Joy's craniosacral therapy journey so far:
Whose Woo Do You Do?
Woo, Take 2
JoyDad's Thoughts on Craniosacral Therapy
Update to the Craniosacral Files (Woo, Me?)
Yesterday Joy had her third and last craniosacral therapy session. In our story so far, we originally began this treatment with a set of initial concerns we thought CST might address that included biting, teeth-grinding, her intense need to chew, sleep issues (taking a long time to get to sleep at night plus waking up too early) and her stimmy intensity.
At yesterday's session, Joy pretty clearly recognized where we were as we drove up, and was happy to be there. She almost danced through the door, and gave the therapist (we're calling her H.) a great big grin. I think she wanted to play "chase" with H, and it started right away with a bit of a chase to get her to move from the waiting room to the therapy room.
Once in the therapy room, Joy pulled out some stimmy toys and H began following her around and doing her light-pressure "holds" on Joy, each time for the count of 10 if Joy would let her. Like the last session, the focus was on head and abdomen, though the last session's abdominal holds were pressing up into the diaphragm and this time she was working lower. She spoke of getting some sort of release in Joy's ileal valve. For Joy's head, the releases again had to do with heat in the cranium and generally loosening up the craniosacral flow. Once again, H. had to follow Joy around the room and work with her on the floor, and Joy (happily) attempted escape most every time but didn't bite or struggle nearly as hard as she's capable of.
One question on my mind was the strange fact that Joy's been having on-and-off low-grade fevers lately, which started before the CST but the last two times have occurred within a day or two after her CS sessions. Yes, that can happen, was the answer, as the body releases heat or "de-toxes". Part of a self-correcting mechanism, and if it happens it's usually only the first session or two. I'd have bought the explanation much better if H had said something about the possibility in advance... but she hadn't.
Another question on my mind, this one partially prompted by a comment from Barbara at TherExtras: why the schedule of treatments every two weeks, when I heard that another practitioner in town starts out on a schedule like weekly or even twice per week? She said that she used to start out with more frequent sessions, but had come to her present approach through the experience that a longer wait gave her clients' bodies a better chance to take full advantage of the self-correction that the CST enables. She said that she eventually became convinced that treating too often was actually interfering with the self-correction, stirring things up that were best left alone for the body to work out.
She said that the things she'd worked on with Joy in earlier sessions were still doing fine (the neck & hyoid bone, the diaphragm) and that if we had been interested in coming back, she thought Joy was in balance enough that she'd next want to see her in a month.
I was very open about the fact that we'd just not seen enough effect in Joy that we could attribute to the CST, to keep us interested in coming back. Especially in the areas of the biting and the stimming, there just hasn't been any relief. The only thing that has improved really is the night-time sleep, and maybe a little less teeth grinding, but the rhythm of those improvements don't really make sense with the timing of the sessions. With as complex a kiddo as Joy, it's very hard to know what change affects what outcome, and we're tweaking various therapies all the time. I think I'll need to do a whole separate post on the dilemma of trying to suss out what cause matches what effect. (Aacck, I've posted just about every day this week, and my list of post topics is still growing beyond the pace I'm writing them up! This can't last.)
H was not at all fazed by my report of not being able to identify improvements, or our decision to stop treatment. She said it sounds like we're doing good work to address Joy's ongoing sensory issues, she still felt good about what she said she'd accomplished with Joy's system, and she encouraged me to keep in touch if I had any questions or wanted to give things another try later. I liked her a lot, and can see why she's got such a loyal following. I think I'll miss her.
As far as post-session affect on the day of treatment goes, Joy has been different every time. First time was giggly/smiley, second time was stimmy/cranky, yesterday was mischievous and boundary-testing. She got cranky again before supper, but later in the evening mellowed out and she & JoyDad got some nice happy playtime.
So, case closed on the craniosacral files. What a fascinating ride! Thanks for tracking it with me.
Showing posts with label craniosacral therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craniosacral therapy. Show all posts
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Update to the Craniosacral Files (Woo, Me?)
