The foundation for good behavior lies in learning three important life skills: reading social situations, managing emotions, and problem-solving abilities. Children with ADHD tend to be deficit in these skills but they can be learned and reinforced with a little help from you and a therapist.

Reading social situations

Reading social situations is critical to helping kids avoid trouble and getting along with others.  If your child can walk into a room, observe what’s happening, and interact appropriately, then he or she has no problem with this skill. If not, you can teach your child how to read social situations by observing people together at a restaurant or mall.  Teach your child the body language and expression of someone who is angry, bored, happy, or frustrated.  Once your child has gotten the hang of identifying other people’s emotions, you can start giving advice on how to deal with people according to their moods.

Managing emotions

The inability to manage emotions is one of the hallmark symptoms of ADHD and one of the reasons why they tend to get into trouble more than their peers.  It’s important for your child to realize that it’s not okay to hit people out of frustration and that it’s not okay to cuss at someone when they’re angry. Kids with ADHD have to learn that while it’s okay to feel upset or angry, this does not mean they can hurt other people.

If your child punches his brother, sit him down and ask, “What was happening that made you think you needed to do that?” Don’t ask how your child felt, because he won’t be able to articulate an answer; instead, as what was going on. You’ll find that the behavior has a self-centered reason – perhaps his brother wouldn’t lend him a video game he wanted to play with, or his brother wouldn’t give up the TV so he can watch his favorite show.

Don’t rely on consequences alone to improve this behavior. If you must use consequences, make sure that they challenge how your child views the situation or you provide your child with options on dealing with the problem in the future. Otherwise, your child will not learn from the experience; in fact, he will probably repeat the same mistake when you’re not looking.

Once you’ve figured out the reason behind your child’s behavior, ask him what he can do next time this happens.  Using this approach encourages your child to come up with healthier ways to cope with his feelings and think of more effective solutions to the problem.

Problem-solving

Sometimes, children who are labeled as “troublemakers” are simply children who have not learned how to solve life’s problems.  When faced with a difficult situation, they turn to ineffective actions like violence or verbal abuse because they don’t know how to handle the problem otherwise.  A key element to helping a child develop better behavior is to teach them problem-solving techniques. Help your child identify problems and discuss possible solutions to it, instead of focusing on what you child is feeling.

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Failing to consider the context of the symptoms

It’s not uncommon for children to get diagnosed and medicated for ADHD based solely on a parent’s complaint or teachers report. However, true ADHD shows its symptoms in two different settings – not just one.  I once treated a child who has tried three different kinds of stimulants; his mother was concerned because he was rapidly losing weight, and his symptoms weren’t improving.  He got diagnosed and treated for ADHD when she showed their doctor a letter from a teacher saying that he could never sit still or concentrate in class.  When I asked her how he behaves at home, she immediately replied with, “He’s perfectly fine at home. He doesn’t seem to have a problem.” Asking feedback from the rest of his family, his parents’ friends, and Sunday school teachers confirmed his mother’s observations – the child is not hyperactive or unfocused outside the school environment.

In addition, most doctors only get feedback about the child’s behavior from one parent. To get a better picture of the child’s problems, it’s best to obtain a history from both parents, a teacher, a grandparent, and a relative or close friend who does not live with the family.

Assuming that a previous ADHD diagnosis is correct

Children hop from one stimulant to another because many doctors take the previous diagnosis at face value and assume it is correct.  Do not assume that your doctor made the right diagnosis; when in doubt, seek a second opinion.

Failing to screen other disorders

Many parents don’t realize that inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are not unique to ADHD; they are symptoms that point to a variety of problems, from autism to sensory integration disorder. Stimulant medications may suppress the symptoms temporarily, but they do nothing to address the real underlying problem.

Failing to interview the child

Most doctors skip interviewing the child and go straight to writing a prescription. It’s important to hear about the symptoms from the child experiencing; this will give you a better picture of what’s really going on. ADHD behaviors can be caused by many things – a bully at school, problems at home, or a boring curriculum.

Taking history from a non-parent

You’d be surprised at the number of kids who get taken to doctors’ offices for an ADHD evaluation – an uncle, babysitter, or someone other than a parent. It’s difficult to obtain a clear picture of the problem without a parent around.

