In August 2012 a friend of American–Haitian descent asked me to treat her son because of his marked shyness. He often locked himself in his room and had no friends. Billy (name changed), his mother told me, refused to speak.
Before my first conversation with Billy she gave me some background information. In the third month of her pregnancy with Billy she had been in a nasty car accident. She believes that “my father‑in‑law has it in for me; he wanted to get rid of me so my husband could marry another woman.” During the pregnancy she hardly gained any weight and Billy was delivered by caesarean section because of a placenta praevia.
As an infant Billy was constantly hungry. He was breastfed for almost a year and ate whatever was offered to him. He always greedily finished his bottle.
Serious developmental disturbances occurred with regard to his sound and speech development. At about two years old Billy began to “act up”, screaming and having (temper) tantrums. His mother was told that Billy was unable to articulate his needs and therefore had to let out his frustration. Because of his learning difficulties Billy received an individual educational plan.
Billy found it difficult to form relationships with other children. He didn’t know how to communicate with them. As a result he would either throw things at them or start to cry. In addition to his speech problems he could not eat without the food coming back up through his nose.
There were also marked developmental delays in toilet training. Billy was not dry until the age of 11; his mother believes he is afraid of touching himself.
He snores in his sleep. His mother added that he is afraid of beetles, ants, bees, butterflies, cockroaches and even the tiniest flies.
Billy was born with a short lingual frenulum and had a frenotomy (division of the tongue‑tie) 12 months before our first appointment. He speaks to his teachers at school only when absolutely necessary. When he does speak, then — as his mother described it — very, very quietly: “I always have to ask him to repeat everything because I don’t understand what he says.” Then she told a story: “Billy and his sister both had new fixed braces fitted a few weeks ago. At home my daughter screamed in pain. She was so loud and screamed unbearably. But Billy didn’t make a sound. When I asked if it hurt he only said ‘No’ or ‘a little’. A few days later my husband came home and checked on Billy. We discovered his gums and cheeks were full of ulcers because of the brace. The point is, if we hadn’t checked, Billy would never have told us he was in pain.”
I asked Billy’s mother about his relationship with other children. She reported that he is very popular with his classmates because he is “so quiet”. “So, Billy likes to tell me who in his class is dating who… which boy likes which girl… But he never tells me who he likes… I would love it if Billy would smile or learn to greet others, at school or generally. I would also like him to be able to look people in the eye when they speak, to start a conversation with friends, to speak loudly and confidently and not be afraid of looking stupid in front of others. It would also be nice if he could sit up straight at the school table when eating — he always looks as if he would prefer to hide under the table.”
Billy would like to take part in a speech contest at his school, but he can’t even speak properly yet. “I had to withdraw him from the contest.”
His mother continued: “Billy has been in the school choir for two years but hasn’t opened his mouth once, neither at rehearsals nor at performances. It’s so bad that other parents come up to me and ask if something is wrong with Billy or if he doesn’t feel comfortable in the choir. Yet it was Billy’s express wish to sing in the choir. If I threaten to take him out of the choir he gets sad and immediately starts to cry.”
Billy strongly desires coffee, but doesn’t like tomatoes or pickles. He is very thirsty.
The conversation with Billy took place via Skype, which of course under the circumstances was far from ideal. My strategy was to lead as little as possible and simply see what Billy did of his own accord.
Initial consultation on 9 August 2012
Billy says: “I like to write my own stories. Sometimes I also like video games and I draw. I love my dogs. Sometimes, when I have time, I like to meet my friends. I play the piano. I walk. I played on my school’s basketball team, so I kind of like basketball. I can also play football well. I like art and I like to play on my computer. I like The Hunger Games. There’s also that TV series NCIS (about the Navy’s military law enforcement). I like calling my friends, texting them. I really like the Harry Potter films. I like to play video games with my sister. I’d like to be a film director; I’d like to write stories and screenplays. Sometimes I also like to ride my bike. And I like motorcycles. I like watching TV and I go to the … school (a private school). I like that school. It’s cool there. I have lots of friends. I like playing dodgeball with my friends and paintball. I like reading books and comics. I like going away with my family. I like comedies, PlayStation 3.”
Doug Brown (DB): Is there anything you don’t like?
Billy (B): When people argue, or friends argue. When the dogs dig a hole and run off, that’s terrible for me. But we always find them again. When my big sister drives. I always hope she drives carefully, I worry about her.
When I had my operation it was unpleasant. I wasn’t that scared, just a little scared. Something could have gone wrong. But nothing went wrong.
