Jan 31, 2017
Poor intelligence, unsuitable teaching, could not keep up with normal school
Treating autism, besides addressing the recovery from the disorder, another issue to address is teaching. As autistic patients ‘wake up’ in a world which had been hazy to them, their intelligence would be that of a two- or three-year-old, no matter how old they are. They need to re-learn what they learned before. The boy of this case was seven years old. He also encountered the problem with learning. After the initial treatment was taking effect, if he was not followed up with proper teaching and was enrolled in a normal school instead, it would result in learning difficulties. He would never be able to catch up with the homework and would be miserable.
The first time I met patient, he was weak, shorter than normal children his age and his complexion was green and yellow. He blinked from time to time. He was abnormally active. His hands and feet kept moving. At first glance, it was obvious he had attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD). His mother said that he was born through Caesarean section prematurely. He weighed only four pounds when he was born. At the age of two, he was noticed to have developmental delay. He was slow learning to talk and walk. He had difficulties expressing himself. He also had problems sleeping and woke up easily in the middle of the night. He suffered from eczema on the arms and legs, which was terribly itchy. His lungs were weak and often suffered from cold. He had no asthma. He often took antibiotics for anti-inflammatory purpose and to treat his cold. His bowel movement was not smooth and was often constipated. His feces were mostly granular. When I asked him something, he could answer quickly. When tested on colors, he couldn’t distinguish red from green, indicating he had mild color blindness. His hearing seemed fine and response was normal.
After one week of medication, patient came back for a follow-up visit. He sat across from me, placed his hands gently on my desk and looked at me attentively, not restless like last time. His mother said that her son’s bowel movement had improved and could sleep better at night till the morning. She also said that her son sweated a lot, so much that the pillow was soaked. I explained that that was a very good phenomenon of detoxification and nothing to worry about. I asked patient if he could see things brighter. He replied “yes”. I also asked if he could hear things louder and he said “yes” also. His mother was a bit puzzled with my questions. I explained that children with autism generally experienced significant changes in their hearing and vision after taking the medicine. Although her son could hear, the volume he heard might not be the same as that we heard. He might even hear funny tone and noise. It would take a while, or not until he grew older, for him to describe to us the changes and progress.
Could understand teachers better
I asked patient if he could understand the teachers clearly. He said yes firmly. At the third follow-up visit, he brought a few bottles of urine samples that were brown, indicating stasis discharged from the head. Another bottle contained bloodshot. His blinking and nose squeezing habit had reduced to normal. Due to liver toxins being discharged from the body, eczema appeared around his eyelids and other body parts and was itchy. After a few days, the rashes on his body faded away, only some remained on the eyelid. I asked his mother if she had noticed any particular changes. She was very pleased and said that for the first time in seven years, her son told her that her clothes was pink. All along, he had never been able to identify this color. Apparently, he could distinguish the different shades of red now. After that, I tested him on colors. He only got purple wrong. All other colors he answered correctly. I told his mother to use proper color cardboards when teaching her son and enforce accuracy in order for him to properly identify colors. Due to increased brightness of things he saw, he could distinguish the depth of color. He would need to be taught again to correctly identify the exact color.
At the seventh follow-up visit, it was reported that patient once appeared to have asthma in the past week. His left ear hurt and he had a little fever. That was a phenomenon I call pseudo fever syndrome. Most of the symptoms disappeared in one day, except only pain in the ear, which had reduced. This phenomenon occurred when the medicine was breaking through the auditory nerve blockage. The eczema on the eyelid had also disappeared and there was no more itch. In the past few years, Western doctors had given him different eye drops and steroid drugs. They were ineffective. However, the eczema had largely disappeared after my treatment. I also asked him if he felt that he was more composed and focused. He said yes. Based on patient’s performance, I urged his mother to teach him like he was 2 or 3 years old in order for his academic performance to improve. Once in a language test, he got 60 points. He used to get only 20, so it was a big step forward.
Poor eyesight, could not express
Patient continued to improve in his behavior and cognitive abilities. Compared his performance with that before the treatment, there was a great difference. For example, at each visit, he would take his urine samples out of the plastic bags and arrange them by date with agility. Both vision and hearing had made great progress. His sense of smell and taste also became more acute. The medicine he took tasted bitterer than before. His mother had once taken him for an eye examination. She realized then he could only read up to the fourth line of the eye chart, which was pretty bad. Patient had also had an eye examination when he was two but he was too little then to indicate the problem. In particular, when it was too dark, it was impossible for him to identify the correct color. During the interim of the treatment, I would test him on colors each time. Due to the increase in brightness of what he saw after he had been treated for a while, he could identify all the colors with complete accuracy. Seeing her son’s rapid progress in his vision and color discrimination, she was extremely pleased.
