have you used complimentary therapy?

[JsMum]

I am looking into some complimentary therapy for J and wondered if your children have had any and was there any benefits and if you havent why that is.

 

The therapy that I am looking into is a combination of reflexology and some tapping exercises.

 

I dont know how J will react yet and as he has sensory issues I dont know if he will want to give it a go.

 

I have looked at cranial therapy but its too expensive, but may look into it in the future.

 

I am just interested in anybody who uses complimentary therapy and what it is and what benefits there is.

 

JsMum

[Bagpuss]

I've not tried complimentary therapy for my children.....although i know people who regularly use it themselves and are big fans.

 

Would be intrigued to know how it goes, so please keep us posted

[justamom]

Yeah i have used complimentary therapy for my son... My mother is a reflexologist and armotherapist, and I swear by alternative medicine!!!!

[Kazzen161]

My two AS sons have had cranial osteopathy, and it has had a calming effect on both + they enjoyed it. It was no more expensive than other treatments. After the initial treatments, they don't need to have it done very often (eg: three times a year).

 

One of my sons had one session of kinesiology - which was very interesting and confirmed that he had an intolerance to wheat and milk (I already suspected that). He took a flower remedy and we used the recomended vitamin/mineral solution for a few years, and they did seem to help. T refused to go again, cos he wa a bit freaked that he had no control over his limbs (eg: he was trying to push against her hand adn he couldn't).

 

R was taught the tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) by the Autism Outreach worker. It did not really work for him, as he thought it was mad, he didn't really have the skills to decide when he needed to use it and he thought other people woudl think he was a bit weird if he did it in class. I have found some of the strategies useful when I am stressed though!

 

I had reflexology myself and didn't enjoy it even though I like having my feet rubbed.

 

McTimony Chiropractice is something that sounds interesting.

 

Karen

[stressedmumto2]

My son had cranial massage when he was a baby about 8 months, he never slept well, never ate well and was a bit of a whingy baby so I took him along. He had it for quite a few months but it didn't make that much difference.

 

I am looking into reiki. I had it done myself a few months back and I had the best nights sleep ever, it was weird and emotional but it was quite nice too, the therapist told me that if children get emotional or angry she allows them to hit a pillow etc.

 

Also when he was much younger we got through alot of lavander oil which was a godsend.

 

Best of luck and let us know how it goes <'>

[KarenT]

I've been taking J to a cranial osteopath since July 05. Initially I was impressed by how settled J was afterwards but more recently there's been less effect. However, he's been higher generally so that could explain it. For a while now the osteo has been saying that there's a toxic element to J's problems and last session he began working on opening up the lymph system for better drainage, and that's where he'll continue from now on unless he gets sent off in another direction. From what I gather all complementary therapies are patient-led and the therapist doesn't really know how they'll treat until they begin. We too only see our osteo occasionally - about every six to eight weeks at present.

 

Recently I took him to see a complementary therapist at our (not so) local autism trust. I don't know what the method was called but she took photographs of his eyes and studied them, picking up deficiencies and sensitivities from what she saw. She recommended seeing a cranial osteo, not knowing that we already did. J is on gf diet but she found indications of leaky gut so recommended a powdered probiotic to help heal it. She also did an emotional assessment and gave a blend of flower remedies to address self-esteem, anger etc. I don't know if it's just coincidence but the last two weeks have been peace and calm (relatively speaking, of course) so I'm glad we saw her.

 

It's always worth looking up a therapist on the internet if you can, or going to someone you've been recommended by another patient. There are a lot of flaky types out there and anyone can do a six week course in aromatherapy and set themselves up in practice, so it's best to check.

 

Karen

x

[sue1957]

Recently I took him to see a complementary therapist at our (not so) local autism trust. I don't know what the method was called but she took photographs of his eyes and studied them, picking up deficiencies and sensitivities from what she saw.

 

Iridology is analysing the iris of the eye. Very useful tool, can also be done by a therapist using a special iridology torch and making notes on an iridology chart of what they see, but using the camera is much easier, and probably the ony way of using iridology with some clients. A tool for information gathering, it can give a lead on what questions to ask, or contribute to information taken in a case history, and give pointers to possible avenues of treatment. Really interesting subject.

[KarenT]

Wow, thanks for that Sue! Have just googled it for more reading. Looks like a very interesting topic.

 

I'll stop hijacking now...