DB: What do you like most about The Hunger Games?
B: Only one survives. I like the action. It captivates the audience. I like to swim with manatees. Once I nearly freaked out because the swimming pool seemed endlessly deep. I could have drowned. When the dog was injured I worried. What could have happened?
I dream about my friends. About me on a TV show. I dream that I can do anything. I dream about my best friend. Maybe he won’t come back, I don’t know. I’d be sad, but it was his choice. I won’t be angry with him. A little sad, yes. He isn’t my only best friend.
If you are nice to them they are nice to you. They are funny.
If friends argue, I tell them to agree. It scares me a bit. What could happen next?
DB: Tell me about your family. What do you do?
B: The worst is when my sisters argue. Sometimes I argue too, but not always. I’d like to be able to argue with words…
DB: What’s worst for you?
B: When I speak loudly people say “shh”. Some of my friends cause a lot of trouble. They behave badly. If they have to stay behind they might get expelled from school. I could lose a friend.
Case analysis
Billy told me more than I had expected. He often paused for long stretches between his stories, but by listening patiently and expectantly he would start talking again. His spontaneous reports were often disjointed, which made his behaviour seem somewhat random.
After the history I prescribed Billy Magnesium iodatum 1M for his worsening due to arguments, his isolation and his large appetite. Iodum, as a halogen in the fifth row (the silver series), would cover his speech problems. In hindsight I can say that this remedy does not cover many aspects of the case and that my choice of the symptom “worsening due to arguments” as a central rubric seems questionable.
16 October 2012
Billy says: My sister was in a car accident. I had to check if she was okay. At first I was curious whether she was injured. A guy tricked her and wanted her money.
Next Monday we get our reports. In maths I first had better grades, then worse. I get a “C”. School is getting harder. If I don’t do well in Year 6 it will be even harder in Year 7.
I am frustrated. Learn how to deal with it. I’m curious about the second semester. I love sometimes playing the piano. I have piano lessons every Wednesday. There is this police officer called (name not clear). On Friday we’re going to my aunt’s wedding. I will either be a director or join the air force.
I like the book “Maximum Ride”. Seven angel kids who go on adventures. The series was pretty good. I like The Avengers too. Every superhero has their own film. It’s well done, getting all the actors to play their parts.
DB: Tell me about the air force?
B: Planes fly, fighter jets fly. Transport people back and forth. Serve the USA. I am reading “Confessions of a Murder Suspect”. Someone is accused even though they didn’t commit the crime.
DB: Tell me about situations you really don’t like.
B: When we get a test back. And reports. When we let the dogs out. Sometimes they dig holes.
DB: What bothers you about the holes?
B: Sometimes snakes or frogs come into the yard.
DB: Tell me something about frogs.
B: Frogs are disgusting. (For the first time Billy becomes lively). They can jump everywhere. They drive me crazy! They are revolting. My mother once scattered something so that all the frogs would die.
DB: Revolting?
B: They carry diseases. You have to wash your hands.
DB: Do frogs have any good side?
B: They eat the beetles.
DB: Can you tell me one of your dreams?
B: A dog could talk. It was funny. A tower fell down. I was standing on top. I had to jump down, or climb down as fast as possible. I could save myself, or I would have been crushed.
DB: What is the most revolting animal in the world?
B: A lizard. It wriggles and writhes. If you cut off the tail it still moves. Lizards can grow new tails. Nobody is used to limbs that have been cut off still moving.
DB: What is more revolting? A lizard or a frog?
B: Frogs are more revolting. Lizards are kind of cool.
Case analysis
In this conversation the sudden, jumpy and random nature of his speech was even more evident. In the opening sentences, when he reported his sister’s car accident, a victim–attacker theme emerged: “A guy tricked her and wanted her money.” Remember the mother’s story of having been in a car accident during pregnancy. Significantly, she believes that the accident was instigated by her father‑in‑law because he wanted to get rid of her.
Given that Billy’s main complaint is his lack of speech ability, you as reader might wonder why I did not concentrate further on a remedy from the fifth row of the periodic table, the silver series. Billy’s surprising loquacity during our conversation made it clear that the real problem was not his deficient speaking ability per se but his own feelings about speaking in different social contexts. As he put it at the end of our initial consultation: “When I speak loudly people say ‘shh’.” “Some of my friends cause a lot of trouble. They behave badly. If they don’t have to stay behind they might be expelled from school. I could lose a friend.”