Forthwith, the promised update on Joy's Friday CST session.
Joy's had a very "stimmy" week, on the whole, and yesterday was no exception. Our cranio-sacral practitioner, H., was running a little bit late when we arrived, but showed us into the therapy room so Joy could play. Joy quickly pulled out a whole bunch of stimmy toys (kooshes, bristle blocks) and distributed them around the room, bouncing from one toy to the other like a ping-pong ball and squishing them between her hands and chewing on them. She's got a very intense interaction with her stim-items, in which she tenses up her shoulders and face and jaw and vocalizes through her teeth: "eeee" or "gooo". We've been concerned about it and hoping that cranio-sacral can provide some assistance.
When H. came into the room, Joy greeted her with a big smile but continued to go at it with the toys. H. began to follow her around and try to take hold of her, and Joy played it almost like a chase game. She didn't mind when H. "got" her but she did try to struggle away between the giggles. She never did really accept the holds this time, though perhaps was somewhat more relaxed toward the end.
First H. worked on Joy's belly, saying that her diaphragm was tight and it could be making it hard to catch a good deep breath. She again did the trick of counting as she pressed her fingers up toward Joy's diaphragm, so that Joy would have the sense that an endpoint would be coming. Joy thought they were playing another game, and every time H. got to "1, 2, 3" Joy would chime in with a big "Go!"
Next was the head. H. said that Joy's head was very tight and she was holding a lot of heat in her cranium. Joy has been running pretty hot on and off for the last few weeks, and the tension thing makes at least some sense because of what Joy does during the stimming (though is it cause, or effect?) H. spoke of two potential reasons behind the stimming. One would be a response to the tightness, as when you have a headache and you put her hands to your head as if pushing on the outside will help the internal pressure. Second would be a sensory-need attempt to get a biochemical burst akin to a runner's high -- which could be more efficiently provided by heavy-work such as jumping, crawling, crashing, pulling.
Anyway, H. spent the rest of the session working on Joy's head and upper chest, occasionally checking the "rhythms" by holding her legs. She said she did manage to release a lot of heat and tension in the head, that she'd gotten the rhythms stronger and more even, and that Joy's neck (where she'd worked last time) was still in good shape. I asked what to look for in the coming days, and she said to look for a reduction in the duration and intensity of the stimminess.
Joy remained intense with her stims through the whole session, through the day and the evening as well.
H. did give two particularly helpful pieces of advice. One was the advice to try and guide the stimming behavior into something more heavy-work related, games of jumping or running or trying to pull away. The other was that she identified that Joy was dehydrated, which impressed me because in fact we've had some trouble getting enough liquids into her lately. H. tied the dehydration into the heat-in-the-cranium thing. Whatever one thinks of that particular link, we do need to get Joy to drink more. So both of those were things that it was helpful to hear.
I'll be taking Joy back at least one more time, in another two weeks. Unfortunately I can't send JoyDad, because there weren't any Saturday appointments! Oh well.
Meanwhile, speaking of JoyDad, one of his colleagues forwarded him an interesting e-mail announcement: a CST training session for laypersons.
Sigh. I'm not feeling nearly as hopeful about this craniosacral thing as I was.
Joy's had a very "stimmy" week, on the whole, and yesterday was no exception. Our cranio-sacral practitioner, H., was running a little bit late when we arrived, but showed us into the therapy room so Joy could play. Joy quickly pulled out a whole bunch of stimmy toys (kooshes, bristle blocks) and distributed them around the room, bouncing from one toy to the other like a ping-pong ball and squishing them between her hands and chewing on them. She's got a very intense interaction with her stim-items, in which she tenses up her shoulders and face and jaw and vocalizes through her teeth: "eeee" or "gooo". We've been concerned about it and hoping that cranio-sacral can provide some assistance.
When H. came into the room, Joy greeted her with a big smile but continued to go at it with the toys. H. began to follow her around and try to take hold of her, and Joy played it almost like a chase game. She didn't mind when H. "got" her but she did try to struggle away between the giggles. She never did really accept the holds this time, though perhaps was somewhat more relaxed toward the end.
