Autism is a multifaceted neurological disorder detected in children in their initial 3 years of life; result impaired functioning of the brain, articulate itself in form of inability for social & communication skills, impaired logical faculty and therefore affecting the development of the child. The exact reason behind autism is still not fully understood.

Probably 1.5 million American children and adults, over 1.7 million children in India and about 0.2 percent population is globally affected by this disorder, affecting all races about equally.

There are structural and functional changes in the brain of the patients suffering with autism. Though, the accurate cause for these changes is not fully understood.

Some of the triggers considered responsible for Autism are:

• Genetic predisposition
• Metabolic imbalance
• Intake of some drugs, medicines during pregnancy
• Vaccinations
• Exposure to environmental chemicals

Autism can present with a broad spectrum of symptoms, also in diverse severity, mild, moderate to severe. The symptoms may present in different combinations. The major symptoms relate with:

• Language impairment
• Preoccupation with fantasy
• Intellectual impairment
• Marked deficits in communication and social interaction
• Abnormal behavior, like repetitive acts and excessive possessiveness to certain objects such as keys, car, doll

The common end symptoms could be some or many of the following:

• Poor verbal expression, uses gesture to point out for his needs
• Laughing, crying without apparent cause
• Difficulty in social interaction with his age or elders
• No eye contact while communication
• Failure to perceive fears of danger, leading to jumping from high place, playing with pointed objects
• Not responsive to verbal instructions with normal hearing
• Spinning objects
• Inappropriate possessiveness to objects
• Over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
• Screaming and shouting out of proportion
• Repeats the same words (echolalia)
• Annoying obstinacy in behavior
• Repeating words or phrases
• Prefers solitude
• Unresponsive teaching
• Throws Tantrums
• Physical hyper-activity or under-activity
• Underdeveloped fine motor skills

It may be noted that autism affects the development of the logical faculties. The autistic children are able to express love and affection and also can respond to love.

There are no laboratory tests for autism. The diagnosis is arrived at by clinical evaluation and a detail developmental case history of the child. Psychological evaluation may be carried out by a professional with expertise in handing such cases. There are number of Autism screening tests to conclude the diagnosis.

The homeopathic approach to managing chronic disorders being totalistic and aim at treating the genetic tendencies with a well planned management, offers efficient treatment for autism and related disorders.

The homeopathic case evaluation of the child with autism incorporates the detail study of the family history of serious diseases, which are known to form the genetic ground for autism. The case analysis also takes into account impaired functions in terms of behavior, social skills, communication, speech, tantrums, etc.

The commonly homeopathic medicines indicated for autism are about twenty in number. The exact medicine, its combination with other support medicines, its dose and repetition depend on the case history. The medicines are essentially safe and absolutely non-toxic.

In our study at our center, we have observed encouraging results in autism children when treated with homeopathy for over six months. The treatment may require to be continued for over one year, depending on the severity of the presentation. The homeopathic medicines can be combined with other traditional measures.