Billy’s intense fear of and reaction to frogs was the outstanding, odd and remarkable symptom. I thought about the natural behaviour of frogs: there are dominant males (very demonstrative) and at the same time more passive males that invade another male’s territory, sit beside the dominant male and wait until he yields his place.
I then considered the peculiarities of Billy’s speech more closely. He jumps about incoherently, just as frogs do as part of their survival strategy. I also recalled his mother’s description (he isolates himself) and much of what he told did not correspond to the truth. We therefore have deception here, a typical trait of reptiles and probably amphibians as well. This became very clear when I asked him which animal was more revolting — lizard or frog. He almost reflexively wanted to say lizard but then chose frog. I interpret his dream about a talking dog also as a pointer to the animal realm and to the theme of language and whether it is acceptable or even possible to speak at all.
Prescription: As I could not find a pharmacy producing the North American bullfrog as a homeopathically potentised remedy, I asked his mother to write the term Rana catesbeiana 1M on a piece of paper and place a glass of water on it. The glass should stand for at least an hour so that the contact with the written word could have sufficient effect. Afterwards she was to give Billy a tablespoon of the water.
Follow‑ups
Two weeks later: Billy seems happier. He talked spontaneously and was not so jumpy. He told me about some happy dreams he had had. His mother reported that he had become more playful and could even make jokes. Most important of all, he did not isolate himself so much. To his family’s surprise he even danced at a wedding. His mother describes it as a 180° turnaround.
Six weeks later, 11 December 2012: We met again on Skype. Billy again looked very content. When I asked him what had weighed on him most since our last conversation, he told me about a presentation he had to give in class: “I was nervous, but I dared to do it. I did well. I was relieved!”
“Would you still describe yourself as shy?” I asked.
“I’ve pretty much left that behind,” Billy replied.
I spoke again with his mother. She confirmed that Billy had made great progress. He still gets moody sometimes, but it passes. “He has opened up much more compared with before. He has become more sociable, more open and talks more.” In an email she wrote: “Lately I am very pleased with Billy’s progress. It’s as if he has left the shadow behind. He laughs out loud now. He jokes with his sisters and sometimes teases them, but in a nice way. At the moment we always have to laugh when Billy says something funny because we are just not used to him saying anything at all! Together with his sisters he sang pop songs in his room all afternoon today, phoned friends and is even looking forward to Christmas and his birthday. I am very optimistic about his progress.”
12 February 2013: “I talk a lot and it feels good. Also I now meet girls. I had two dreams. In the first dream I was in a car on a bridge. There was a lot of traffic. I had no control over myself and over what I was doing. It was all very confused. In the second dream I was on a school camp with my class near an airport. I went into a building to get my bag. It was the same place as in the other dream. But this time I had everything under control. I was very calm.”
DB: How are you doing with regard to frogs?
B: I don’t see them so often any more. They don’t scare me.
16 February 2015: More than two years after the treatment I wrote a short email to Billy’s mother to ask how he was. She wrote: “Billy is doing AMAZINGLY well. Thank you for your support; you helped him a great deal.”
Reflections on Rana catesbeiana
As far as I know the remedy was prescribed by me before there were triturations or provings. It is interesting to compare this case with the results of the proving carried out by Roland Günther. The theme of sexuality — an important theme in the proving — was present in this boy as well, but more hidden. The patient’s age — he was only 12 — must of course be taken into account. Nevertheless, the mother spontaneously mentioned that, despite his withdrawnness, Billy liked to talk about the flirtations in his class. After the remedy was given he freely told me that he now liked meeting girls.
Roland Günther describes shamelessness, emotional coldness and a desire to intrude into other people without showing empathy. This aspect was not obvious in our case, but Billy’s pleasure in murder stories, attacks and his almost clinical curiosity about his sister’s car accident suggest these character traits. He used the term “curious” several times. In this context it is interesting to note that frogs are often used as objects of research and dissected in science lessons (even in younger school years). The frog is placed motionless and finally killed by inserting a pin into the brainstem.
In further correspondence with Roland other similarities between his proving and my case observations became apparent: the theme of lizards and snakes, and jumping and hopping movements.
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Photos
Shutterstock: Little boy reading under the cover; simona pilolla 2
Wikimedia Commons: Lithobates catesbeianus; Buchanan Bill; Public domain
Category: Cases
Keywords: excessive shyness; isolation; speech disorders, developmental disorders; fear of frogs and beetles; bullfrog
Remedy: Rana catesbeiana
Original article: Interhomeopathy.org
