Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep, or it’s detrimental effects to your child’s mood and attention span. This is my main takeaway from an illuminating article written by Dr. Vatsal Thakkar in the New York Times. He examines childhood ADHD and poses an interesting question: what if cases of attention deficit disorder are really just undiagnosed sleep disorders?
For many of us, the new year means a fresh start, a chance to evaluate our lives and make steps to change what we don’t like. There’s always room for improvement, especially for teens and adults suffering from ADHD. But I’ve observed that many of them tend to dread listing down goals or making new year’s resolutions. One teenager explained that making new year’s resolutions feels like he’s just setting himself up for failure because he can’t decide which ones to work on first, or he has trouble sustaining interest.
This 2013, consider trying something new: make only ONE major resolution for the year, and take tiny steps to follow it.
Kids with ADHD need a break after nine long months of school. But just because it’s summer, it doesn’t mean that they have to stop learning! Children with ADHD and learning disabilities need to keep using their academic skills so they don’t lose them after working so hard to attain them during the school year. As little as an hour of academic exercise a day can do much to cement the skills they already have. Here are some ideas for fun summer academic activities – and how to get your kids motivated to do them.
Video games have long been thought to worsen ADHD, but current research seems to be turning the tables on popular opinion. L. Eugene Arnold, M.D. of Ohio State University is working to develop a video game system that improves ADHD through neurofeedback.
Anyone who has ever taught, lived with, or spent time with an ADHD child has noticed that the disorder is more than just the three core symptoms. They are correct in this observation; inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are just the tip of a large iceberg. What lies underneath its surface?
To most parents of kids with ADHD, the disorder can be nothing but a constant source of frustration. When their kids have a hard time making friends or staying out of trouble in school, it’s difficult to find the silver lining of this condition. Yet there is an upside to ADHD that was recently confirmed by a new study – ADHD makes people more creative.
Just as there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat, there are many ways to test for ADHD. The UnRitalin Solution’s ADHD test protocol is designed to uncover the causes of the disorder, and the first step we take is to confirm that the child indeed has ADHD. ADHD cannot be diagnosed based on the symptoms alone because they resemble normal childhood behaviors or symptoms of other disorders. In addition, doctors need input from parents, teachers, and relatives, who each have subjective interpretations on the severity of the child’s symptoms.
Recently, a company called BioBehavioral Diagnostics was able to design, test, and release an ADHD diagnostic system called the Quotient ADHD System. This non-invasive device is the first FDA-approved diagnostic test for ADHD, and it claims to objectively measure the three symptoms of ADHD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and motion sensors.
Although it’s not the most affordable of therapies available, neurofeedback is one of the most promising and interesting natural treatments for ADHD. Basically, the goal of neurofeedback is to “train” a child to change the way his brain works, so that he can function as if he doesn’t have ADHD. In other words, neurofeedback teaches a brain how to not have ADHD. Sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? Neurofeedback treatments are non-invasive and safe for children to take, especially if they have problems maintaining their focus and ignoring irrelevant stimuli. We have an article in the Article Library that explains how this mechanism works.
We’ve known for decades that exposure to toxins is one of the leading causes of ADHD, but it’s always unsettling to receive news that confirms this discovery. A 2006 issue of The Lancet recognizes that industrial chemicals (e.g. methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, and arsenic) are one of the causes of neuro-developmental disorders, violent behavior, lowered IQ, short attention spans, and antisocial behavior. In the same year, a study by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental health discovered that children who have high levels of a flame retardant called PBDEs in their umbilical cord blood scored lower on mental and physical development tests. More recently, a research study published in the journal Neurotoxicology in 2009 discovered a strong association between polyvinyl chloride (PVC) on floor paneling and the incidence of autism.
Most pediatricians and psychiatrists diagnose ADHD based on a series of criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). According to the DSM-IV, there are three types of ADHD: inattentive type, hyperactive-impulsive type, and combined type. But did you know that there are more than three types of ADHD?
Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen has handled hundreds of children and adults with ADHD and developed a special brain imaging technique called the SPECT test to help him find the cause of the condition. His work on SPECT imaging made him realize the full complexity of the disorder. Over the years, he noticed that there are six distinct SPECT patterns in his ADHD patients, and that each requires a specialized treatment. Based on these observations, Dr. Amen came up with the six types of ADHD.