Healing withHomeopathyby Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP, LCSW,and Robert Ullman, NDwww.healthyhomeopathy.com

The Homeopathic Treatment of Attention Deficit HyperactivityDisorder and Other Behavioral and Learning Problems

We have been treating ADHD and other behavioral andlearning problems with homeopathic medicine for more than25 years. L. Alan Sroufe, PhD, a psychologist with more than40 years of experience in treating children with problems infocusing and learning, raised the question in a 2012 NewYork Times editorial of why we should be relying so heavilyon drugs to treat these problems. Deriving his informationfrom the results of the prestigious 2009 MTA long-term studyof ADHD outcomes. Dr. Sroufe commented, "At first thisstudy suggested that medication, or medication plus therapy,produced the best results. However, after three years, theseeffects had faded, and by eight years there was no evidencethat medication produced any academic or behavioralbenefits. Indeed, all of the treatment successes faded overtime, although the study is continuing."

With all the medications that have now been given tomillions of children since the 1980s, it appears that there havebeen no appreciable long-term benefits. Short-term benefitsof stimulant medication in terms of focus and attention areundeniable, but in terms of long-term outcomes, they havefailed to produce real lasting benefits. Considering their sideeffects, cost, and lack of lasting results, we call into questiontheir use, and offer what we consider to be a safe, effectivealternative: homeopathic medicine.

How does homeopathy differ in its treatment of childrenwith behavioral and learning problems? Conventionalmedicine approaches the problem by finding a chemicallybased medicine that will affect the symptoms of most childrenwho meet a common set of criteria that define the disease tobe treated. In this case, inattention and hyperactivity are themost common features.

Homeopaths attempt to find the single substance in naturethat corresponds to all of the symptoms of the child, not justthe attentional and behavioral symptoms. Homeopathy cantreat not only the ADHD symptoms, but also acute and chronichealth issues, and other behavior and learning problems aswell.

Using the sensation method that we learned from Dr. RajanSankaran, we like to find out which kingdom of nature thechild's homeopathic medicine is most likely to come from: the

plants, the animals, or the minerals. As we listen to the childand to the parents, we are attentive to clues that might shift ustoward one kingdom or another. For instance, homeopathicmedicines derived from the mineral kingdom have issuesof security, attack and defense, and performance. The plantkingdom has various kinds of sensitivity and reactivity tointernal and external factors. In the animal kingdom, importantcharacteristics are territoriality, sexuality, competition, andaggression.

In order to find the correct homeopathic medicine, wehave an initial hour and a half interview with parents andchild in order to understand the child's physical, mental, andemotional symptoms individually and as they form a pattern.We like to have a history of what problems and illnesses thechild has had, as well as the medication and vaccinationhistory. What is crucial, though, is to find out the uniquecharacteristics of the child.

In understanding a children's case history, the mostimportant factor is to not just talk to the parents, but to observeand talk with the child themselves if possible. The parents maydescribe the child and his or her likes and dislikes, routine andpeculiar behavior patterns, and aspects of the child that theparents wish would change. All that can be useful, sometimeseven sufficient, to find the homeopathic medicine, but to enterthe inner world of the child offers special insights that can befound nowhere else.

A child sees the world differently than the parents, andthe parents' concerns are of little consequence to the child.Children want to play and express themselves uniquely,and to understand their unique manner of thought, feelingand expression is the real key for finding the homeopathicmedicine. Their special state of being can be elicited throughwatching the children play, make gestures, and movethroughout the room, finding whatever interests them. Anopportunity to draw, color, paint, move around freely, sing, ordance can express the child's inner state. Gentle, open-endedquestioning that allows the child to express himself freely canbe invaluable for helping him go deeper into his inner state,and bring it out to be recognized by the homeopath.

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Healing with Homeopathy

We are looking for the unique pattern of the child'sthought, words, and expression of her inner state of being.By continuing to explore various aspects as they come up inobservation and interview, a picture begins to emerge showingwhere in nature to look for the homeopathic medicine that canchange the child's life, functioning, and health at the mental,emotional, and physical levels.

We would like to present two new cases from the thirdrevised version of Ritalin Free Kids, which is coming out thisyear in print and e-book format as examples of what is possiblewith homeopathic treatment of ADHD, and the changes andbenefits that children and their parents experience during andafter treatment. •

Everything Around Him Is So StimulatingThomas was 8 when his mother brought him to our

office for the first time a year and three months ago. Someof the subsequent appointments were done by Skype videoconsultation.