First H. worked on Joy's belly, saying that her diaphragm was tight and it could be making it hard to catch a good deep breath. She again did the trick of counting as she pressed her fingers up toward Joy's diaphragm, so that Joy would have the sense that an endpoint would be coming. Joy thought they were playing another game, and every time H. got to "1, 2, 3" Joy would chime in with a big "Go!"
Next was the head. H. said that Joy's head was very tight and she was holding a lot of heat in her cranium. Joy has been running pretty hot on and off for the last few weeks, and the tension thing makes at least some sense because of what Joy does during the stimming (though is it cause, or effect?) H. spoke of two potential reasons behind the stimming. One would be a response to the tightness, as when you have a headache and you put her hands to your head as if pushing on the outside will help the internal pressure. Second would be a sensory-need attempt to get a biochemical burst akin to a runner's high -- which could be more efficiently provided by heavy-work such as jumping, crawling, crashing, pulling.
Anyway, H. spent the rest of the session working on Joy's head and upper chest, occasionally checking the "rhythms" by holding her legs. She said she did manage to release a lot of heat and tension in the head, that she'd gotten the rhythms stronger and more even, and that Joy's neck (where she'd worked last time) was still in good shape. I asked what to look for in the coming days, and she said to look for a reduction in the duration and intensity of the stimminess.
Joy remained intense with her stims through the whole session, through the day and the evening as well.
H. did give two particularly helpful pieces of advice. One was the advice to try and guide the stimming behavior into something more heavy-work related, games of jumping or running or trying to pull away. The other was that she identified that Joy was dehydrated, which impressed me because in fact we've had some trouble getting enough liquids into her lately. H. tied the dehydration into the heat-in-the-cranium thing. Whatever one thinks of that particular link, we do need to get Joy to drink more. So both of those were things that it was helpful to hear.
I'll be taking Joy back at least one more time, in another two weeks. Unfortunately I can't send JoyDad, because there weren't any Saturday appointments! Oh well.
Meanwhile, speaking of JoyDad, one of his colleagues forwarded him an interesting e-mail announcement: a CST training session for laypersons.
This is a hands-on session which will teach techniques to relieve pain and promote relaxation by using basic CranioSacral Therapy techniques:So for slightly more than the cost of a single session with H. we could learn to do it ourselves, in three short hours! Or not. We're busy that evening anyway.
- Discover how to recognize the rhythm of the craniosacral system.
- Learn a basic CranioSacral Therapy techniques that you can perform yourself.
- Experience a sense of control over your innate ability to provide healing energy to others and yourself.
- Gain a greater understanding of your role in your own health and well being.
Sigh. I'm not feeling nearly as hopeful about this craniosacral thing as I was.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Getting Giggles
Joy was cheerful again at daycare today, almost as much of a giggle-bug as she was the morning after her cranio-sacral therapy appointment.
Her daycare lady, I'll call her Lynda (after Lynda Carter of Wonder Woman fame, because she must have super powers to do what she does!), sent a wonderful note today.
"Are you familiar with the Maurice Sendak book Alligators All Around? It goes through the alphabet with a couple words on each page. A Alligators all around, B bursting balloons, C catching colds, D doing dishes, etc.
Whenever we get to `G getting giggles,' Adam [a favorite daycare friend] always says, 'Like Joy!'"
It's good to have friends. And it's good to get giggles!
Her daycare lady, I'll call her Lynda (after Lynda Carter of Wonder Woman fame, because she must have super powers to do what she does!), sent a wonderful note today.
"Are you familiar with the Maurice Sendak book Alligators All Around? It goes through the alphabet with a couple words on each page. A Alligators all around, B bursting balloons, C catching colds, D doing dishes, etc.
Whenever we get to `G getting giggles,' Adam [a favorite daycare friend] always says, 'Like Joy!'"
