Sensory integration is the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and the environment, thus making it possible to use the body effectively within the environment. Specifically, it deals with how the brain processes multiple sensory modality inputs into usable functional outputs. It has been believed for some time that inputs from different sensory organs are processed in different areas in the brain. Most of us unconsciously learn to combine our senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, balance, body in space) in order to make sense of our environment. We use our multiple senses to take in this varied information, and combine them to give us a clear understanding of the world around us. We learn during childhood how to do this. Thus, through childhood experiences we gain the ability to use all of our senses together to plan a response to anything we notice in our environment . Children with autism are less capable of this kind of synthesis and therefore they may have trouble responding appropriately to differently stimuli. Sensory integration therapy is a type of occupational therapy (OT) that places a child in a room specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses. During the session, the therapist works closely with the child to encourage movement within the room. Sensory integration therapy is based on the assumption that the child is either over stimulated or under stimulated by the environment. Therefore, the aim of sensory integration therapy is to improve the ability of the brain to process sensory information so that the child will function better in his daily activities. HOMOEOPATHY AND SENSORY INTEGRATION THERAPY: Homoeopathy has a command over the impaired sensory defences. Homoeopathic literature is rich with drugs that can modify and integrate the senses effectively. Homoeopathic medicines point out to various impaired sensory symptoms like sensitive to touch, fear of height, fear of downward motion, sensitive to tight clothing, Oversensitive to noise. Children with above mentioned symptoms improve significantly after Homoeopathic medications. Many children who had come to us with various sensory issues like sensitive to touch, noise, smell etc improved tremendously under homoeopathic treatment. A combined effort of Homoeopathy and sensory integration therapy enhances the integration of senses.
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Homoeopathy & Special Education
HOMOEOPATHY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION/REMEDIAL EDUCTION:
Children with learning disability are in need of remediation. Remedial education along with homoeopathic medicine proved to be very effective in learning disorder. Whereas in cases of mental retardation, slow learners, autistic children with mental retardation special education is needed. Special education along with homoeopathic medicine improves cognition and skills like,pre writing skills, pre reading skills, pre arithmetic skills,attending skills, imitation skills, receptive by function, receptive by class, pre academic skills like identification of colors and shapes, functional academics skills, academic skills, pre math skill, compute skills, choice making skills, independent working skills, kitchen skills, domestic skills, activities of daily living, visual perception which includes visual motor skills, visual closure, social skills, play skill.. When special education is given to child with along with homeopathic medications it enhances the learning and develops the above mentioned skills.
HOMOEOPATHY & SAND THERAPY
HOMOEOPATHY & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
The main aim of Occupational Therapy is to increase the participation and quality of performance of specific functional tasks. The outcome of treatment varies depending on the individual child, however, benefits may include include:
- Greater independence in age appropriate tasks, such as washing or dressing
- Improved fine motor skills seen in handling of small objects or in handwriting
- Widening the range of meaningful activities your child is able to engage in
- Greater social participation and play skills
- For older children, greater independence in more complex activities such as homework planning or money management
- Better tolerate sensory stimuli such as washing hair, cutting fingernails, eating a variety of food textures, tolerating loud or background noises
- Improved access to the within the school and home
- Enhanced quality of life and self esteem
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY WHEN DONE WITH HOMOEOPATHY MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!
- Problems in Gross Motor Skills– Difficulty in jumping, hopping, one leg standing catching & throwing ball, cycling, Easily fatigued during play,Avoids group games,Losses balance easily & frequent falls,Clumsy & drops objects from hands
–Occupational therapy when done with Homoeopathic treatment improves the gross motor skills. We have seen the rate and speed of improvement in many children who was taking Homoeopathy along with occupational therapy compared to the children taking only occupational therapy. Homoeopathy enhances the process and makes the work easier for the therapist.