Distractibility keeps him from accomplishing a lot atschool. He finds everything around him so interestingand stimulating, and just doesn't know where to focus hisattention. He can't seem to finish things or stay on task. Wedon't use medication, but the expectations are growing.Thomas has a hard time making friends because he talksabout space and cars and things that most other 8-yearolds don't. He doesn't know how to interpret social cuesor follow kids' rules, so he only has a few friends. Thomasgoes on and on about his interests and doesn't care aboutmundane tasks. If someone is upset with him, he has noidea how to respond.

He had been placed in an autism spectrum classroombecause of his impaired social skills, and he had features ofboth ADHD and Asperger syndrome.

Thomas was already on a gluten-free and casein-free (GF/CF) diet and taking a number of nutritional supplements, yethe was chronically fatigued.

Thomas is very active at a frantic pace, then says he istired and has to rest. He is either full on or full off. A bad dayconsists of lots of meltdowns with screaming, and an inabilityto focus. It's worse if he stays up late, is tired, hasn't eaten, orif he has his mind set on something and it doesn't turn out theway he wants. We forgot about his concert at school. When heremembered the next day, he lost it. The same thing happenedwhen I accidentally sucked up his feather in the vacuum. Ifthings aren't as they think they should be, it is very traumaticfor him."

School is not an exciting place for Thomas. He's a brightkid, but unmotivated, and just doesn't see the need forrepetitive tasks like writing. Science fascinates Thomas,and he can grasp complex information. Teachers love himbecause he is sweet, bright, and creative, but his lack offocus drives them crazy. He just needs more focus. Hislanguage skills are age-appropriate, more so than his socialskills. Coordination is not his forte. He can ride a bike wellnot, but he doesn't have the feel of where is body is, and

doesn't realize if he steps on your toes or jabs you in theribs.

Thomas doesn't do well socially. Kids fintd him annoying,which is starting to bother him now that he wants socialinteraction. He knows he is not coming across well, buthe doesn't know what to do about it. When he acts out,he is not being mean or cruel. He is simply unhappywith how things are. He also needs multiple prompts tofollow through on tasks. Thomas, doesn't care much aboutpersonal hygiene.

We didn't get a lot out of talking to Thomas, but he gaveus the clues that we needed to supplement the informationprovided by his mother, so that we could choose the rightmedicine to help him. "I like things that do work. My favoritesubject is computer math games and I like to play with Legos."What interested him most in our conversation was his curiosityabout our computer. Thomas shared with us that he had anitchy nose, liked to cool off in the heat, and loved chickenwith the skin on.

Thomas's mother added a bit more at the end of theinterview: "My son is a very curious young man. He asksmany questions and notices little things, like the ladybug keyring with exoskeleton wing covers.

Thomas attraction to structure, predilection for computermath and Legos, and the attention to and curiosity about detail,such as the key ring, despite his inability to focus at othertimes, suggested a mineral. His untidiness, clumsiness andsocial awkwardness, lack of initiative, itching, warm-bloodednature, and love of greasy chicken all pointed to Sulphur(sulfur), the most common of all homeopathic medicines:

Sulphur (sulfur)Brainy kids who know too much for their own good. Theyare mechanically -oriented and fascinated by how thingswork. These children love science fact and science fiction.Daydreamers and procrastinators, they are on the lazy side,and may be oblivious to tasks at hand. Hygiene and tidinessare not at the top of their list and they need many frequentreminders to bathe and brush their teeth. Those needingthis medicine can be know-it-alls, trying to convince othersof their superior intelligence.

Six weeks later, his mother commented that even the busdriver noticed the change in Thomas. He was accomplishingmore in school and, receiving better reports from his teacher,and had taught himself to ride his bike on sandbags withoutbecoming frustrated or angry in the process. She was happy tosay that Thomas was less distractible, more capable of stayingon task and completing what was asked of him. He could nowrespond appropriately instead of interrupting. Thomas hadeven had some normal social exchanges, which was quiteencouraging.

