Category Archives: Mental Health

Essential Oils in the Autistic Classroom – Pilot Study

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Essential Oils in the Autistic Classroom – Pilot Study
by Monika Meulman – 2009

Introduction

We live in a world surrounded by ever evolving dis-ease. Now that I am a parent, I seem to be consumed by all traditional worries: germs, eating processed foods, exposure to dangerous plastics, dyes and food additives.

What fuels that worry is the dramatic rise in ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder. At my daughter ’s school, there are several classrooms dedicated just for helping children learn with ASD. In a recent updater course on the chemical function of essential oils, I realized that they can be quite effective tools for treating/helping ASD. I approached the principal at my daughter ’s school to see if I can design and carry out a pilot study working with a classroom full of ASD children. The principal was welcoming and supportive. What I have found thus far is quite surprising: the children were quite affected by the classroom sessions and even took personal liking to specific essential oils such as cinnamon bark, frankincense, and bergamot.

Background – Why Autism?

There has been an explosion of research in the past 10 years within the autism disorders field. According to the National Institute of Mental Health: “Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs), cause severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. These disorders are usually first diagnosed in early childhood and range from a severe form, called autistic disorder, through pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), to a much milder form, Asperger syndrome.

They also include two rare disorders, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.” There has likewise, been an explosion of diagnosis in this field of disorders. In 1997 the estimated number of children with autism was 1 in every 1500 in the USA. The Autism Society in America website (www.autism-society.org) notes that “in February 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued their ADDM autism prevalence report. The report, which looked at a sample of 8 year olds in 2000 and 2002, concluded that the prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 150 American children, and almost 1 in 94 boys.” With no known cure and very few means of mediating and improving the life and learning for children with ASD, we need to focus as much research and time as possible to finding new means of help.

This pilot study is one such way we can strive to improve and ease a child’s life when learning and acquiring new skills in the classroom setting. In the Autism Advocate (fifth edition, 2006) John Green, M.D. wrote a short article on the Biomedical Treatment of Autism. When defining healing, I conclude with his words: “For children with autism spectrum disorders, healing happens through removing obstacles and strengthening weak systems by supplementing for physiologic deficiencies and providing corrective therapies.”

Why use Essential Oil Therapy in ASD?

Aromatherapy is a strong science using pure essential oils (plant aromatic extracts) in healing, restoring the body’s imbalances via aromatherapy massage, aromatherapy baths, essential oil inhalations, and essential oil supplements. Essential oils are powerful aromatic compounds. Their effects on our body can be instant and long-lasting.

We have 347 smell receptors that have been identified in the human genome project. The touch and olfactory senses are the first two to develop in the womb. Knowing this, we can conclude that the sense of smell is almost as vital to our survival and development as the sense of touch. Furthermore, the olfactory bulb and its relation to our limbic system ensures that the olfactory nerves have the shortest pathway to the brain of all our senses. Simply put: an aromatic molecule has the potential to be the fastest modifier of behavior, our central nervous system (CNS), and even our thought processes. It is because of this connection between the olfactory system and the brain/blood barrier that we can assume and hope that some aromatic molecules (components of essential oils) can have an effect on autistic behavior.

How does inhaling essences work to our behavioral advantage?

In experiments involving stimulation of the left and right nostrils with pleasant and unpleasant fragrances, researchers have found differences in olfactory cortical neuron activity in the left and right hemispheres of the brain which correlate with the ‘pleasantness ratings’ of the odorants. These studies are claimed to indicate that positive emotions are predominantly processed by the left hemisphere of the brain, while negative emotions are more often processed by the right hemisphere. •The ‘pleasant’ odorant used in these experiments, as in many others, was vanillin. from article by Social Issues Research Centre ( http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html)

Objectives in this Study:
Using Essential Oils to aid in removing obstacles such as

  • Anger and frustration
  • Anxiety
  • Impulsiveness
  • Inability to concentrate

Using Essential Oils to aid in providing:

  • Quick & Effective calming agent
  • Consistent personal treatment

The Pilot Study Outline

Focus on In-Classroom Time with Mild to Medium level autistic children: 25-30 minutes (circle time on the carpet).

  • Pre and post study questionnaire was used for each child
  • Use 6 single essential oils, 1 per week in the classroom
  • Provide background information about oils to the teachers and teacher aides (and parents) each week
  • Provide children time with each essential oil, under supervision
  • Provide inhaler with chosen essential oil for each child for classroom and home use

This Autism Pilot Study Specifics:

  • 6 children in 1 autism specific classroom
  • all boys ages 6-8
  • 5 teachers/teacher aides present
  • introduced essential oils: bergamot, lavender, benzoin, cinnamon, frankincense, neroli
  • consistent oil experience provided via white muslin tea bags scented with drops of essential oil
  • 25-30 minute ‘carpet’ circle time 1 week, for 6 weeks
  • each child chose 1 inhaler oil for personal use
  • once classroom visits were concluded, oils could be used at home

