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Ginuwine first came to me in June 2002 at the age of four and a half. He had a developmental disorder and had been diagnosed with autism. When he was two and a half his mother noticed that he was not behaving normally, and he was placed in a therapeutic nursery. She asked me for homeopathic support for her son, as she had already had good experiences with homeopathy and wanted to try it for him as well. |
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Ginuwine is the second child in the family. There were some problems during the pregnancy: his mother had anaemia and often felt sick. She was very tired throughout the pregnancy, and the double burden of her demanding job and caring for a child was too much for her. The birth itself, however, was not difficult. Ginuwine was born at home, three days after his due date. His mother breastfed him for the first two weeks, then had to switch to bottle feeding because she did not have enough milk. |
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Ginuwine was a cheerful and lively toddler who learned to walk at 12 months. He often walked on tiptoe, which he continued to do later. Sometimes he flapped his arms. Toe-walking is often seen in autistic children. Since he was one year old he had asthmatic bronchitis. Although he laughed a lot, he panicked easily in new situations. When he was angry he would hit himself on the head. At two and a half a significant delay in his speech development was noted. |
| At our first encounter I saw a fair-haired boy with blue eyes who gave a soft impression. I immediately noticed that it was extremely difficult to communicate with him. He did not ask questions, and it was hard to tell what he understood, or whether what was said actually reached him. Language played almost no role in his communication with others. | |
| He often repeated the last two words the other person had said (echolalia) and made animal noises, e.g. he growled like a lion. He was not yet toilet trained. He did not like fruit or vegetables, preferring pancakes with bacon, pork chops, meat and fish. He liked bathing and loved car rides. When he heard music he would start to dance. | |
| Prescription | |
| On the basis of my observations I gave Ginuwine Barium muriaticum 200K, one dose every four weeks. This remedy fitted his developmental and speech retardation as well as some of his physical symptoms. | |
| Follow-up | |
| Two months later: He shows enormous improvement. He speaks more and his speech has become clearer. His eating habits have changed: he now eats things he never used to eat. | |
| Five months later: The improvement continues. He answers questions, whereas before he only responded with echolalia. He can name what he sees in books. | |
| Eight months later: He continues to improve and has now been dry both day and night for the past two months. His speech has become much better; sometimes he even forms whole sentences; his mother can understand him better now, and the contact between them has improved. His asthmatic complaints have gone for three months. In January 2004 he left the therapeutic nursery and was enrolled in a school for pupils with learning difficulties, which was more than his parents and carers had ever expected of him. | |
| Then there came a time when he made no further progress, which for me was a sign that he needed a different remedy. He now receives Helium 200K, two globules once a month. I learned about this remedy from my colleague Jan Scholten, who described it in his book "Homeopathy and the Elements". | |
| Nineteen months after the first dose of Helium: Ginuwine is making progress at school and has been promoted to the next class. His speech has improved further, and he now talks at home about various things. At school he is now learning pictograms. He has learned to swim and can ride a bicycle without stabilisers. He is much better able to cope with changes than before. He now also eats vegetables, but still prefers pork chops and other meat. | |
| Five years later: Ginuwine continues to receive a monthly dose of Helium MK. He now speaks spontaneously and describes all the things he experiences at school. He is a happy and content child, despite his parents' divorce a year ago. | |
| Excerpt from an interview with the parents (before their divorce): | |
| Question from the parents to Alex Leupen: Do you have any advice for other parents of autistic children? | |
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Answer from Alex Leupen: As soon as you notice that your child is not developing normally, you must do something. No matter how hard it is, you must try to accept that your child is different and behaves differently. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the better. |
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| Parents: Our son is healthy and happy, and we are glad that we put him in the right place in time. Society often makes demands on us and our children. If, for example, Ginuwine had been born in Africa, there would have been no problem – he would have been accepted into the tribe and taken part in community life. | |
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Question from Alex Leupen to the parents: How do you see the future for Ginuwine? |
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| Answer from the parents: He will probably live in a therapeutic community. At the moment he is learning to read and write. Even at school they could not tell us for certain what further progress he might make; so we are pleased with every small step he makes. | |
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Photo: www.life123.com; Understanding the Autism Spectrum |
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Category: Cases |
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