Case of a Hyperactive Child

Translated by Katja Schütt and Alan Schmukler

A mother is consulting me with her four year old son who is “hyperactive and disobedient“. The family background is known to me. The mother is divorced, she has three children and is also a patient in my practice. The mother often seems to me to be overstrained with educating her children. When punishing them, she constantly threatens them, but never acts. Of course, the little boy recognized this.

The little “varmint” is a “true nag” and can’t quite keep in any position; he constantly has to move. Any excitement irritates him. All in all he doesn’t tolerate touch well. He even cramps when being touched, making his whole body “stiff.” He calms down again when being stroked or rubbed. With a change of weather or towards evening, at about 7.30 p.m., he gets “even more grumpy”. He also has the desire to hit himself and others. He prefers to run rather than walk. The little boys makes a “smart impression” on me. Considering his age he is mentally fit and very interested. Moreover, he is a “little bandit”. He wants to take things which don’t belong to him and always steals my son’s toys. He likes music and dances when hearing music. He can immediately be distracted from destructive behavior when hearing music, but then he becomes even more “nervous and hyper”.

Repertorization

I solved this case using “Boger’s” method and his repertory “General Analysis” (GA) and the identical punch card index to find the similimum.

The following symptoms were chosen:

GA-rubric:

Restlessness card-no.234

Rubbing, stroking ameliorates card-no.218

Time 7p.m. no card in the GA rubric time

All remedies (punch card index) which cover these symptoms:

With the rubric “time” only the remedies Rhus-t and Tarantula cover all symptoms!

Materia Medica Comparison

Guiding Symptoms & Clarke:

Desire to strike himself and others

Sudden cunning destructiveness

Great restlessness, can’t remain quite anywhere and in one position; feels he has to be in motion although walking aggravates all symptoms. Extremely sensitive and irritability from least excitement

Constantly moving; can better run than walk

Nerve ends get so excited that rubbing becomes necessary for alleviation; has to move hands or legs

Symptoms are: worse by touch, better by rubbing and pressure, music ameliorates; Excitement, rest aggravates; has to walk around, but walking aggravates all symptoms; can run better than walk.

As if bitten by the Tarantula!

Prescription:

Administration of the remedy Tarentula hispanica in 200C, 3 globules in a bottle of 10ml alcohol, 3 drops every other day after previous shaking, and given in a glass of water. For this I use the Indian homeopath’s procedure, which seldom uses LM potencies, and prescribe 200C or 1000C in alcohol – following the same aim: to enable frequent repetitions in small intervals.

Follow up:

After two weeks the mother reports a considerable improvement of all symptoms. I now reduced the remedy intake to every forth day. After two further weeks no further remedy was necessary. Meanwhile six weeks have passed and the boy is calm and balanced, and visiting the kindergarten without problems.