Many are aware of the health, behavioral, and emotional problems premature babies face later in life, but post-term babies may be equally at risk. Compared to babies born at term, post-term babies are more likely to have ADHD, or so a new study from the Netherlands shows.

The study examined 5,145 babies born in Rotterdam between 2002 and 2006, and discovered that those who were born after 42 weeks of pregnancy are at greater risk for behavior problems. To arrive at these conclusions, mothers were asked to fill out the Child Behavior Checklist when their children were 18 and 36 months old. This questionnaire asked questions about child’s behavior, which is used to identify developmental problems, emotional problems, and ADHD. It was discovered that 4.4% were born preterm and 7.4% were born post-term. These “overdue babies” were 2.5 more likely to get ADHD by age 3 than babies born on time.

Interesting as these findings may be, it appears that the study doesn’t offer any conclusive evidence that post-term birth really does lead to behavioral problems in toddlers. The biggest limitation of the study is that it relies upon the parents’ reporting of their child’s behavior, which is far less reliable than a formal evaluation by a doctor. The study did not control for factors like mother’s nutrition during pregnancy or stressful birth conditions. It’s very easy for early childhood behavior to get influenced by some unknown factor during gestation. In fact, one of the biggest risk factors of childhood ADHD is poor prenatal care. Low folate levels, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and drug use during pregnancy has been found to cause ADHD and a host of other learning disorders.

Currently, pregnant women who go exceed 42 weeks are closely monitored for health problems and may be induced for birth if the baby is not in distress. Even though post-term babies are at risk for problems at the time of their birth, more research is needed to determine whether or not they are in danger of long-term health effects.

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Most ADHD diets involve avoiding processed food because of the artificial additives they contain and their lack of nutritional value.  When doing the groceries, don’t be fooled by packaged foods that are “fortified” or “enriched with nutrients.  Not only are these so-called “enriched” foods just as depleted as regular processed food; they have a negative health impact on people who eat them on a regular basis.

Food processing involves various methods to prolong shelf life and deliver these foods to far corners of the world.  These methods, which can include freezing, canning, and adding chemical preservatives and flavoring, results in a final product that is lacking in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that it promises.   Despite these facts, processed foods are eaten regularly and at a high volume. This is troublesome because when processed food is eaten to satisfy hungry, the body uses up its vitamin and mineral stores to digest these foods and convert them into energy. Hence the term “empty calories” – the body uses its nutritional stores and cannot replenish them, thanks to the lack of nutrients in the processed food. The easy availability of these processed foods is one of the leading reasons why more children and adults experience ADHD. As you are probably already aware, vitamin and mineral deficiencies affect brain function, causing hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention.  Although food supplements can make up for the deficiency, it cannot get rid of the symptoms if a person’s diet is poor to begin with.

Enriched food is very misleading because it gives the impression that the food must be nutritious and healthy.  But the truth is that enriched food are only slightly less depleted than regular processed food.  What’s worse is that the nutrients added to the food are synthetic toxic additives.  For instance, the iron in iron-enriched snacks and breakfast cereals are actually made of the metallic form of iron! The only iron the body can use is the bio-available kind naturally found in meat and some vegetables.  In other forms, iron can do very little good to the body, in the same way metallic iron shavings can do little good to your nutrition. Yet this is the kind of iron found in iron-enriched foods.

Another enriched food you need to watch out for is those with omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats naturally occur in deep sea fatty fish, walnuts, and flax, but now you see the omega-3 label in eggs, bread, and infant formula.  But not only are these omega-3 fortified foods more expensive; they don’t contain enough omega-3 fat to be of use. What’s worse is that synthetic versions of omega-3 are often used to fortify these foods.  A study shows that omega-3 fortified infant formula causes massive diarrhea because it uses a toxic synthetic fat similar to omega-3.

Following a nutritious ADHD diet is no easy task, but you are better off sticking to actual food sources of these vitamins and minerals instead of enriched processed food.  Enriched food will not only fail to provide the nutrients needed by someone with ADHD; it may end up aggravating any nutritional deficiencies that are already there.