It's good to have friends. And it's good to get giggles!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
JoyDad's Thoughts on Craniosacral Therapy
In the comments to this post, Barbara asked what I thought about CS therapy and our decision to try it on Joy....
I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that of the two of us, I was the more skeptical of the woo that is CS therapy. I'm an economist, so I tend to approach interventions with/for Joy (and other decisions in life) from that perspective. I want to provide all of the help to Joy that we can, but our resources (time and money) are finite. I try to weigh things like costs and benefits/expected outcomes, risk and reward, and opportunity costs (what else could we do with that time and/or money) in order to try to determine what the best mix of therapies is. Don't get me wrong, I do also have a heart that enters into the process, but I need data to make a decision.
The big piece of data that was (and in fact remains) missing for me as we were trying to decide whether to go ahead with the CS therapy was how it is supposed to work. I'm sorry, but I just can't buy the whole "Breath of Life" business. I just can't. It is not logical, and appears to be based on concepts of physiology that are contrary to what medical science has been operated under for the last 100 years or so.
The risks of CS appeared to be low (as opposed to something like chelation), and the rewards if it worked seemed to be something Joy could benefit from. The cost is not outrageous, and we could afford a few sessions without depriving ourselves of anything else of consequence. But the biggest stumbling block for me was the woo factor. I just could not get past that. It didn't help that Orac's blog post (the one JoyMama linked to in her post) appeared right in the middle of our decision-making.
What finally tipped the scale for me was that we had heard from a number of people that it had helped them. Of course, it helped them with issues other than what Joy is struggling with (a classic sign of woo-based medicine is that the treatment is touted for an incredible range of ills), but I digress... Given the low risks and costs, I finally agreed to go for it.
And I have to say that while there did seem to be a short-term change in Joy's behavior, I remain skeptical. Other than the couple of hours following the treatment, Joy's behavior is not any better. She has thrown a couple of tantrums during the time I've been typing this post.
Yesterday's session provides only one data point, and what we're looking for is a trend. I've agreed to a series of treatments, and I will suspend judgment until they have run the course. So stay tuned...
I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that of the two of us, I was the more skeptical of the woo that is CS therapy. I'm an economist, so I tend to approach interventions with/for Joy (and other decisions in life) from that perspective. I want to provide all of the help to Joy that we can, but our resources (time and money) are finite. I try to weigh things like costs and benefits/expected outcomes, risk and reward, and opportunity costs (what else could we do with that time and/or money) in order to try to determine what the best mix of therapies is. Don't get me wrong, I do also have a heart that enters into the process, but I need data to make a decision.
The big piece of data that was (and in fact remains) missing for me as we were trying to decide whether to go ahead with the CS therapy was how it is supposed to work. I'm sorry, but I just can't buy the whole "Breath of Life" business. I just can't. It is not logical, and appears to be based on concepts of physiology that are contrary to what medical science has been operated under for the last 100 years or so.
The risks of CS appeared to be low (as opposed to something like chelation), and the rewards if it worked seemed to be something Joy could benefit from. The cost is not outrageous, and we could afford a few sessions without depriving ourselves of anything else of consequence. But the biggest stumbling block for me was the woo factor. I just could not get past that. It didn't help that Orac's blog post (the one JoyMama linked to in her post) appeared right in the middle of our decision-making.
What finally tipped the scale for me was that we had heard from a number of people that it had helped them. Of course, it helped them with issues other than what Joy is struggling with (a classic sign of woo-based medicine is that the treatment is touted for an incredible range of ills), but I digress... Given the low risks and costs, I finally agreed to go for it.
And I have to say that while there did seem to be a short-term change in Joy's behavior, I remain skeptical. Other than the couple of hours following the treatment, Joy's behavior is not any better. She has thrown a couple of tantrums during the time I've been typing this post.
Yesterday's session provides only one data point, and what we're looking for is a trend. I've agreed to a series of treatments, and I will suspend judgment until they have run the course. So stay tuned...
Friday, August 8, 2008
Woo, Take 2.
