Current research shows a direct relationship between learning problems, developmental delays, and many symptoms associated with ADHD. In fact, a report from the National Academy of Sciences shows that mercury and heavy metal poisoning can account for as many as 3% of childhood neurological disorders in the United States. Children are particularly vulnerable to these toxic metals, not only because they have smaller bodies but also because they have not developed immune defenses against many of these toxins. The smallest exposure can do significant damage to a child’s developing nervous system. It’s not surprising that these toxins can cause ADHD-like symptoms, as well as chronic muscle pain, mood swings, chronic infections, and migraines.

There are many tests that can determine a heavy metal exposure, including nutrient element analysis and toxic elements test. Treatments for heavy metal poisoning vary according to the amount of exposure. Some can be addressed by zinc supplements, but more acute cases require advanced treatments like chelation therapy.

[More...]

While stimulant medications have helped some children reduce their hyperactivity and inattention, we cannot ignore the fact that a number of children need a more comprehensive treatment for ADHD. Not only do ADHD medications fail to work in the long run, but they also carry serious long-term side effects. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to get children and parents to agree to use stimulant drugs. According to a study published in Pediatrics, one in 20 American children received free drug samples from their doctors a year. As for those who decided to take prescription medications that year, almost one in 10 received a free sample. However, the study points out that these free samples may be unsafe.

[More...]

At the UnRitalin Solution, we believe that the onset of ADHD is caused by the complex interaction between a genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Although our destinies are not determined by the limitations imposed by our genes, it helps to take a look at the genetic influences of ADHD and its co-morbid disorders. The presence of some of these genes can explain the dominance of certain ADHD symptoms over the others. Try not to be too overwhelmed by the terminology – the main point of this article is to show the intricate relationship between ADHD, genes, and how these can influence some treatment outcomes.

[More...]

Kids with ADHD can be very difficult to buy presents for. Like many parents, you are probably at a loss as to what to get for your ADHD child this holiday season. If you buy an expensive toy, there’s a high chance that they’ll accidentally break it or lose interest in it after a few days. But if you get them something too simple, they may not even glance at it, leaving the present to gather dust at the back of a closet.

Before you head out to go Christmas shopping for your ADHD child, take the time to know your child and what hobbies or topics is he or she interested in. Children with ADHD may be fickle and easily bored, but they only behave this way when faced with tasks or subjects that do not interest them. But give them a present related to their real interests, and you’ll find that your child is actually capable of sitting still and staying quiet for hours – and using your present until it naturally falls apart. Here are some gift suggestions that might help you decide what to get your kids this Christmas.

[More...]

Getting your kids started on a gluten-free casein-free diet (GFCF) or the Feingold Diet can be difficult. After all, these diets forbid children from eating candy, cookies, pizza, and other foods they love. ADHD diets make cooking and doing the groceries difficult for parents too; gone are the days when you can just buy bags of potato chips or whip up a plate of pasta to ease your children’s hunger pangs. But you don’t have to come up with gourmet dishes to cook for ADHD kids, and implementing an ADHD diet does not mean restricting your children to bland, uninteresting food while their friends feast on tasty morsels. With the help of these ADHD cookbooks, your kids can eat delicious, nutritious meals without becoming uncontrollably hyperactive and inattentive after.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet

This book is an excellent primer for parents who are new to the gluten-free casein-free diet. Not only do the pages contain kid-friendly recipes without milk or wheat, but the authors also explain how and why the diet works. The ingredients used in the recipes are also explained, along with tips on how to find them.

The Autism & ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and Other Interventions

Yet another useful guide for parents who are unfamiliar with the GFCF diet. This book also contains advice on where to buy GFCF foods, tips on avoiding cross-contamination, understanding ingredients labels, and how to make the GFCF diet work for your child and your family.

[More...]

In the UnRitalin Solution, we place a lot of importance on diet and proper nutrition as a key to overcoming ADHD. Research shows that artificial additives and certain other food substances can aggravate the trademark symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and hyperactive behavior. These foods cause adverse reactions that impact the brain wave patterns in specific areas of the brain, which in turn triggers the ADHD-like symptoms.

Although very few researchers have looked into the actual mechanisms by which food allergies affect ADHD symptoms, a small study done in 1997 was able to document the phenomenon well. Researchers from Australia’s Institute for Child Health Research investigated the changes in brainwave patterns when participants with ADHD ate foods they were allergic too. The results are very telling and support the theory that an intolerance to certain foods are responsible for ADHD-like behaviors.