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Just as the human body is designed to be active, so does the brain need to be pushed in concert with our motor functions. Exercise can boost learning power and relieve ADHD symptoms three different ways. First, it can improve attention span, alertness, and motivation, thus optimizing our productivity and overall mindset.  Exercise boosts the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, which regulates the signaling processes of the brain.  And a good workout aids the cellular basis of learning by helping neurons bind to each other. It also triggers the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus, the region of the brain that handles learning and memory.

Science class taught us that once the brain fully develops during our adolescent years, we’re left with all the neurons we’re ever going to need in our lives and can only lose them as we grow older. However, new research shows that neurons can grow back through neurogenesis, a process where they divide and multiply like other cells in the body. Thousands of neurons can get born at once, but most of them die out because they fail to find a network to get plugged in. Exercise can trigger the creation if these new neurons, and provide the stimulation they need for them to survive.

So what are the best forms of exercise you can do to help your child’s ADHD brain? Here are some suggestions.

Aerobic activities

Set aside thirty minutes each day to jog, ride a bike, or play a sport that involves running or sprinting.  These aerobic exercises boost neurotransmitter production, new cell growth in the brain, and blood vessel development.  A small study done in Japan discovered that half an hour of jogging just twice a week for three months can improve the brain’s executive function. If your child doesn’t have time to exercise daily, make time for a good workout at least two times a week.

Skilled physical activities

Get your family together to do a skilled physical activity like martial arts or rock climbing.  Complex activities like this one improves the formation of synaptic networks in the brain – the more intricate the movements, the better. The new synaptic networks formed will help you learn and think more effectively.

Do both activities

Hit two birds with one stone and do a physical activity that combines both types. Good examples of this are tennis and skateboarding.

Play with a partner

Motivate your child to get regular exercise by doing a skilled activity that requires a partner to play, such as fencing.  This enables your child to learn complex new moves while adjusting to another person’s movements, demanding the brain to stay attentive and focused.

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We are surrounded by toxins every day. No matter how hard you try to protect your child, he or she will invariably encounter toxins in the air, in the additives and preservatives in foods you eat, and other carcinogens lurking in the environment.  Exposure to these toxins is one of the leading causes of childhood ADHD, but a detoxification system and a good ADHD diet can help fight the symptoms.

The human body is not entirely defenseless against these substances – our skin makes a good first line of defense.  However, many toxins still pass through this barrier and enter the bloodstream, usually when absorbed from personal care products.  Most of the time, the immune system can get rid of these foreign particles naturally, through the excretory system. However, a recent study shows that children with ADHD sometimes have a problem with detoxification and need special help. Though there are treatments that can improve detoxification, another way to go about it is by incorporating certain herbs and foods into your child’s diet.

Below are five detoxifying foods that might help.

Beetroot

This unassuming herb has been discovered to break up cancerous cells and detoxify the liver. It is rich in folic acid and is loaded with antioxidants which can ward off the effects of toxins.

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is rich in the omega-3 fat alpha linolenic acid, which gets converted into the omega-3 fat DHA in the body. Though DHA needed by the brain to recover from ADHD, flaxseed is more useful as a detoxifying agent because of its high fiber content. This means it has laxative properties that can cleanse the digestive system and ensure efficient waste elimination.

Garlic

Garlic is a potent detoxifying food because of its antibiotic, antiseptic, and antiviral properties. This is probably the easiest food to add to your child’s diet – garlic makes everything taste better! Just make sure that you slice or dice the garlic well in order to activate its healing abilities. If your child cannot stand the smell of garlic, many health shops provide garlic supplements.

Nettle

The lush green plant nettle has been found to be rich in vitamins and minerals, including iron – a nutrient often deficient in children with ADHD. In terms of detoxification, its mild diuretic properties aid the urinary system and prevent urinary issues. Nettle is usually consumed in tea form and has a taste a child may not appreciate; you can make it more pleasant by adding honey to the mix.

Dandelion

Yes, those dandelions in your backyard have healing abilities used by Chinese medicine for thousands of years. andelion is a great source of vitamins A, C, B, as well as iron, zinc, and magnesium. It is also used to cleanse the liver, gallbladder, and improve bowel movement.

