BACKWARD CHILDREN

(See also "DWARFISHNESS")

Baryta Carb. Lack of intelligence, mental confusion, imbecile condition, slow to understand, slow to move. Fears everybody, strangers more. Inattentive and unsteady, child is hard-hearted to its parents and comrades and does not manifest suffering. Incoherent in reasoning and action.

Stramonium. Extremely violent and nervous, agitated, angry, crying, howling; beating; biting; wishes to run away. Easily frightened and startles up out of its sleep with wild looks. Wants company, cannot remain alone. Fears darkness, wants light.

Calcarea Carb. Feeble, slow and apathetic. Slow to understand and slow to execute; all mental works exhaust him, profuse perspiration of head and forehead. Head and belly big. Acidity in stomach. Better when constipated. Skin pale, white or chalky. Late learning to walk.

Syphilinum. It is necessary to administer this remedy as an inter- current remedy along with Baryta Carb. and Stramonium in infantile backwardness. There is changing humour, the succession of explosive laughter and deep sadness.

Tuberculinum. This is another remedy which should be given intercurrently to backward children along with other indicated remedies mentioned above. It is always beneficial to start treatment of backward children with this remedy. Arrested development, mental or physical. Non-appearance of teeth.

Aurum Met. Low spirited, lifeless, memory bad, lacking in boyish go.

Silicea. Pale, sickly children who are irritable, do not learn and do not even play, shirk the least responsibility; utterly lacking in self- confidence and self-assertion.

Agaricus M. Children late learning to talk and walk. A slowly developing mind. Children who cannot remember, make mistakes and slow in learning.

Natrum Mur. Late learning to talk.

Bufo. Lack of development of intelligence; the childlike state remains while the body grows; fear and simplicity.

Thuja. Mentally deficient children, very dirty; in continuance of stool and urine during night; eats dog's faeces. Deficiency may be due to excessive vaccination which did not take. Bad effects of vaccination.

Calendula. It is an excellent remedy for mentally deficient children.

Note: All the above remedies are to be used in 200 dilution to be given alternately every week. Not more than two remedies should be given in each course of say 3 to 4 months, excluding Tuberculinum and Syphilinum which should be given at intervals of one month each along with the two remedies. Higher dilution than 200 should be used when no improvement is seen or when improvement is stopped.