- Problems in Fine motor Skills-Difficulty in daily activities like buttoning, tying shoe lace,Inappropriate handwriting – poor pencil grasp, less pressure while writing,Weak hand grasp,Difficulty in manipulating objects in hand,Difficulty in cutting with scissors, eating with spoon.
–Occupational therapy with Homoeopathy enhances the fine motor skills. We have seen children who were previously not able to button, poor handwriting, improved significantly after starting homoeopathy with occupational therapy.
- Problems in Oral Motor Skills– Difficulty in chewing, sucking and blowing,Oral hypo/hyper sensitivity.
Occupational therapy with homoeopathy increases the oral motor.Many children with cerebral palsy suffer from difficulty , sucking, as a result of hypotonia leading to drooling of saliva. Under occupational equipment like chewy and Homoeopathy improves significantly all the above mentioned complaint.
Some autistic children and cerebral palsy children present with hypo or hyper sensitivity of oral leading behaviours like Self biting, biting others etc. Homoeopathy has a command over the altered sensitivity. Homoeopathy brings back the sensitivity to normalcy and prevents self biting.
HOMOEOPATHY AND SPEECH THEAPY
SPEECH DISORDERS AND HOMOEOPATHY
Speech consist of
ü Phonation- the process of sound production
ü Resonance, intonation, the variation of pitch, and voice
Language consist of
Phonology– The manipulation of sound according to the rules of the language
Morphology– The understanding and use of the minimal units of meaning
Syntax– the Grammar or principles and rules for constructing sentences in languages
Semantics– the interpretation of meaning from the signs or symbols of communication
Pragmatics– the Social aspects of communication
Speech disorders usually includes:
- Childhood apraxia of speech
- Dysarthria
- Orofacial myofunctional disorders
- Speech sound disorders: articulation and phonological processes
- Stuttering
- Voice
Language Disorders includes:
- Language Based Learning disabilities
- Preschool Language Disorders
- Selective Mutism
Medical and Developmental conditions:
- Attention Deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Autism
- Cleft lip and palate
- Right hemisphere brain injury
- Traumatic brain injury
An infant who isn’t responding to sound or who isn’t vocalizing is of particular concern. Between 12 and 24 months, reasons for concern include a child who:
- isn’t using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye by 12 months
- prefers gestures over vocalizations to communicate by 18 months
- has trouble imitating sounds by 18 months
- has difficulty understanding simple verbal requests
Please seek an evaluation and Start Homoeopathic Treatment with Speech therapy if a child over 2 years old:
- can only imitate speech or actions and doesn’t produce words or phrases spontaneously
- says only certain sounds or words repeatedly and can’t use oral language to communicate more than his or her immediate needs
- can’t follow simple directions
- has an unusual tone of voice (such as raspy or nasal sounding)
- Is more difficult to understand than expected for his or her age. Parents and regular caregivers should understand about half of a child’s speech at 2 years and about three quarters at 3 years. By 4 years old, a child should be mostly understood, even by people who don’t know the child.
Delayed Speech:
A delay in speech development may be a symptom of many disorders, including mental retardation, hearing loss, an expressive language disorder, psychosocial deprivation, autism, selective mutism, receptive aphasia and cerebral palsy. Speech delay may be secondary to maturation delay or bilingualism.. Timely detection and early intervention may mitigate the emotional, social and cognitive deficits of this disability and improve the outcome.
Speech is the motor act of communicating by articulating verbal expression, whereas language is the knowledge of a symbol system used for interpersonal communication.In general, a child is considered to have speech delay if the child’s speech development is significantly below the norm for children of the same age. A child with speech delay has speech development that is typical of a normally developing child of a younger chronologic age; the speech-delayed child’s skills are acquired in a normal sequence, but at a slower-than-normal rate.
Speech delay has long been a concern of physicians who care for children. The concern is well founded, because a number of developmental problems accompany delayed onset of speech. In addition, speech delay may have a significant impact on personal, social, academic and, later on, vocational life. Early identification and appropriate intervention may mitigate the emotional, social and cognitive deficits of this disability and may improve the outcome.
