|
Journal
of an Herbalist: The Mystery Child
|
By
Karima Burns, MH, ND
|
18/04/2002
|
Client:
Claire brought her little boy to me because he was three years old and had not
yet started to speak. He had a short attention span as well, and rarely followed
instructions. Claire had taken him to many specialists who gave him CAT scans
and hearing tests but every time the results were favorable. Their conclusion
finally was that Emile, her child, was probably autistic or had another learning
disability or that there was something wrong with the connection between his
ears and brain. Claire didn’t know what to do. She wanted to know what was
wrong with Emile and she also wanted to know how to help him.
Program:
I did an iridology reading on Emile and observed him at my house, the house of
his friend and his own house. I asked questions about what tests he had done and
some other questions about his behavior at home. However, there was nothing that
indicated there was anything wrong with Emile. Everything he did could be
considered completely normal except for his lack of speech. He was very active
and did not listen to instruction, but that is quite normal for many children as
well. To compound the mystery Emile was a twin, was exposed to two languages and
was only three years old. In some cases of twins the second often talks quite
late. In the case of a child learning two languages they can sometimes talk
late. In both cases, three is not considered very late.
However,
he did have some interesting markings in his eye in the throat area, the Acquired
Mental Speech area and some behavioral habits, which indicated that his
development might be different in some way. In the end one could not
conclusively state anything about Emile. However, there were still many things
his parents could do to assist him.
No
matter what development level a child is at, many things can help them move
along this plane faster. Emile was not getting many of these things at home or
in therapy. Emile's condition was being made worse by the fact that he was being
very loosely disciplined, he had not been taught any alternative skills of
communication, his life was not in any sort of order or rhythm, and his
television viewing was taking time away from other activities and skills he
should be using.
I
told Claire that although I did not know what was wrong with Emile at this
moment, I did know how we could help him improve his development and
communication skills. I gave her a five-part program and she met with me once a
week to reinforce the program and learn more skills in coping with his
personality type.
Sign
Language: Studies conducted at the University of California at Davis by
Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn determined that babies who used symbolic
gestures early learned to speak more readily than those babies who did not.
Their research also showed that signing babies scored higher in intelligence
tests, understood more words, had larger vocabularies and engaged in more
sophisticated play (Garcia, p.13).
Discipline:
In the study of temperaments, each child must be disciplined according to their
temperament for the best results. When parents and teachers do not take a
child’s temperament into consideration, a child’s education is compromised.
An example is in the case of the phlegmatic child who is told he is slow in
school. By becoming frustrated with such a child one is making the problem
worse. However, if one realizes that the nature of the phlegmatic child is to be
quiet, slow and unenthusiastic then they can try to find out what may motivate
the child and encourage them to learn.
Emilio
was of the sanguine temperament. Marjorie Spock, in her book Teaching as a
Lively Art, writes, "The sanguine child has nimble hands and feet that are
seldom still. Every passing impression distracts his attention. He is unable to
concentrate, tiring perceptibly when called upon to do so” (Spock, p.118). She
says that the sanguine child needs variety and when they are given that they are
satisfied. The sanguine type is most prone to daydreaming and wandering and in
most need of a structured environment. They are also the most prone to blood
sugar imbalances and should stay away from milk, wheat and sugar or at least
minimize their consumption of these.
Rythym:
In Over the Rainbow Bridge, Barbara Patterson talks about rhythm and the health
of the child. She observes that when there is a lack of rhythm in the home that
children can develop more slowly or with imbalances. She says, "Without the
rhythms of life, our children feel like travelers to another time zone. If we
jet across the ocean, we must compensate for the time change and disturbances to
our internal rhythms by becoming more self-aware. We could place our children in
a similar state every day if we did not give them consistent rhythm at home. An
arrhythmic home life can actually cut short part of childhood by forcing a child
to wake up too soon out of the dreamy consciousness of childhood. A child’s
energies can be stretched beyond her limits in an effort to maintain balance in
a situation lacking in rhythm.”
Television:
Television is one thing that can disrupt the rhythm of the child. Television is
especially harmful for the sanguine child as they have a natural need to expel
energy on almost a constant basis. By artificially halting that with the
television one is creating a need to dispel it in excess later on. This creates
an ongoing situation where the sanguine child can become very quiet and
engrossed in the T.V., but then becomes very energetic, overactive and
distracted afterwards.
Herbs:
Herbs are very helpful to the sanguine child as they help to ground them and
cause them to be able to stay in one place and concentrate longer. The best
herbs for children with excess sanguine condition are chamomile and hops. Fennel
and catnip are also helpful and in extreme cases valerian or skullcap can be
used to balance the sanguine type.
Crystal
Therapy: The throat chakra of the person is the area of the body that
relates to speech. This area is governed by the color blue and by the stone of
turquoise, among others. Light blue is a healing color for this area as is
humming. The note of “G sharp” is helpful when intoning and the sound of
"U" opens up the throat chakra.
Essential
Oils: Essential oils were perfect for Emile as they work on both the
spiritual and physical realm. With Emile, we used the oils of chamomile and
geranium for their calming effect and clary sage for its effect in focusing. We
used them in his evening bath as well as in the air at home and as a massage in
the morning.
Emile
started taking the herbs, changed his diet to include less sugar, wheat and milk
and his mother started arranging a more rhythmic household with more structure,
more variety and less television. Within a month, Emile started to improve.
Although he is not yet talking like his twin sister, there is a marked
improvement in his case and his mother has decided to continue the therapy.
Sources:
-
Garcia,
Jospeh. Sign with your Baby.Washington: Northlight Publications. 1999.
-
Spock,
Marjorie. Teaching as a Lively Art. USA: Anthroposophic Press.1985.
|
