Autism


 * IBIS:**

Definition:
A condition beginning in early childhood and consisting of: • marked inability to develop social interactions • rituals and compulsive behavior: often related to a resistance to change • language problems with echolalia and impaired understanding • usually, general retardation in intellectual growth Also known as "Infantile Psychosis", "Infantile Autism", and "Kanner's Syndrome".

Etiology:
The cause is unknown. The condition affects males four times more than females.

Somatic Therapies:
• qigong • tai qi chuan

Nutrition:
therapeutic foods: • foods that tonify the Heart • foods that tonify the Liver • foods that calm the Shen (Spirit) • foods that open channels

Chinese Formulae
• Rehmannia Six F. (Liu Wei Di Huang Wan) (available as patent): for the "Five Delays" in development (Hsu, 1980, p. 245; Yeung, p. 152; Bensky and Barolet, p. 263; patent: Zhu, p. 288) • Jia Wei Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (patent): children with slow mental development, lusterless complexion, fatigue, lethargy, pale tongue (Zhu, p. 288)

Acupuncture
after assessing the person and palpating, consider these patterns: Imbalances in Qi; Jing Xu (Essence Deficiency); Heart Misted by Cold Phlegm

Homeopathy
• Ignatia: very sensitive; history of grief; recurring troubles; dwelling on same issues; acute of nat-m. • Natrum muriaticum: late walking and talking; irritable; cross when spoken to; < consolation; < weepy; awkward; forgetful • Phosphorus: sensitive to external impressions; wants to be rubbed, massaged; fears that something will happen; apathetic • Platina: arrogant, haughty; superiority complex; fear; needlessly irritable and sulky • Pulsatilla: mild and gentle; covetous; mistrustful; absentminded; melancholic; discouraged; hysterical; hypochondriacal; tearful • Sulphur: melancholy; sadness, grief; egoistic; laziness; indicision; mania; argumentative; ragged philosopher

Subtle Support
• Mi (Gardner, p. 72, 78) • Fa# (Gardner, p. 82, 87)

mental/emotional: • rhythmic folk songs • County Derry • songs of Steven Foster • Spanish tangos • Brahms' Hungarian dances • Sousa's marches • Strauss' waltzes • Gilbert and Sullivan • Indian Love Call • My Wild Irish Rose • Wishing • Estrellita (Heline, p.18)

Mind/Body
• Associated with gluten sensitivity. (Locke, 1983, p. 161) • Although there are associations linking autism with prenatal rubella, CMV, syphilis, and varicella, the etiology remains obscure. Host defense is believed to be primarily of the cell mediated type. The autistic group exhibited a depressed lymphocyte transformation response. (Locke, 1983, p. 179) • Rubella vaccine challenge was used in an attempt to retrospectively diagnose prenatal rubella in autistic children. All control subjects had detectable titers, but 45% of autistic children had undetectable titers despite previous vaccine, which suggests that these children may have an altered immune response. (Locke, 1983, p. 180) • An important characteristic of altered states is that many of them cannot be dealt with sufficiently without entering into them. At one end is consciousness and awareness, while at the other there is literally no control. Everyone's psychotic corner can be accessed by touching upon a central, mythical, painful issue. (Mindell, 1988, p. 164) • "Extreme states are not purely random and meaningless pathological behaviors. Each has a highly ordered, almost mathematical, predictability. One goal of process paradigm has been to demonstrate that the cause-and-effect, illness-and-cure philosophy governing much of psychiatric research and treatment is not the only useful way of either observing or treating the effects of these syndromes. A process paradigm which studies the various channels of human expression and which deals concretely with both individual and collective issues, normal and extreme states, is sorely needed." (Mindell, 1988, p. 162)

• Heart ~ Xin houses the Shen (Spirit) and reveals itself through the brightness in the eyes; opens into the tongue and controls speech; and relates to the integration of the organs and the personality. » Healthy expressions are warmth, vitality, excitement, inner peace, love, and joy. » Heart Xu (Deficiency) signs include sadness; absence of laughter; depression; fear; anxiety; shortness of breath (Seem, p. 28); cold feeling in the chest and limbs; palpitations; cold sweat; inability to speak; memory failure; nocturnal emissions; and restless sleep. » The Heart is the Emperor of the bodily realm so that when the Heart is disturbed all the other organs will be disrupted.
 * Chinese psychophysiology:**

• Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord and "fills up" the brain; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking, and memory; and relates particularly to congenital conditions because it carries the constitutional endowment from the parents. » Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness, and endurance. » Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; cold feet and legs; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); hearing loss; fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; lack of will; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; low sex drive; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, especially when worse from touch. » Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. Often chronic anxiety may induce Xu (Deficiency) and then Fire within the Kidney. (Maciocia, p. 250) Overwork, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).