Essential Oil Choosing Guideline

Oils we chose based on their known chemical composition and known to be soothing and calming:

Bergamot – Citrus aurantium ssp. bergamia
Lavender – Lavandula angustifolia
Benzoin – Styrax benzoin
Neroli – Citrus aurantium
Cinnamon Bark – Cinnamonum zeylanicum
Frankincense – Boswellia carterii

 

Results of the Pilot Study:

 

Diagram: Measured Essential Oil effectiveness in sitting ‘carpet’ time, during weekly visits 0 10 20 average time spent by each child, on carpet for oil talk/interaction (in minutes)

Autism Pilot Study Circle Time Results

Autism Pilot Study Circle Time Results

 

Oils selected by the children, for personal inhalers, after 6 week introduction to all oils:

(ranked by popularity)

#1 cinnamon
#2 bergamot
#3 frankincense
#4 benzoin
Note: None of the children chose Neroli or Lavender.

 

Discussion

In our short pilot study, we have found that essential oils can instantly affect the behaviour of the autistic child in the classroom setting. Most interestingly, lavender became a stimulant when each child received a tea bag infused with lavender drops. Even the teachers found the smell overpowering.

Contrastingly, frankincense elicited a pleasant and inquiring response from some children and the teachers. The most successful oils in calming and focusing, were cinnamon bark and benzoin. The children fidgeted less, were more likely to listen to me and the teachers, and were more involved in my question and answer games when we used the deep oils: benzoin, frankincense, and cinnamon.

When we used bergamot and neroli, the classroom felt calmer but fidgeting continued throughout the sessions. Also, the introduction of bergamot and cinnamon elicited more smiles, jokes, and a generally happier atmosphere. Two of the boys specifically chose bergamot because it made them feel good. One highly functioning autistic boy chose cinnamon to help him calm down. He had already been taught yoga poses that helped him in an anxious situation. A combination of yoga and essential oils can be quite a long term effective tool for minimizing disruption, when learning in the classroom.

What more can we do?

Further autistic child groups with identical presentation of essential oils, will increase our data and sample sizes. Using the same presentation on other children working with behaviour challenges, will allow us to compare effects of the same oils on different challenges in behavior. In the fall we will be introducing oils to another autistic classroom, where the behavior challenges are far more varied and extreme.

How can we support the teachers?

Working with children in the classroom allows the teachers to learn, benefit and enjoy the oils as well. Currently, the school boards are equipped with catalogues full of teacher aids, which are available to order. We have seen that there are pages of aromatherapy aids in these catalogues. Unfortunately, the essential oils offered may or may not be of superior quality and in some cases are blended with other oils, which may not help each student.

Thus, I encourage you to speak to schools, teachers, and primary care givers with ASD children and emphasize the importance of one-on-one aromatherapy. Each child is different and has different needs. Lastly, we need to involve parents in studies to allow the parents to learn through their children. One parent refused use of cinnamon bark with her child since the origin was China. It is our understanding the parents believed an oil extracted in China would be tainted with plastic and caustic dyes. Education and continuous community outreach about aromatherapy and essential oils is vital to dissipate this kind of wrongful belief and lack of understanding aromatherapy.

Would like to participate or set up this study at your school? Please let us know.

Have you used essential oils in the Autistic classroom? Please share your comments and findings.

Why we are fat.

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The top 5 reasons you are fat…from an environmental perspective.

  1. - You need protection

  2. - You love food…

  3. - It’s easy to eat

  4. - You are a creature of habit

  5. - Life is too easy

    Fat belly - health mind?

You have read that calories in and calories out is the #1 way to change your physique. You then diligently calculate how much you eat everyday. How Fun! (Did you catch the sarcasm?) Then, you improve your exercise regimen and workout more, better, often. Within 2-3 months you are slimmer, stronger, and look better than ever right?

Hmmm. Why is it that many of us just never get there?

Let’s try another tack. Your metabolism is slow, so you pick up the health food journals, jot down some metabolically magic foods, increase your energy food intake, decrease the sluggish, heavy foods and within months you are 15 pounds lighter. No?

Well, there are countless resources out there on what to eat, what not to eat, when to exercise, when not to exercise, eat right for your body type, and on and on. Many of us have started a new ‘lifestyle’ of eating and living. Most of us have ‘failed’ to maintain this change.

In this post, I examine what happens to those of us who feel like we have ‘failed’.

1. You need Protection

Fat is protective. It provides physical protection from the elements, holds vital energy stores, in condensed form, keeps us insulated literally. It is also very protective energetically. You can be the happiest person in the world, but inside that extra 50-100 pounds, you might be hiding from something, or scared of something, or not wanting to face something. (BTW, we have an ancestral reason for eating fats: they keep us physically safer – check out this PubMed research abstract entry: The influence of food on pain perception in healthy human volunteers)

Fat also holds toxins. It is protecting us from toxic elements by accumulating them inside the fat cells, as they circulate in our bodies. You don’t have to grow up in Chernobyl to have grown up in a toxic environment. Emotions can turn toxic. Anger, hurt, rage, fear, grief, when not expressed, can become internalized and create a toxic environment inside your body. Some of us store decades of ‘bottled up emotions’ in our fat cells. They are very protective. Sometimes, a change in food intake and exercise that promotes fat loss can create huge mood swings, and even bring many of these bottled up feelings to the surface (and into the face of your loved or not so loved ones).