Thomas was exposed to Lysol cleaner a few weeks later,and his symptoms relapsed, so we sent another dose of theSulphur. At Thomas's three-month follow-up appointment,we were told that he was doing a better job of meeting andgreeting, and initiating many more activities independently.His eye contact had improved, as well as his ability to expresstenderness. Thomas was going on much less about hisinterests, focusing better, and not as self-absorbed. For the firsttime, he had begun to remind his younger sister when she was

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misbehaving, which he had not appeared to notice previously.His mother had taken him rock climbing, with gear and all,and they had completed a successful hike around MountBaker. She commented, at the end of the appointment, thatanything related to NASA (National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) fascinated Thomas.

Four and a half months after taking his first dose of Sulphur,Thomas had just entered third grade. His reading skills hadimproved, as had his memorization of math facts. Thomas'smother considered it the best start to a school year yet. "Hehas a homeroom for autism spectrum children, but is spendingthe rest of the day in a normal classroom. His eye contact is somuch better and is much more thoughtful than he used to be."

From Thomas: "I think like a computer. Sometimes I havea question in my brain, and then I forget what I was thinking. Idon't understand 'substraction' so well."

At this point, we gave Thomas a higher potency of theSulphur, since the medicine was working, but we thoughtthere was still room for improvement.

Two months later, seven months after his first visit,Thomas's mother shared that he was relating to others muchmore easily, to the point of wanting to invite children over toplay, which was a major breakthrough. Thomas was showingincreasingly more self-initiative and independence, and wascontinuing to be more tender. His parents had enrolled him ina martial arts class with a teacher who formerly struggled withADHD, which we considered an excellent choice. Thomashad even been able to handle attending a holiday gatheringwith 100 people.

Nine months after the initialtreatment, Thomas's mother toldus that the two of them had figuredout together that an onset of flu-likesymptoms was an indication that it wastime for another dose of the Sulphur.Thomas would remark that his backached, he would take another doseof the medicine, and all would comeback into balance for him. It wasimpressive that he was the one whowould be the first to recognize theneed for another dose. Thomas wasinteracting much better with otherchildren, and had actually made fourfriends. He continued to have an lEP(individualized education plan) sinceage 4, but continued to act moreindependently. Thomas was more ableto say, "I love you," and to help otherswithout being asked.

Eleven months after our firstappointment with Thomas and hismother, the school year had endedquite successfully. Thomas commentedto us, "What gravity does is keepyour feet on the ground. When I eatlactose, 1 feel sleepy, like a car enginewithout fuel." The young man was stilla mineral, without a doubt! Thomascontinues to benefit consistently from

Healing with Homeopathy

Sulphur, given every 2 to 3 months. It has been only 16months since we began working with Thomas, and we haveevery reason to believe that his progress will continue, evenmore impressively, over the coming months and years.

'Just Kidding. Tricked Ya!'Moshe's mother had been a strong supporter of

homeopathy for some time and was eager for us to find amedicine that could help him. He also suffered from VonWillebrand syndrome, a hemophilia-like condition due to agenetic platelet abnormality. She called from Brooklyn for usto treat him and we have only seen him in person one timein the past seven years. He was 10 at the time of the firstappointment.

We've been seeing a psychologist for the past six months.Moshe is a downy kind of character. He's silly atinappropriate times. He likes to trick people. Make funnynoises. Animal noises. We'll be in the car and I tell himto buckle up. He pretends that his seatbelt is not fastened,then tells me, "Just kidding. Tricked ya." Or he takes hershoe from his sister and hides it. Then he'll look at me andsmile. He's an expert at pushing me to my limits. Let's pullthe wool over mom's eyes. Or he'll pretend to be pumpingup his head, then falls to the ground. If he's tired, he'll

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Healing with Homeopathy

whack his younger brother or call him a name. A lot of it isto try to get attention. Let off steam. Or he'll make noises.He loves comic books because they're funny and easy toread. Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, Garfield. Or he'll watchcartoons.

Moshe loves to build and invent. In fact, he wants to bean inventor when he grows up. His gross motors skills arenot great. It took him a long time to learn to ride a bikeand he's not very good at baseball. He's not a risk-orientedkid. I couldn't see him climbing a tree. He'll play on junglegyms and bars, but I have to twist his arm to get him on hisbike or skates. Moshe is quite talented at figuring out howthings work.