HOMOEOPATHY AND SPEECH THERAPY:
The role of Homoeopathy and speech therapy is a vital one. Among the most important function perhaps be for children who speak late. These late starters need support and proper care that will not only help them begin talking, but also help with the psychological part of communicating late.
Along with Homoeopathy a speech pathologist will help the child to form the proper speech sounds and design a regime that will help exercise the vocal chords.
Homoeopathy literature is rich with drugs indicated for speech difficulties example: child with stammering speech would require medicine like strammonium, nux vomica, belladonna etc with individualizing symptom. Tremendous improvement is seen when speech therapy and homoeopathic medication are given simultaneously.
A CASE OF DELAYED SPEECH TREATED WITH HOMOEOPATHY FROM OUR EXPERIENCE:
Mast.jg. (in Mumbai) who was 2 and half years old came to us with the parents complaining that their child has not started speaking yet. A full case taking was done covering both clinical and homoeopathic history. There were no other medicinal cause, or secondary cause with the speech delay.
AFTER CASE PROCESSING WE ADMINISTRATED THE CONSTITUTIONAL HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICATION AND ADVICED THE PARENTS TO GET A SPEECH THERAPIST APPOINTMENT AND START SPEECH THERAPY ALONG WITH HOMOEOPATHY. TO OUR SURPRISE THE CHILD STARTED SPEAKING THE FIRST WORD WITHIN A WEEK OF ADMINISTRATING HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICATION.THE PARENTS HAVE NOT EVEN VISITED THE SPEECH THERAPIST YET. THE PATIENT STARTED IMPROVING IN SPEECH TREMENDOUSLY WITHIN 3MONTHS.
THIS CASE IS A LIVING EXAMPLE TO SHOW THE POWER OF HOMOEOPATHY OVER SPEECH DISORDERS. HOWEVER WE RECOMMEND THAT A COMBINED EFFORT OF HOMOEOPATHY AND SPEECH THERAPY IS IDEAL AND MORE HOLISTIC WAY OF APPROACH. THOUGH HOMOEOPATHY CAN ALONE FINISH THE JOB, SPEECH THERAPY WILL ENHANCE AND TEACH THE CHILD HOW TO SPEAK!
WE HAVE ALSO WITNESSED MANY AUTISTIC CHILDREN WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY TAKING ONLY SPEECH THERAPY, NOW STARTED SPEAKING AFTER STARTING HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICATION.
Homoeopathy prevents Recurrent respiratory tract infection
Homoeopathy enhances the process of growth and Development
The term Growth implies a net increase in the size or mass of tissue and occurs due to multiplication of cells and an increase in the intracellular substance.
Development is defined as maturation of functions. It depends on maturation and myelination of the nervous system and denotes acquisition of a variety of competencies for optimal functioning of the individual
Normal Developmental Range:
Growth and Development:
Growth and Development (0-5 Yrs)
All development takes place according to certain principles some of which Are as follows:
1. All growth and development follow an orderly sequence. A child can sit only when the muscles of the back are ready to support the body.
2. Each child normally passes through a number of stages, each with its own essential characteristics.
3. There are individual differences in development. Every child grows at his own pace. You know that children start walking by the time they are one year old but you may have also noticed that some are early and others are late.
4. Though the human being develops as a unified whole, each part of the body develops at different rates. Basically there are two sequences in the rate of development.
(a) Cephalocaudal i.e. development proceeds from head to toe. The head
and brain develops first, then the torso, the neck etc.
(b) Proximodistal i.e. development proceeds from centre to extremeties.
The child first gains control over the spine, then arms, then fingers.