Family vacations are a great opportunity to bond with the children, and with winter break fast approaching you’re probably deciding where to go. But some vacation destinations might not be suitable for kids with ADHD. Long lines at theme park rides and restaurants, rainy days spent in a hotel room, hours in an airplane seat, noise, crowds – these are difficult for anyone, but especially if you’re traveling with someone who has ADHD. Kids with ADHD are very distractible, restless, impatient, and sensitive to bright lights and loud sounds. Although you might have gotten used to helping your child manage these symptoms at home, handling them in a strange new place is a different story. Vacations mean change and if you already had a routine set up for your child, the lack of structure during the trip might make the symptoms return full force.

While there’s no guarantee of a smooth-sailing vacation, planning ahead is one of two keys to having a great time. The other key is to know what your children want – are they more comfortable with quiet surroundings or the bustle of a big city? Do they prefer the ocean or do they flourish in the fresh mountain air?

Choosing a vacation destination

Some kids thrive in a more natural environment. Open fields or a body of water to swim in are a great outlet for pent-up energy. Another reason why trees and fields make good ADHD medicine is that they provide fewer distractions than the bright lights and noise of a city. The tranquility of the great outdoors also relaxes and revitalizes crucial parts of the brain that handle concentration and attention.

However, not all children enjoy the woods. If your child is sensitive to heat, bug bites, and has low stamina, going camping or hiking might not be the best idea.

Wherever you decide to go or whatever you choose to do, just make sure the destination has something that interests your child. Kids with ADHD are bound to enjoy the vacation if they have a hand in planning, and will be more patient and tolerant about getting there.

Tips on traveling with ADHD children

Once you’ve decided where you want to go, try to keep these guidelines in mind so your child’s ADHD symptoms stay under control.

Stay consistent with diets

Vacations may seem like the perfect opportunity to indulge in a sweet treat or two, but the only way to keep symptoms at bay is for your child to stick with his or her diet. You probably noticed that your child is more hyperactive or irritable without the diet, and you certainly don’t want this to happen during the vacation. If your child is intolerant to gluten and casein, stay away from quaint stores that offer baked goods. If your child is on the Feingold diet, keep avoiding foods with artificial additives.

Bring ADHD-friendly snacks

Hungry children tend to be cranky and whiny, but even more so when they have ADHD. Chances are, the restaurants you’ll encounter on the road won’t have many ADHD-friendly foods. For healthy on-the-road snacks, bring a bag of walnuts or dried fruit instead of chips. Don’t forget to pack bottles of water or natural fruit juice in the car with you too.

Familiarize your children

Kids with ADHD may have some fears or anxieties about going to a strange new place. Get them excited about the trip by talking about your destination, how you’ll be getting there, and showing them photos of the vacation spot. If your child feels anxious about riding a plane for the first time, take a drive to the airport. Watch the planes take off and land to show your child how perfectly safe they are.

Maintain the structure

Children with ADHD need predictability and may be stressed or anxious by an overly-spontaneous trip. Stick to regular mealtimes and bedtimes as much as possible; ADHD symptoms won’t improve if they get too little sleep or forget to eat. You don’t have to keep a timetable of each day, but let your child know what activities to expect.

New research just uncovered an unlikely sign of ADHD – acne.

At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, Canadian psychiatrist Madhulika A. Gupta, MD recommended screening acne patients for ADHD, especially if they exhibit classic symptoms such as impulsive behavior and inattention. According this his study, teens and adults with acne are more likely to have ADHD than those suffering from other types of skin problems.

Previous research have established relationships between acne and psychiatric disorders like depression, but Gupta says no one has explored a possible link between ADHD. She and her research team looked at the data of almost 950 million doctor visits for skin problems, checking to see if any of these also involved a consultation for ADHD. Of these visits, over 100 million of them involved acne diagnoses and almost 175 million were for atopic eczema, a condition characterized by dry, itchy skin. The atopic eczema group became the study’s comparison group because this and acne start to form during childhood.

Results revealed that visits involving the acne diagnosis were 6.3 times more likely to involve an ADHD diagnosis than visits involving the diagnosis of other skin conditions. Those in the atopic eczema group were 5.6 times more likely to involve an ADHD diagnosis. Unfortunately, the study was unable to probe deeper into whys and hows of this relationship, and other dermatologists remain skeptical about its findings. Still, it would be interesting to see more in-depth, peer-reviewed research on the subject.

