In my years in practise as a homeopath I have seen many cases of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). None were as severe as the case I am presenting now:
Ellie’s Mum contacted me in July this year with concerns over her daughters SPD, emotional meltdowns and aggression. I have never met Ellie and both of our appointments have been carried out online via her Mum.
Ellie is 6 years old. She is a very sensitive child who feels emotions very strongly. She is triggered by noises, over stimulated by screen time and needs to have a set daily routine in order to function. Trips to the shops are impossible. Family holidays are far too overwhelming for her so these don’t happen anymore. Ellie used to be limited by what she could wear, she had a few items of underwear, one dress and flip flops, but she preferred to wear nothing at all, as clothes were such a struggle for her. At this time she hasn't been able to even wear any underwear for 10 months. The situation has rapidly worsened over the last few months and her Mum is very concerned for her, they have been housebound for the last month as Ellie can not wear anything or tolerate sitting in her car seat. They have tried hypnotherapy, but it hasn’t worked, the hypnotherapist said he could cure Ellie after one session so when this didn’t happen Ellie became very anxious and blamed herself and said she had “a stupid brain” and would hit her head and shout at herself.
Ellie’s birth had been a natural water birth but she was bright red and had high bilirubin levels so spent the first 10 days of her life in special care under lights to address the issue. She was separated from her mother, who recalls Ellie being a red and angry baby, she was good in the day as a baby, but would scream all night. Ellie has huge anxiety around going to the doctors and hospitals, she will lash out at medics and try to escape.Any routine trips to the GP for her little brother are hellish for everyone involved.
At home Ellie will behave aggressively and meltdown, screen time will exacerbate this. She feels bad afterwards, or flips into denial mode, but she has no control over herself when she is in a heightened state. She will kick and spit and her meltdowns start with a vocal growling noise, almost like a warning to others. When she is calm she is a lovely girl and she wants to be able to wear clothes and play at the park like other little girls her age.
I feel that Ellie is living in a very heightened state of fear, she struggles to sleep and needs a parent with her and doesn’t like the dark. Whilst from her behaviour it may appear to be anger, this is just how Ellie expresses her feelings of being out of control. She can keep a lid on things to a certain degree, she is calmer at her grandmother's house but as soon as she gets home she has to release her tension that has been bottled up.
I give Ellie a remedy called Stramonium 200c to start with. Stramonium is a remedy of fear and terror. There is a desire to escape from a perceived threat, wildness and aggression are seen, but this is not from anger but fear. Fear and feeling out of control, being expressed as anger is how I saw Ellie’s situation.
I decide its best not to tell Ellie we are treating her for this issue. I do not want to put more pressure on her as she blamed herself after the hypno failed. Mum uses homoepathy a lot with her chidlren so Ellie doesn’t ask what its for.
Follow Up Appointment
A month later Ellie’s mum reported that the meltdowns had stopped for the first few days after the remedy, but were slowly building back up again. Initially Ellie tried on some clothes at home but couldn’t keep them on.
The SPD has intensified and now despite being naked most of the time Ellie is super sensitive to her own skin and body. She can’t lie in bed as says her bum feels uncomfy on the bed. She has sensations of her internal organs and stomach and appears in a very heightened state. She has prickling sensations in her feet, which her Mum notes is interesting because when Ellie was in special care they would perform a heel prick test every hour, this went on for days.
Although this doesn’t appear to be progress, I feel it is, my thoughts are that Ellie has carried this feeling of fear, being alone and out of control since her birth. I repeat the Stramonium but go up in potency, quite high this time.
Today I received a message from Ellie’s mum saying the following:
“Hi Tracy, how are you? Well I hope! El has had her third big dose of stramonium now. We have seen some really promising improvements. She’s going to sleep much more easily and hasn’t been complaining about her bum cheeks being uncomfortable anywhere near as much, she’s been able to wear one scarf as a dress a few times but even more amazing is we went to the shops on Sunday (impossible before) and she chose herself a pair of trainers (3 sizes bigger) that she has been wearing! It’s so amazing as she hasn’t wanted to leave the house and hasn’t worn shoes in weeks. She was able to persist with trying different ones on. We’ve also had a lady round yesterday who is going to make her some clothes. She has had a few more meltdowns the last few days but she’s definitely improved so much since a few weeks ago”
This case is far from finished, but the improvement has been staggering, and it can and will be built upon over the coming months. But all this has been achieved in 2 months using one remedy.
In my mind SPD is merely a symptom, an expression of a deeper seated issue. Not every child with SPD will do well with Stramonium, and I certainly don’t advise self treating at home. But I wanted to present this case as testament to the depth and scope of homeopathy and its ability to heal past trauma and allow the body and mind to express and release trauma in a safe and non medicated way.
Ellie is wearing shoes, going to the shops, facing situations that would have been impossible just a few weeks ago. I look forward to keeping this blog updated with her progress.
If your child is suffering from SPD, or struggles emotionally with life, please do get in touch for a chat about what homeopathy can do for you.
inspiredhomeopathy@gmail.com
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