5. Development is essentially the result of the interaction between maturation and learning. While maturation is the ‘unfolding of characteristics potentially present in the individual’s genetic endowment’, learning refers to the “relatively” enduring changes that come about as a result of experience and practise.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
(i) Heredity – It is the process by which the features and characteristics
are passed from parents to the child before the child is born. Thus features like the colour of the skin and eyes, the height, body build, intellect and talents, etc., are all fixed and no one can change them beyond a limit.
(ii) Prenatal environment – This is the environment of the foetus in the womb. If the mother gets poor nutrition, is emotionally upset or smokes, drinks, or takes some medicine or suffers from certain diseases, the growth of the child can be adversely affected.
(iii) Nutrition – Proper nutrition is essential for the healthy development of the child. A malnourished child’s growth may be retarded or slow.
(iv) Intelligence – Higher intelligence is associated with faster development while lower intelligence is associated with retardation in various aspects of development.
(v) Emotional climate of home – If there is a lot of discord/fights at home or the child is not given enough love and attention or there is physical/ mental abuse of the child, then the child’s development is adversely affected.
(vi) Health of the child – If the child frequently falls sick, suffers from some disorder, is disabled or has disturbed endocrine functioning, the development is likely to suffer.
(vii) Level of stimulation – The amount of stimulation the environment provides to the child i.e., the opportunities for exploration of environment, opportunities of interaction with other people, etc., all influence the rate of development.
(viii) Socio-economic status – It also influences the development by deciding the kind of nutrition, stimulation, facilities, opportunities, genetic endowment the child gets.
(ix) Sex – All children follow the same sequence of development. However, certain skills are faster in girls than in boys and some other skills are faster in boys than girls. For example, language acquisition is faster in girls and skills like jumping catching, throwing are faster in boys. Sex is also a factor that decides the potential of a child in physical
development – boys grow up to be taller, heavier and more muscular
than girls.
HOMOEOPATHY IN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT:
- Homoeopathy enhances the process of growth and Development
- Homoeopathy helps children to achieve the optimal level of growth appropriate for their age
- Homoeopathy effectively handles the factors that block the process of growth and development like malnutrition, Chronic disease like tuberculosis, endocrine disorders etc
- Homoeopathy not only focus to increase the weight or height, but acts holistically and takes care of all the underlying factors, and leads the child further towards health and cure.
- Homoeopathy constitutional medicine acts deep and enhances the absorption of nutrition the child already has been taking
Homoeopathy increases resistance power and prevents from frequent illness
Implication of Homoeopathy & Psychometric Assesment
PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT AND HOMOEOPATHY:
Psychometric Assessment plays a major role in 1.Diagnosis 2.Treatment 3.Prognosis
The psychometric Assessment is done by professionally trained CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST.
DIAGNOSIS:
- In terms of diagnosis- psychometric assessment helps to confirm the Provisional diagnosis made by the physician and gives Final diagnosis
- In cases of autism psychometric assessment helps in diagnosing and grading into mild, moderate, severe and also points to the area mostly affected like communication, socialization, etc
- In cases of scholastic backwardness, psychometric assessment plays a major role in assessing the IQ and later learning disability tests for the children who have normal IQ. Thus it helps us to group the children into mentally retarded, slow learners, Learning disorders.
- It helps to confirm the diagnosis of various behavioural disorders like ADHD, ODD-oppositional defiant disorder, Conduct disorder etc.
TREATMENT:
- Psychometric Assessment helps in deciding the management strategy and treatment planning
- For example a child being diagnosed as Learning disorder through psychometric assessment will be advised for Homoeopathy and Remedial Education whereas a Child who is diagnosed as slow learner will be advised for Homoeopathy and Special education.
PROGNOSIS:
- After starting Homoeopathic medications, the progress of the child will be monitored by not only Homoeopathic scientific tool like RREF but also by psychometric tools like ATEC etc.
- Re-evaluation and psychometric reassessment is a vital part of Homoeopathic follow-ups and helps to confirm that the child is travelling towards the path of Cure.
- Many children who took Homoeopathic treatment from us showed a Decrease in autistic scores after treatment.