" And he did.

About 20 minutes later he comes out into the kitchen laughing and joking and clearly feeling much better! I said, "It's working isn't it?!" And my father got a smirk on his face and said, "Well...maybe...."

He was fine the rest of the day and I sent him home with the bottle with instructions to only redose if he became worse again. My mom called me later that night and said my dad had just taken another dose because he started coughing again. As he succussed the bottle he said, "This is *really* working" in a completely incredulous voice as if he still didn't believe it!

Autism Spectrum Disorder Warning Signs Checklist

One of the things parents frequently ask me is if there is a way to detect spectrum issues early on. We saw symptoms in my son which suggested problems from as early as 4 months old. It is now clear babies show symptoms which can be early warning signs for autism. In and of themselves, these symptoms are sometimes just that - a single incident or issue with no further indications. However, historically, it is easy to see several symptoms children on the spectrum had in common during infancy and early childhood.

Any one symptom is usually not of concern but a combination of symptoms, repeated frequently, can be an early warning sign. What is considered “normal” is extremely varied. These are general guidelines to consider as your child develops. In and of themselves, many of these characteristics or traits are part of normal development.

The warning signs build by developmental stages but can appear at any age. Please note this is solely a suggestive list – it is not to be construed as medical or expert advice. If your child exhibits several warning signs, please talk to your pediatrician or a child development expert specializing in autistic spectrum disorder.

If your child shows several warning signs or does not have mostly checked boxes under the blue headings (things your baby should be doing), do not let your doctor put you off. The earlier your child receives intervention, the better the outcome.



Age: 2 Months
Things your baby should be doing:

• Follows you with his/her eyes
• Startles at loud noises
• Gains weight appropriately

Warning signs:

• Rashes all over or persistent yeast rash
• Reflux (lengthy crying spells, frequent spitting up, choking while feeding, aspirating)
• Excessive gas
• Begins chronic constipation or (explosive) diarrhea after vaccinations

Age: 4 Months

Things your baby should be doing:

• Smiling back at you when you laugh or smile
• Making babbling sounds
• Interested in looking at your face
• Gaining weight appropriately
• Typically can roll over
• No apparent weakness on either side
• Head is straight – not always tilted to one side
• Eyes should now be straight
• Having regular bowel movements

Warning signs:

• Staring without following you or an object
• No change in facial expression Limited eye contact
• Stops babbling after a period of babbling sounds
• Food intolerances
• Preoccupation with spinning objects (fans, wheels, etc.)
• Begins repeat ear infections or chronic illnesses
• Develops asthma or frequent upper respiratory infections
• Frequent “colic” or extensive crying
• Unusually “easy” baby, never fussing, never crying
• Shows reaction to any vaccinations

Age 6 Months

Things your baby should be doing:

• Sit with assistance for a short time
• Interested in activity of others around them
• Beginning to show interest in food
• Cooing and or babbling
• Rolling over
• Supporting weight on both legs with help
• Waking only once per night if at all
• Napping twice per day on a regular schedule

Warning signs:

• No verbal sounds
• Does not roll from side to side
• If sitting and falls over, does not reach out with arms to catch her/himself
• Has crossed eyes or other visual disturbance
• Cries frequently for no reason

9 Months

Things your baby should be doing:

• Showing interest in food
• Crawling
• Able to sit unassisted
• Beginning to gesture or point
• Express whether happy or sad by smiling or crying appropriately
• Sleeping through most nights on a regular basis
• Beginning to show signs of separation anxiety

Warning signs:

• Headbanging on walls or floors or headbutting people
• High tolerance to pain
• Extreme sensitivity
• Pushing head on carpet or along the wall
• Wounded soldier crawl
• Obsessed with a single toy or item (i.e. telephone, remote control) in place of toys
• Not much interested in toys
• Low muscle tone (hypotonia) or extreme (hyper-) flexibility
• Hypertonia – extremely tense, rigid muscles
• Not babbling with “baba,” “dada” sounds
• Does not smile or laugh interactively
• Appears to have hearing impairment
• Frequent night waking
• Chronic resistance to naps
• Unconcerned with mother’s or father’s presence or lack there of
• Chronically congested or chronic upper respiratory infections or ear infections

12 Months
Things your baby should be doing:

• Able to understand most of what is said to him/her
• Starting to stand unassisted, some even walking
• Saying at least one word
• Looking at your eyes when you speak to him/her
• Able to understand yes and no
• Pointing to objects
• Making desires known
• Beginning to eat or regularly eating solid foods
• Waving hi and bye
• Play peek-a-boo or patty-cake

Warning signs:

