Page    1   2   3   of this article. From the book - Man in the Trap , E. F. Baker   At the seventh session, the mother reported that the baby had not held his breath at all that week, although he had continued to fight and bite her and to fight three- and four-year-olds, who seemed unable to stand up against him. There had been two days when he was very good and loving. His eyes were quite bright and wide open, and during the session he kicked and fought and cried loudly. His throat caught only for a moment and he swallowed his tongue. His armor was easily reduced, but he still pulled backward in an arc du cercle instead of giving anteriorly. As soon as the session was over he ran to his mother and asked for a bottle, and did not forget to smile to show he had no hard feelings. The mother reported, during the eighth session, that he had held his breath on one occasion and turned blue or even grayish, and that he had seemed more subdued and had even gone to sleep in the waiting room. He clung tenaciously to his mother. During the session his eyes were dull, although he cried quite freely, and he seemed less vigorous in his movements. Toward the close of the session he swallowed his tongue and choked a good deal. I was able to improve his eyes by work on the occipital muscles, but his bodily attitude continued to be a great holding back. The total impression was one of general withdrawal; I did not quite understand why he presented such a picture and could get no reason from the mother. At the ninth session the mother reported that he had been quieter but had seemed cheerful and cooperative. He was still clinging to his mother; and, as soon as I took him, he went "dead", and lifeless. The muscles were quite relaxed and he struggled very little and would not cry vigorously. Since I did not understand his reactions I did no work but merely observed him. As soon as I said we were finished he jumped up and ran to his mother, quite alive at once. He reminded me of an opossum. At the tenth session the mother reported that he had been quite good. He had not held his breath at all and there was very little to report. When he saw me he cried and clung to his mother; as soon as I took him he again went "dead." He did not struggle at all; his eyes were bright and clear but he dulled them somewhat during the session. On the whole, he was relaxed and seemed to be playing opossum. When I said, "That is all," he jumped up full of life again and went to his mother, smiling back at me and waving good-by. During the eleventh session the mother said he had been very aggressive, fighting with his friends and biting his parents all week. He had started to refuse the bottle, did not want to go to bed at night, and seemed afraid. Once at breakfast he had seemed to be "away" for a few seconds. On the couch he stayed very quiet and still, holding his breath, not struggling against any work I did. His neck and left spinal muscles were spastic but his pelvis had become movable spontaneously. On a trip myself, I left him with a student for the next month. The student was a young woman who has very good contact with children and she had sat in on my sessions with him. He continued to be aggressive, hitting and biting his parents. There were three temper tantrums during the month; in one he went stiff and in the other two he turned blue, but he had no convulsions. When I saw him for a twelfth session, his eyes were well opened and he appeared to be quite alive. However, as soon as he was on the couch he closed his eyes and offered no resistance. The spinal muscles were tense and he cried when I worked on them; otherwise he remained still. Once again he was full of life when I had finished. This boy was outsmarting me - he withdrew contact as soon as he got on the couch. He continued to be aggressive and to fight. The day after the session, he was jumping on his bed when he fell and hit his mother's face with his head. She screamed and frightened him. After she had pacified him he wanted her to sit in the little chair he had lately been given for Christmas. She said she would stay where she was and suggested he sit in his chair, and he responded with a temper tantrum. He held his breath, and one arm and the opposite leg twitched. There were no after effects from the tantrum. When I asked the mother why she had refused his overtures, she said that she had not understood the offer of the chair. Again during the thirteenth session he was passively cooperative. The spinal muscles were very spastic and the baby cried when I freed them. He was still refusing to go to bed early, but was sleeping late in the morning instead. It became apparent that the day following each session was the baby's low point in the week and the mother's. Each session brought up her own guilt, and she admitted that she had been very angry at the baby and felt very guilty about his condition. Obviously, the mother found it difficult to tolerate the changes taking place in the baby and was unconsciously sabotaging therapy; at least some of her guilt was because of this. He ignored me completely at the fourteenth session. He was entirely passive and had a disgusted expression on his face. However, he came to life quickly when I released him. At the fifteenth session the mother reported that he had had a temper tantrum a few hours before the session, during which he had gone stiff but had not developed convulsions. She said the father could not stand the baby's aggression. During the session he expressed crying more fully but still showed a passive attitude. There was some evidence of constriction in his throat. His passivity on the couch was becoming a problem; such attitudes are quite common in adults but I had never before seen this attitude so marked or so consistent in such a young baby. In adults, this contactlessness can be attacked by reverting to character analysis, pointing out what is happening, mimicking them, having them describe their sensations or even lack of sensation. Sometimes the contactlessness can be broken through by acting out the emotion in exaggerated form. None of these methods are possible with a baby. What we knew was that the contactlessness was a defense against strong feeling, and since he seemed at this point to have little difficulty in expressing rage and very little more trouble in crying, it seemed that what he had not had was love and the opportunity to express love. The mother was unable to give him this love. Therefore I felt such expression was the current problem and played with him a bit and talked to him. He, however, remained unconcerned. My student had grown to love him, and I discussed with her the possibility that she take him over and just love and play with him. She was delighted. I was concerned, however, with his habit of holding his breath when he had a temper tantrum, and wanted to clear that up if possible before turning the treatment over to her. At his sixteenth session the mother reported that he had had three temper tantrums. He had held his breath but there had been no twitching or convulsion. His spinal muscles were spastic again and his throat was tight. He continued to be passive. I freed the spasms and got him to cry freely. The mother reported, at the seventeenth session, that he had had one temper tantrum, during which he cried and breathed freely. However, he had become passive with his playmates. It seemed definite that he was withdrawing because his parents could not tolerate him in any other way; and he had learned to hold back very well, but not to live and express himself. On the couch he was still passive and contactless, but he was quite free of muscular armor. I felt he was ready to be turned over to my student and the mother seemed pleased at the idea. After this session he cried freely with no tendency to hold his breath, and was taken over by my student from this point on. She reported that at the first session he seemed timid, clung to his mother. Therefore she tried only to make contact with him, holding him, talking to him, nuzzling him. When she put her face against his, he broke into pitiful sobbing and drew away as though he could not stand the feeling. He did not hold his breath and his contactlessness was dissolving. At the second session he was more active, engaging in play and eventually becoming rough, hitting and kicking but able to accept fondling. Gradually he responded more and more, coming to enjoy the relationship and growing very loving. He had no more temper tantrums. The baby four months later is still under observation and care at this writing, but I feel he has gone far enough to safely say that he has been saved from the life of an epileptic. He had no convulsive seizures after the time of the first session, even though medication was discontinued. He has had no temper tantrums for some time, and for a longer period has not held his breath nor shown any difficulty in breathing. The mother is in therapy, trying to solve some of her problems, and the father at least has some understanding of the trauma caused by both of them. We do not, of course, know what the child's response to the new baby will be, but I believe the outlook for the child should be quite hopeful. 3   If the process of the therapy should seem severe for a young child, it should be recalled that he was suffering most severely before the therapy and would have continued to suffer all the difficulties an epileptic must face. The mother reported that on several occasions the child asked to come to therapy, and he never showed any sign of confusing the momentary pain inflicted during treatment with ill will on my part. He was always friendly and trusting off the couch, no matter how anxious he was to get in the same way one away from it. He knew I was helping him, in the same way one knows one is being helped even though it hurts when a bone is set or an abscess lanced.   Page    1   2   3   of this article.   3.  This boy, three years later, has continued to develop into a healthy and alive youngster with none of his former symptoms. He accepted his young sister very well.  back to text