So Thursday I posted about Joy's upcoming appointment for craniosacral therapy. Here's the update in a nutshell: for the first few hours it looked like astonishing results, but later it was much less clear.
Joy was bouncy early Friday morning but definitely had a short fuse. On the way to drop Rose off at summercare, she fussed at the stoplights and bit her shoe and gagged herself with her hand. I could get some smiles out of her if I engaged her energetically (i.e. not while I was driving) but she was cranky if I took my attention elsewhere.
The practitioner, we'll call her H., had some toys that were attractive to Joy (note to self: get several of those Koosh-like pufferballs) and Joy played while I got a demo of the approach on me. H. put her hands first on my upper chest and back, then on my head, commented that I had a lot of heat in my cranium, wondered if I'd been having headaches or trouble with temperature regulation. Umm, no, not really. Then she focused a while, made a soft movement, and said, "There! Did you feel the release?" Umm... maybe I felt a little bit of a something... I'm pretty suggestible that way though.
So then it was on to Joy. She rather followed Joy gently around the room, tried to engage her, then started holding on to her in the belly area. Joy let her hold on for a few secs, then squirmed away but didn't go running. Then she did several holds in the area of Joy's head and neck, keeping her in the interaction for a count of 10 each time, in whatever position Joy wanted to be -- sitting, lying down. She said that Joy's hyoid bone, an odd U-shaped bone in the neck that supports the base of the tongue, was up too high, and that the resultant choking feeling could well be responsible for some of the crankiness and biting/gagging and sleep difficulties we'd been having. She put her hands on Joy there, and after a slight struggle, Joy suddenly swallowed and sighed deeply. Several more interactions in the same vein, and our time was drawing to a close. H. placed small squares of kinesiology tape near Joy's ears where the jaw connects, saying that this would inhibit some of the twisting tension she's felt there. I was surprised that Joy let her do it and let the tape stay without clawing at it. We're to put tape on at least for overnights, but it can stay on as long as Joy's willing to let it be there.
Joy was considerably more relaxed than at the start of the appointment, and then had a different species of release, by way of a full diaper. After I finished washing up from that, Joy and H. were hanging out in the waiting room. Joy was just sitting happily on the sofa, making eye contact and smiling at H. Given the opportunity, H. put her hands on Joy's legs, said she could feel the rhythms there too, and she sort of focused in, not even counting out loud this time. Joy just relaxed right into it.
The daycare report later in the day was startling. All the way up till nap, Joy was chipper and giggly. She didn't race around teetering and tripping on thing the way she had Wednesday. She stayed with the other kids and made lots of eye contact and laughed and laughed. Best daycare-day she's had in a long, long time.
But later in the day some of the issues were evident again. She tried to bite JoyDad a couple of times, gagged herself with her hand, went back to biting her shoe. She may have still been in a better mood, but it wasn't particularly obvious. She also still had trouble getting to sleep.
I did like H. and the way she interacted with Joy, and Joy's immediate reactions were utterly fascinating. We've got another appointment in two weeks, so we'll see.
Woo knows?
Joy was bouncy early Friday morning but definitely had a short fuse. On the way to drop Rose off at summercare, she fussed at the stoplights and bit her shoe and gagged herself with her hand. I could get some smiles out of her if I engaged her energetically (i.e. not while I was driving) but she was cranky if I took my attention elsewhere.
The practitioner, we'll call her H., had some toys that were attractive to Joy (note to self: get several of those Koosh-like pufferballs) and Joy played while I got a demo of the approach on me. H. put her hands first on my upper chest and back, then on my head, commented that I had a lot of heat in my cranium, wondered if I'd been having headaches or trouble with temperature regulation. Umm, no, not really. Then she focused a while, made a soft movement, and said, "There! Did you feel the release?" Umm... maybe I felt a little bit of a something... I'm pretty suggestible that way though.
