Danny was a four and a half year-old boy with a delicate frame. He was referred by the family practice physician to a psychiatrist who diagnosed him as autistic. His mother brought him to us in hopes of using natural therapies to treat her son.

Danny's sleep problems started just after his fourth birthday. He woke up at night due to his fear of wind (3) and the noise of cars on highway (3). He awoke with agitation (3) from12:30-1:30 a.m every night (3) and often again at 4:00 or 4:30 a.m.(2) [We noticed that Danny was tensing his mouth periodically in grimace-like gestures.]

Lately noises had started to bother Danny during the daytime. He was scared of the dark (2) because he might run into things. Danny would wake up crying and frightened and would "run madly into his parents' room".

He sometimes talked about kids being mean to him at daycare. He took negative reactions from playmates very personally (3). He cried (3) and became upset easily (3). He was especially upset about six months earlier when his father had to shoot a robin that kept flying into one of the windows of their house. [More grimaces]

Danny was an only child. His parents had been married 16 years and had a good relationship. He liked to be around other children. He was generous with others. Danny was a follower and somewhat shy (2). His mother described him as cautious (3). She could put a new food on his plate forever and he might never eat it. Danny checked things out before advancing (3).

Danny's mother had a normal pregnancy with him. He was born by C-section due to the failure of her cervix to dilate. He weighed 5# 8 oz. at birth. His developmental milestones were normal except tht he was slow learning to talk. By two years three months he'd learned the alphabet and numbers and was beginning to read. He was two years ahead of the other kids at preschool. He had always been very low on the height and weight charts.

Danny talked to himself frequently (2). He repeated to himself what mother says (3). [Counted to himself during the interview]He did this in whispers (2). He was not terribly physically active. Danny's mother said he was passive (3). Most cartoons were too violent for him (3). He asked, "Why are they hitting each other? I don't like them." Danny was very talkative(3). "He could go on and on" according to his mother.

Danny had a history of molluscum contagiousum. In June '91 started wetting bed occasionally. Was on Imipramine 25 mg q.d. for a while, which helped.

He desired chicken noodle soup (2), peanut butter sandwiches (2), sweets (2), and salty (2). He was averse to fats (2) including butter, mayonnaise, cream sauces, and whole milk. His thirst was normal.

Now, study this case and come up with your remedy prescription. Then turn to page ____ for the case analysis.

The first question for us was whether or not the diagnosis of autism was correct. The diagnostic criteria for autism include abnormal social relationships, a language disorder with impaired understanding and echolalia, rituals and compulsive phenomena and impaired intellectual development. The syndrome, diagnosed by 30 months of age, is characterized by extreme aloneness (failure to cuddle, avoidance of eye contact), rituals, repetitive acts, speech and language disorder (varying from total muteness to delayed onset of speech to marked idiosyncratic use of language), and markedly uneven intellectual performance.