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There is a lot of biological truth behind the statement “breaking the habit.” The developing brain of a child is made up of electrical wires, which forge connection between nerves that record patterns of association. These patterns of association are the things that make up an experience – for instance, feeling anxious and relieving this anxiety through pulling out hair. Such patterns can be common among children with ADHD. Parenting these behaviors is important because patterns become habits when they are done repeatedly.  Once a child has a habit, he or she performs the action automatically, without giving it a second thought.

Does the habit need breaking?

Before working on breaking your ADHD child’s bad habits, take a moment to asses if the habit really is a problem.  Is it something that requires intervention, or would it be better to let your child enjoy the habit? After all, some habits will eventually go away.  And to nervous children, these habits are a way of coping with the pressures in his or her world; taking this habit away might invite a more harmful way of relieving stress. Generally speaking, if the habit causes teasing or social isolation, or if the habit is harming the child (e.g. fingers are getting infected from biting), then you need to step in.

Discover the trigger

What are the situations that make your child pull hair, bite nails, or twitch? Is your child nervous, angry, tired, or bored?  Call your child’s attention to the habit and discuss it together. Try to find out what’s causing the habit and if your child is bothered by these actions or feels comforted by them. If you can, adjust the environment to eliminate the cause. For instance, if you notice the nail-biting increasing when your child watches TV after school, it might help to find engaging extra-curricular activities that will keep your child busy and stimulated.

Offer substitutes

One way to avoid the habit is to provide a safer alternative. For instance, if your child’s hands are busy squeezing a stress ball, he won’t be able to nibble on his fingernails.  Help your child develop this new habit through practice.  Gently remind your child to fiddle with the substitute object when the urge comes.  Make sure this object is small and within easy reach; hang it from a keychain on your child’s backpack or put it in your child’s pocket.

Find ways to relax

For some children, habits are a way of relaxing or distracting themselves from a stressful situation.  Try teaching your child healthier ways to calm down, such as deep breathing exercises.

The study was presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and involved 20 teenagers diagnosed with ADHD.  All participants had a family history of chronic allergies, but only two were previously tested for any allergy symptoms.  At the start of the study, the participants were screened for allergic rhinitis and given a blood test to check for allergies to dogs, cats, feathers, trees, grass, mold, and cockroaches. These tests revealed that eight of the teenagers were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis and asthma, three had allergic rhinitis, and nine scored positive on allergy tests at least once.  Fifteen were also found to have at least two symptoms of allergies.

These discoveries led the researchers to conclude that children and teens with ADHD may have undiagnosed allergies, and that some of the symptoms might be aggravated by the allergies themselves as well as the sleep problems they cause (e.g. nasal obstruction at night).  The researchers also made strong recommendations that children with ADHD be tested for allergies to help them overcome their symptoms.

So what do you do when you find that your child’s ADHD is triggered by environmental allergens?  First, find out exactly what your child is allergic to. Traditional allergy tests can tell if mold, dust, pollen, or animal fur is responsible for your child’s symptoms. However, it is also possible for your child to be allergic to food; for this you will need specialized tests like manual muscle tests. Allergic reactions to food can be avoided by putting your child on an ADHD diet.

Here are a few tips that will keep allergic reactions bay, without using medication:

• Vacuum at least once a week using a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter. This will prevent the dust from flying into the air.

• Give your child a dust mask before going out during springtime and fall. It might look silly, but a dust mask can effectively keep out pollen, dust, and airborne mold spores.  A study from the Woodcock Institute of Medical Research gave 70 adults with fall allergies a mock filter or a pollen filter. They then spent two hours in a park known for high concentrations of airborne pollens. The paper filters were able to prevent or reduce allergic reactions like sniffles, sneezing, watery eyes, itchiness, and itchy throats.

• Use a dehumidifier to control the development of molds inside the house, specifically in basements and atticks.

• Try pycnogenol supplements. Pycnogenol, the extract from the French maritime pine tree, has anti-inflammatory properties that can soothe allergic symptoms and help kids with ADHD.  A randomized, placebo-controlled study from the Masah University of Medical Science looked at 26 asthma patients and discovered that those who took pycnogenol supplements had lower levels of inflammatory agents linked to asthma attacks.

• Try butterbur. According to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study from Ninewells Hospital, this herb can block the biochemicals that provoke allergic responses to grass pollen.

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