Hebrew school is challenging. Academically he's fallingbehind in everything. Struggling. If I try to sit down andshow him how to do something, he says he already knowsit, but he doesn't. Then he tells me he can't do it and, bythe time we get to the next problem, he's forgotten the onebefore. 1 have to go through all the steps again and he fightsme every step of the way. "I'm gonna do what I want andyou can't make me." Moshe is obstinate with his teacher.He'll keep it up until she puts her foot down.

Moshe can be quite oblivious. He doesn't notice badsmells. When the television is on, the house could comecrashing down around him and he wouldn't notice. Once,when he was 3, he bolted and I lost him. Moshe could havecared less. I don't even think he was scared. He's prone tothrowing temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Hecan be angry, obstinate, and defiant. We have had to draghim out of restaurants because he refused to stop playing avideo game. He insists on doing what he wants to do whenhe wants to do it. Moshe is so strong-willed that when hewas being doled out punishment in the principal's office,he laughed and smiled. If he is told "no," he will continueto find a new solution to get what he wants. When weinsist that he give something back to his brother, he throwsit at him. Or he'll walk around with a book in his handand whomp someone on the head with it. From the age of3, I felt that I had lost control of his being compliant. Hedoes great with chess because it's a strategy game ... rightup his alley. It's a perfect game for him because he can

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always figure out a way to get around things. But he has asuper sweet and caring side. Physically, Moshe still needsto wear Pull-Ups at night because of accidents.

During the first year and a half of homeopathic care, wegave Moshe Aranea ixobola (cross spider) due to his tendencyto trick people at every opportunity. He responded quite well,overall 80% to 90%. But, after a year and half, the medicine nolonger produced the desired improvement and we needed toreevaluate the prescription. His mother summarized, "A verysilly kid. Silly antics. He got a little duck puppet that makesa noise. He does it obsessively, regardless of who is around,and shows no embarrassment. We were in Trader Joe's todayand he announced loudly that if he didn't go to the bathroomimmediately, he would pee in his pants. He thinks nothing ofmaking a fool of himself just to get a reaction. Moshe used tosay 'poopy' a lot. He went through a potty mouth phase."

It was very clear that the correct medicine was Hyoscyamus(henbane), classic for this type of foolish, immodest, silly,shameless behavior. The five-week follow-up indicated initialchanges like a decrease in pinching, grabbing, humming, andmaking noises. Moshe became softer and more aftectionate.Five weeks later, his mother described the generalimprovement as 50% to 60%. The positive trend continuedover time, and the potency of the medicine was increased.Eleven months after the change to Hyoscyamus, his motherwas happy to say that Moshe had done "amazingly well withhis Bar Mitzvah. Poised, no fidgeting, self-confident, and hegave a very engaging, exciting speech." That was four yearsago.

The Hyosycamus has helped consistently and significantly.Moshe is happier, much less angry, and less irritating in regardto demanding attention. He is playing the saxophone. Whenhe needs the remedy, Moshe whistles, hums, and makesoff-the-wall noises and funny jokes. He can be silly, goofy,downy, and laugh hysterically from the belly. All of theseimprove once it is given. He is doing quite well academicallyand his GPA is 3.0 Moshe has a lot of friends and is enjoyingschool. In addition to the sax, he wants to learn piano andthe xylophone. The bedwetting stopped. One year ago Moshehad the best school year ever and earned all As and Bs, whichhis mother called "a remarkable improvement." He was doingreally well overall. Moshe continues to receive a dose of theHyoscyamus every few months. We heard from Moshe'smother a week ago: "Now he is a senior in high school,

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Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman are licensednaturopathic physicians, board certified in homeopathy. Theirbooks include Prozac Free, Homeopathic Self-Care: TheQuick and Easy Cuide for the Whole Family, Whole WomanHomeopathy, Ritalin-Free Kids, Rage-Free Kids, A Drug-FreeApproach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism, The Patient'sCuide to Homeopathic Medicine, and Mystics, Masters,Saints and Sages-Stories of Enlightenment. Watch for theirhomeopathy books to appear in Kindle and iBook versionswith links from their website, www.healthyhomeopathy.com.

The doctors live on Whidbey Island, Washington, and inPucón, Chile, and practice at the Northwest Center forHomeopathic Medicine in Edmonds, Washington. They treatpatients by phone and vidéoconférence, as well as in person.They can be reached by telephone at 425-774-5599, or bye-mail at drreichenberg@gmail.com or drbobullman@gmail.com. ^_

116 TOWNSEND LETTER - NOVEMBER 2013

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