So then it was on to Joy. She rather followed Joy gently around the room, tried to engage her, then started holding on to her in the belly area. Joy let her hold on for a few secs, then squirmed away but didn't go running. Then she did several holds in the area of Joy's head and neck, keeping her in the interaction for a count of 10 each time, in whatever position Joy wanted to be -- sitting, lying down. She said that Joy's hyoid bone, an odd U-shaped bone in the neck that supports the base of the tongue, was up too high, and that the resultant choking feeling could well be responsible for some of the crankiness and biting/gagging and sleep difficulties we'd been having. She put her hands on Joy there, and after a slight struggle, Joy suddenly swallowed and sighed deeply. Several more interactions in the same vein, and our time was drawing to a close. H. placed small squares of kinesiology tape near Joy's ears where the jaw connects, saying that this would inhibit some of the twisting tension she's felt there. I was surprised that Joy let her do it and let the tape stay without clawing at it. We're to put tape on at least for overnights, but it can stay on as long as Joy's willing to let it be there.
Joy was considerably more relaxed than at the start of the appointment, and then had a different species of release, by way of a full diaper. After I finished washing up from that, Joy and H. were hanging out in the waiting room. Joy was just sitting happily on the sofa, making eye contact and smiling at H. Given the opportunity, H. put her hands on Joy's legs, said she could feel the rhythms there too, and she sort of focused in, not even counting out loud this time. Joy just relaxed right into it.
The daycare report later in the day was startling. All the way up till nap, Joy was chipper and giggly. She didn't race around teetering and tripping on thing the way she had Wednesday. She stayed with the other kids and made lots of eye contact and laughed and laughed. Best daycare-day she's had in a long, long time.
But later in the day some of the issues were evident again. She tried to bite JoyDad a couple of times, gagged herself with her hand, went back to biting her shoe. She may have still been in a better mood, but it wasn't particularly obvious. She also still had trouble getting to sleep.
I did like H. and the way she interacted with Joy, and Joy's immediate reactions were utterly fascinating. We've got another appointment in two weeks, so we'll see.
Woo knows?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Whose "woo" do you do?
One of my regular reads is Respectful Insolence, a high-profile blog by a surgeon/scientist known pseudonymously as Orac, who pungently dissects all manner of quackery and pseudoscience and "woo", as he calls it. There's plenty of woo out there to dissect, and it makes sense that lots of it is swirling around autism, where the cause is not established and there's no single surefire therapy to recommend and devoted parents will go to the ends of the earth in search of that miracle that might possibly help their child.
For the most part, I'm an evidence-based medicine kind of gal.
But I'm also open to the concept that Western medicine doesn't have all the answers.
I think of my mother, whose journey with kidney cancer lasted an incredible 20+ years. A professor of literature, she was no friend to muddled thinking (to which her composition students could attest!) She pursued her cancer treatments thoughtfully and persistently, and made use of my skills as a librarian to ferret out the latest medical literature. Surgeries comprised most of her treatments. But she also embarked on a trial of high-dose intravenous Vitamin C, a treatment with some serious woo overtones, and credited it with slowing the cancer's growth. She took a carefully-compiled cocktail of nutritional supplements, including pycnogenol and aloe, to the improvement of her fatigue symptoms. And she relied heavily on the prayers of her community.
The treatments we have pursued for Joy's epilepsy have been Western all the way. The intensive relationship-based therapy we have chosen for her primary autism treatment does not have as extensive a publication history as Applied Behavioral Analysis, but the literature is growing and we feel confident that it is a good match for Joy's strengths.
When it comes to Joy's sensory issues, we're on somewhat more controversial ground, though it's a well-accepted concept among occupational therapists. Her constant, sometimes frantic, search for sensory input is highly apparent to us.
But now we're about to go further out on the limb of woo than ever we have gone before. Tomorrow morning Joy has an appointment for craniosacral therapy, occasioned by issues of biting (self and others), teeth-grinding, her intense need to chew, and the intensity with which she tenses up her head and body when she "stims" on pine needles or grass or gravel.