• Obviously large head size in comparison to body
• Does not point or otherwise gesture for objects
• Avoids eye contact
• Does not notice other children or siblings
• Difficulty with transitions and/or new things
• Excessive tantrums or aggressive behaviors
• Unhealthy attachments to inanimate objects
• Shows no interest in table food
• Frequently gags, chokes, or shows sensory issues to texture
• Easily and/or excessively irritated by tags on clothing or socks and shoes
• Does not brace him/herself when falling
• Afraid of the bathtub or water
• Head seems excessively large

18 Months
Things your baby should be doing:

• Walking steadily unassisted
• Eating a varied diet of table food
• Saying at least five or more recognizable words consistently
• Understanding what you are saying
• Making good eye contact
• Laughing and smiling interactively
• Playing with toys
• Beginning to pretend play
• Climbing over furniture, obstacles, etc., climbing up on things

Warning signs:

• Frequently spinning in circles
• Frequently walking on tiptoes
• Licking the air or objects
• Frequent self-stimulatory (stimming* or stim) behavior.
• Looks at things out of the corners of the eyes
• Frequent uncontrollable and/or violent tantrums
• Pinching, hitting, biting, or scratching repeatedly and/or frequently
• Slamming (crashing) into furniture or people
• Extremely sensitive
• Extreme difficulty with transitions
• Unusually long attention span (like for movies or TV)
• Does not respond to name after repeated efforts
• Fixated on television, computer, or other objects such as telephone or remote control
• Self selected diet to gluten and casein or single foods
• Consistently red ears and/or red cheeks
• Afraid of loud noises
• Covers ears
• Does not allow you to brush his/her teeth
• Fights having nails clipped
• Easy gag reflex
• Plays with same toy repetitively for extended amounts of time
• Does not acknowledge other people or children
• Refuses to get into car seat, arches back, tantrums
• Hyperactive behavior
• Excessive fascination and/or obsession with dinosaurs or trains (particularly Thomas the Tank engine)
• Frequent sighing
• Does not like fingers or toes touched
• Delayed dentition (teeth)

24 Months

Things your baby should be doing:

• Using at least 50+ words
• Putting 2 - 3 words together
• Interacting with other children
• Eating a varied diet
• Doing pretend play with sounds
• Beginning to show interest in toilet training

Warning signs:

• Limited diet of mac&cheese, chicken nuggets, and other wheat and dairy products
• Echolalia – repeating words back sometimes seeming like they are answering you and then upset if it is not what they want (ex. You ask, “Do you want to go outside?” Child says, “Go outside.” You think this means they want to go outside so you take them outside. Toddler says, “No.” or has tantrum because s/he was not really answering but was repeating back what you said.
• Scripting – repeating movie or TV lines – even in context
• Obsessive compulsive behaviors – hand washing, checking things, shuffling feet, rituals
• Underweight or height for age group (only in conjuction with other signs)
• Insists on sameness or resistant to change
• Difficulty expressing wants or needs
• Repeats words or phrases
• Excessive anxiety or irritable behaviors
• Aloof
• Overwhelmed in noisy, bright environments (like Jokers)
• Frequently covers ears
• Averse to singing or being sung to
• Excessive laughing for no apparent reason
• Excessive fear of strangers or relatives or
• No fear of strangers
• Chronic constipation or diarrhea
• Continued resistance to toilet training
• Feces smearing
• Intolerance to clothing or removes clothing frequently
• Hyper-sexual – excessive masturbation
• Makes frequent loud noises or shrills and chirps
• Wringing of hands or rocking behavior
• Arm flapping
• Maintains tilted head
• Cannot jump
• Cannot follow directions
• Cannot express wants
• Appears to be deaf at times
• Hyperactive or inattentive
• Oppositional and/or defiant (more so than usual for toddlers)
• Lost words s/he used to say
• Does not use inflection - monotone
• Prefers to play alone
• Does not play with toys
• Does not smile back when smiled at
• Does not like to cuddle or be touched
• Does not like to have fingers, ears, or toes touched
• Extreme independence
• No regard for consequence (not upset by reprimand)
• Precocious – developing or learning way ahead of peers with other warning signs
• Showing signs of genius coupled with other warning signs
• Unusual obsession with certain objects, subjects, or routines (ex. Must hold certain object at all times.)
• In older children – trouble interpreting sarcasm – very literal
• Delayed dexterity (uncoordinated, fine motor skills)
• Apraxia – inability to make purposeful movements
• Development of Tourette’s syndrome (facial and other tics, spontaneous noises)

*Stimming or stims are behaviors engaged in to self-sooth. They can be anything such as headbanging, spinning, rolling eyes, looking at things from the corners of the eyes, flapping arms, making noises, lining things up, shuffling feet, tapping, etc.