Patient was also very happy with his own progress. I could see from his expression. He even asked his mother whether he could be a prefect if he could learn better in the future. He continued to work hard to improve himself. His mother said that his son did make some progress in his studies. For example, in mathematics, his score was 50. Patient also said that in the past, he could not see things on the sides but now he could, indicating his scope of vision had expanded. In terms of communication, his speech was more coherent and he could better express himself. Due to toxins continued to be discharged from the liver, the eczema often reappeared. When that on the elbows recovered, it would appear on the calves. Patient would scratched it all the time tearing the skin and had transparent fluid secreting. However, after a while, it would disappear.
Became proactive, performed well
At the twelfth follow-up visit, one bottle of patient’s urine sample was brown with uric acid crystals. One bottle was purplish red, one bottle was dark brownish red and the rest were light yellow and orange. In fact, dark red or purplish red urine, indicated blood stasis in the liver being discharged by the medicine. In addition, heart cells that died due to blockage and ischemia would be discharged from the heart. Stasis in the brain would also be discharged. Orange urine indicated stasis discharged from the heart. The color might be deep or light. After prolonged oxidation, the original orange color would become deeper.
Many parents are very concerned about how long the treatment will last. A major issue, undoubtedly, will be that of money, among various other issues. Usually, at the beginning of treatment, I will make it clear to the families of the patients that, based on my many years of experience treating autism and information collected, in order to cure mild autism, it takes at least a year. In my opinion, as long as the patient continues to improve and the parents can support financially, they should persevere with the treatment until patient reaches a minimal self-care ability.
In the later stage of the treatment, patient’s mother said that her son’s learning seemed to have regressed. I explained that it might be due to school holidays that patient could not focus. It could also be because normal fluctuation of the condition. I asked her again if she had tested her son’s response to brightness using the dark room method but she didn’t think it made any sense and did not follow my instruction. Out of impatience, I told her that if she did not feel there was any improvement, she could stop her son’s medication and observe for a while before he continued with the treatment again. She denied her intention to stop treatment. I also pointed out that my responsibility was to treat patients so that the brain function would recover. In the past seven years, patient had not been able to learn the way a normal person does. His cognitive, memory and data storage functions were impaired. The responsibility of teaching would be on the parents. For example, now that he could identify the seven major colors without any problems, he could be taught to identify other more complex colors. I reiterated that she should teach her son like he was three or four years old and allow him to slowly absorb new information. The brain function would then gradually recover. It would be very difficult to cure this disorder without the cooperation and support of the parents.
After listening to me, patient’s mother’s negative attitude had changed. She said she would insist on treatment for her son. Patient did show a little improvement in his academic studies. For example, he could recite the times table and was more focused. His mother said that he never seemed to understand when she tried to teach him. I told her that it was normal and encouraged her to be patient. In the later stage of treatment, his mind gradually became active. He was particularly interested in what was happening around him and often asked me questions. When I examined his sexual organ, it was full and taut. It had begun to develop. As for his eczema, it had not fully recovered because patient did not stop eating fried food. His appetite was incredibly good. It turned out it was because his sense of taste had improved. He ate a lot more and grew taller. He started smelling the odor of his urine. His hearing had also improved. He could hear clearly what the people near him were saying. At the twenty-eighth follow-up visit, he said that he had a heartache at school. Based on blood stain observed on the bottle in his urine sample, I inferred that that was a phenomenon while blood stasis and dead heart cells were being discharged from the heart. Usually, after this phenomenon had occurred, the heart would be strengthened. I told his mother not to worry. As expected, on the following day, everything returned to normal. Patient’s heart did not hurt again.
At an age of seven, patient’s intelligence was like a three- or four-year-old. If he could go to a special school and get more attentive guidance from teachers, he would have better grades. However, he continued to go to a normal school and he felt his grades were never as good as other kids. If this problem was not rectified, he could never catch up with his homework. I repeatedly advised his parents to transfer him to a special school, but they did not listen. Patient was treated from March 10, 2007 to October 20 of the same year. Although he was treated for just over seven months, he made remarkable progress in all aspects. During this period, he was treated 32 times.
By Dr. Au Sik Kee
Jan 31, 2017
Medical record number: 070310
For enquiry, email: sikkeeau@gmail.com