There's a craniosacral therapy practitioner in town whose name has come up again and again. From Joy's pediatrician. From a high-up source in the agency providing the intensive therapy. Once I started mentioning her name to others, I heard nothing but praise and respect. The therapy itself, however, is often branded as woo (Orac took it on this past June). It sure has plenty of the hallmarks of woo. There are extravagant claims for what kinds of disharmonies it can bring back into balance, and the underlying theory does not inspire confidence: certain rhythms in the body, not acknowledged by Western medicine, can be manipulated by gentle hands-on touch and brought back into balance. From the Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Association of North America Frequently Asked Questions:
Oh my. And yet... Joy's pediatrician finds the practitioner we'll be seeing to be a valued diagnostic partner. And we've heard quite a few personal testimonials by now.
By coincidence, or maybe something more than coincidence, I happened upon a fascinating recent post on craniosacral therapy from Barbara, a PhD child-development specialist (& PT & OT) who has experienced the therapy herself. Her post hits very neatly the tone of what I'm feeling going into tomorrow's appointment.
Besides, it's not ridiculously expensive, the touch is gentle and... who knows? It might just help.
Stay tuned. And prayers are welcome too.
For the most part, I'm an evidence-based medicine kind of gal.
But I'm also open to the concept that Western medicine doesn't have all the answers.
I think of my mother, whose journey with kidney cancer lasted an incredible 20+ years. A professor of literature, she was no friend to muddled thinking (to which her composition students could attest!) She pursued her cancer treatments thoughtfully and persistently, and made use of my skills as a librarian to ferret out the latest medical literature. Surgeries comprised most of her treatments. But she also embarked on a trial of high-dose intravenous Vitamin C, a treatment with some serious woo overtones, and credited it with slowing the cancer's growth. She took a carefully-compiled cocktail of nutritional supplements, including pycnogenol and aloe, to the improvement of her fatigue symptoms. And she relied heavily on the prayers of her community.
The treatments we have pursued for Joy's epilepsy have been Western all the way. The intensive relationship-based therapy we have chosen for her primary autism treatment does not have as extensive a publication history as Applied Behavioral Analysis, but the literature is growing and we feel confident that it is a good match for Joy's strengths.
When it comes to Joy's sensory issues, we're on somewhat more controversial ground, though it's a well-accepted concept among occupational therapists. Her constant, sometimes frantic, search for sensory input is highly apparent to us.
But now we're about to go further out on the limb of woo than ever we have gone before. Tomorrow morning Joy has an appointment for craniosacral therapy, occasioned by issues of biting (self and others), teeth-grinding, her intense need to chew, and the intensity with which she tenses up her head and body when she "stims" on pine needles or grass or gravel.
There's a craniosacral therapy practitioner in town whose name has come up again and again. From Joy's pediatrician. From a high-up source in the agency providing the intensive therapy. Once I started mentioning her name to others, I heard nothing but praise and respect. The therapy itself, however, is often branded as woo (Orac took it on this past June). It sure has plenty of the hallmarks of woo. There are extravagant claims for what kinds of disharmonies it can bring back into balance, and the underlying theory does not inspire confidence: certain rhythms in the body, not acknowledged by Western medicine, can be manipulated by gentle hands-on touch and brought back into balance. From the Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Association of North America Frequently Asked Questions:
The practitioner listens deeply to the fluctuations of the cerebrospinal fluid within the craniosacral system. The fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid creates a variety of tides within the system. As the practitioner — from a place of stillness — listens to these internal tides, the client's system begins to access its own inner resources … perhaps a little like finding keys to previously locked doors.
Oh my. And yet... Joy's pediatrician finds the practitioner we'll be seeing to be a valued diagnostic partner. And we've heard quite a few personal testimonials by now.
By coincidence, or maybe something more than coincidence, I happened upon a fascinating recent post on craniosacral therapy from Barbara, a PhD child-development specialist (& PT & OT) who has experienced the therapy herself. Her post hits very neatly the tone of what I'm feeling going into tomorrow's appointment.
Besides, it's not ridiculously expensive, the touch is gentle and... who knows? It might just help.
Stay tuned. And prayers are welcome too.
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