2. You love food…

Food is exciting, I am the first to admit that. Some foods are intoxicating (as all chocolate lovers know – if you love chocolate check out this post: Does Chocolate Addiction exist?). Studies have shown that some foods make us feel better than others. So, why not just eat more right? Well, the message here is: Is there really nothing more exciting in your life than eating more of that meal? Is that all you have to look forward to?

Some people tend to get into a rut. Where is the fun? Where is the hike up the mountain, a run down to the beach, a late night at the concert theatre? What about the all night talk-a-thon with your favorite pals? If there is no fun, no joy planned on a daily or at least a weekly basis, chances are that food is really the most fun you will encounter. Sad, isn’t it. So comforting to eat too, isn’t it. Eating also makes us ‘feel’ good emotionally and psychologically, regardless of whether we are hungry or not. You have heard of emotional eaters right? Yup, eating solves the unhappiness dilemma temporarily.

 

3. It’s easy to eat.

Some days are so friggin challenging that eating is probably the easiest thing you will do. As a parent, or project worker, a manager, organizer, or whatever your position is, you encounter days that are just very tiring, complex, strategically overwhelming and maybe even unsolvable. Problems, delays, system breakdowns can leak over to the next day and next day. You may not even see the end in sight. On those days, the hearty chili, or simple bagel and cream cheese just make you feel like you know what you are doing for that moment. It’s so simple. Toast. Butter. Coffee…Wonderful.

Better yet, after a long day of complex multitasking, isn’t it amazing that we can just hop into a restaurant, point to an item on a menu, maybe not even say the food out loud, just point and it comes to us. It’s so rewarding and pleasing.

Perhaps you are a procrastinator…You know what that means. That boring task ahead, those emails, the packages to send, the laundry to do; it’s all so much easier after a mid morning snack is

n’t it? We mistakenly reward in the wrong order! “I will eat this and then I will get that done”. WRONG! It’s much harder to say: “I will get that done and then I will eat this” Eating is easy, that’s why we do it so well, and forget about many other things, that are much harder to do, like ironing that pleated sleeve.

4. You are a creature of Habit

It’s time to get up. Put on the grey suit. Get on the 8 am train. Travel to work. Nod to your coworkers. Sit down. Type. type. type. Eat. Type. Eat. Print.Type. Walk around to get the paper. Sit down. Type. Travel home. Sit down and eat. Watch tv. Do dishes. Go to bed. Most days, we are pretty boring aren’t we? ‘But, you have to do that at work’ you argue… My DH told me that everyone sits in the same spot on the train travelling to work. WHY?

We are creatures of habit and it’s hard to break that habit. In many cases, the habits we pick don’t make our life better, easier, or happier, they are just the habits that stuck. They are the behaviours we did the longest in repetition. Repetition makes a new behaviour stick, like gum. So changing our diet, our exercise regimen isn’t going to stick after just a few days or even after a weeks. It’s just not long enough. Many of your ‘bad’ or negative lifestyle habits have been around for decades, thousands of repetitions. That’s what you are up against. The ‘old’ lifestyles creep back in over time and you feel like you have been sabotaged. But it’s not sabotage. It’s just you being human and choosing what you know over what you don’t know.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Life is too easy

Let’s face it. We can buy food in the modern world just about anywhere and anytime. 24 hour supermarket

s don’t discriminate. You can walk in with $1 and come out with a broccoli, or with a bag of processed, over-preserved, wannabe food anytime your heart desires. You don’t have to physically work for it. You may have a job all your life making phone calls (call centre), m

anaging people (sitting in a big chair), teaching (standing sometime), computing (majority of our jobs these days), and so on. These jobs, that we have created, are not designed for our bodies. Many have not even been created with our brains in mind. They are task oriented positions that require very little, if any, movement. (Check out more on this in the UK Telegraph, reporting on the latest study done on sitting and fat deposits)

It is up to you to compensate for that by getting outside everyday. It is up to you to go move, visit somewhere, do something. Walk. Run. Bike. We can all do it but we don’t. Why? It’s hard, and life is supposed to be easy right? Kids love to run. Kids love to move. At what age do we start to choose the sedentary lifestyle? Do we do that because of our parents? In our modern society, we have created such an easy life for ourselves with supermarkets, cars, automated bank machines, that we can get home to the couch so much faster. We can TIVO all our favorite shows and not miss a single thing. We spend more time watching people live on TV than we do actively living for ourselves.

That’s why we are fat. Because of one or more of the above is a part of who we are.

So, what do you think?