 

Karen

x

[butterfingersbimbo]

i took el to a chiropractor once she refused to go a second time.....she did do something near el's neck / jaw line.....she said it wasnt lined up properly. el nearly flew out of there it really freaked her out.....she is very funny about being touched so i should have known it would be a bad idea really but MIL sent me an article about the top gear bloke (quentin ?) whose son was dx autism and adhd...anyway they took him to one and he was cured......

[jb1964]

My son had cranial massage when he was a baby about 8 months, he never slept well, never ate well and was a bit of a whingy baby so I took him along. He had it for quite a few months but it didn't make that much difference.

 

I took my daughter (13) when she was around 18mths old for the same reasons but unfortunately he wouldn't do anything at the time as he said she was really a little too old for it - she was extremely distressed when I took her there and he thought it would do more damage than good. I often wished that I'd heard about it earlier and whether it would have made any difference.

 

 

I am looking into reiki. I had it done myself a few months back and I had the best nights sleep ever, it was weird and emotional but it was quite nice too;

 

My friend has recently started this a few months back and she swears by it - reckons it's the best thing she's ever done - to be honest I'm quite swayed myself - but would have to build up to opening myself up like that to someone face to face.

 

Take care,

Jb

[sue1957]

I can do basic iridology, and I've used stress management (particularly reducing chemical and electromagnetic stress), nutrition, colour therapy, light therapy, flower essences (Bach rescue, but otherwise the Masters range, orange, lettuce, spinach, coconut, etc - I'm a foodie ), homeopathic treatment (one formula specifically relating to dehydration and also adrenal exhaustion), took them for food sensitivity testing using bioresonance, and I've given the occasional foot or head massage. I keep some homeopathic remedies such as arnica and apis and chamomilla, and a couple of relaxing aromatherapy oils.

[Kazzen161]

>>as he said she was really a little too old for it

 

that's strange, cos my eldest had cranial osteopathy til he was about 11, and my 13 year old still has it some times. It can be used on any age of person, though perhaps he meant it was a bit late for it to have much effect on her sleeping?

 

One of our cranial osteopaths thinks all new-borns shoudl have a check for free in the hospital. The bones in the skull overlap during birth, but should sort themselves out soon after the baby is born. I read that the first cry can help with this (my eldest didn't cry when he was born - just came out and had a look around!). Wanting to constantly suck is one sign of problems, as apparently it relieves the discomfort that out-of-alignment skull bones cause (due to the fact the cerebro-spinal fluid can't flow round the brain as well as it should). If the skull bones are all aligned properly, the brain can work at it's best.

 

Karen

[jb1964]

>>as he said she was really a little too old for it

that's strange, cos my eldest had cranial osteopathy til he was about 11, and my 13 year old still has it some times. It can be used on any age of person, though perhaps he meant it was a bit late for it to have much effect on her sleeping?

Karen

 

Hi Karen,

 

When we talked about this he was really referring to the fact that she wouldn't co-operate - she became very distressed when he tried and thought that perhaps if she had been younger when he first saw her she may have gotten used to it (if you know what I mean).

 

As for her sleeping - she didn't get any better til she was nearly 4.

 

Thanks,

Take care,

Jb

[KarenT]

I was told that cranial osteopathy is most effective on children before their adult teeth have come through. After that the jaw sort of heals over and it doesn't work as well. It's true that CO can be done on adults but it's most effective on children, the younger the better.

 

Karen

x

[sue1957]

http://www.upledger.com/Clinic/autism.htm

 

has quite an interesting article on craniosacral therapy and autism. (I think the difference between a craniosacral therapist and a cranial osteopath is that the craniosacral therapist studies cranial work exclusively. Cranial osteopaths I think train initially in osteopathy, and then do postgraduate training in cranial work.)

 

Its interesting that that he is prepared to train parents to give their own children craniosacral treatments between sessions re-evaluated by a therapist.

 

I've recently met a craniosacral therapist who gives free craniosacral checks to babies under 6 weeks old.

[zaman]

I've been taking my AS son to a cranial osteopath every six weeks for nearly a year now, and I think it has really helped him, particulalry around his sensory integration issues. For example within a couple of weeks of starting treatment he allowed us to cut his hair with the clippers, wheras before it was just hell for all involved. He also appears to be calmer.

 

I started to go to the CO as well due to suffering from headaches two or three times a week. When I have the treatment I can go for weeks without having a headache. But because I wasn't working until recently I stopped going (�35 a time), and have been back on the nurofen every other day. I've got an appointment next week . . .