[More...]

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?

[More...]

If you look through the Unritalin Website, you’ll find several articles showing how herbal remedies alleviate ADHD. Aside from AD-FX and Vaxa Attend, there are five more herbal formulations that can boost brain functions and help children and adults overcome hyperactivity and inattention. Although these supplements are generally safe, seek the advice of your health care specialist before consuming or giving any to your child.

Flavay Plus for Healthy Immune and Nervous Systems

Research shows that the brain and the immune system have a direct influence upon each other’s functions. One way to achieve better neurotransmitter production is to consume vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that can support this connection. Flavay is a powerful nutritional supplement that provides support for both the immune system and nervous system. As an immune system booster, it recycles the activity of vitamins E and C, providing the body with more ammunition against infection and antioxidant protection against free radicals. As food for the brain, Flavay Plus contains phosphatidyl serine, a group of fatty acids and amino acids from soy lecithin that is a proven therapeutic agent against memory disorders. In a clinical trial where 26 children with ADHD took 300mg of phosphatidyl serine daily, 25 of them had improved learning capacity and behavior without any side effects. Other published double-blind studies show that this nutrient can treat depression naturally.

Phosphatidyl serine has another positive effect child with ADHD. The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders report that children with ADHD are likely to have abnormal rhythms in the stress hormone cortisol. Studies show that this nutrient can calm down exaggerated stress in young people by normalizing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal’s stress-induced activation of the brain. In other words, phosphadtidyl serine regularizes brain activity, allowing the child to concentrate on tasks without jumping from thought to thought.

Finally, Flavay Plus contains other vitamins and minerals known to benefit children with ADHD, such as gingko biloba, zinc, magnesium, B-vitamins, and selenium. A bottle of Flavay Plus costs USD 78 ( 120 capsules per bottle). Available at flavay.com.

[More...]

There’s more to childhood ADHD than just chronic hyperactivity and inattention. Children with ADHD are likely to experience other psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety. What is less well known is the relationship between ADHD and motor coordination problems, particularly in the spine’s postural muscles and ocular (eye) muscles. For this reason, ADHD falls under an umbrella category called developmental delay syndromes (DDS), which encompasses conditions like learning disabilities, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. In fact, researchers discovered that dyspraxia, or poor motor coordination and muscle strength, is a common denominator of these four conditions. If these conditions persist in one child, can treating the co-morbid motor impairment problems have a positive effect on attention problems, hyperactive behavior, and impulse control?

The answer to this may lie in chiropractic treatment. Chiropractic is a profession that specializes in the correction of spinal dysfunctions called “vertebral subluxations”. Those spinal problems lead to neurological dysfunctions that can lead to symptoms similar to ADHD. The brain relies on a spine with proper structure and movement for it to function well, and any problems with the spine can affect how the brain receives and transmits information. By addressing these structural problems, chiropractic can treat both the motor coordination issues and cognitive deficits found in ADHD. The last decade has seen a number of studies on this subject, but a new long-term study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics shows how a multi-modal chiropractic treatment can help.

[More...]

For many kids with ADHD, the biggest challenge they confront everyday is the inability to pay attention – in the classroom, while doing their homework, sometimes while watching a movie. Of all the human faculties, attention used to be one of the least understood. It’s neither a skill nor a talent; it seems to be an inborn ability that cannot be taught or acquired. However, the latest developments in neuro-imaging and genetics provide us with a wider and more sophisticated understanding of how attention works. Studies show that attention is critical to more practical life skills, like the ability to organize things, make deep connections with others, even developing a conscience. More importantly, researchers have discovered that people can be taught how to pay attention, even if they suffer from ADHD.

Brain retraining programs are designed to correct old habits of thinking that lend itself to distractibility, inattention, and lack of focus. Using imaging technology and foundations in neuroscience, brain retraining programs are an alternative treatment that can target the same deficits ADHD medications seek to correct. Although these technologies have not been around long enough to determine if their benefits will last, kids and adults who have tried them found that brain retraining helps in the here and now. The following brain retraining programs are particularly helpful for children with ADHD, but they come with their own drawbacks and limitations.

Neurofeedback

What it does: Neurofeedback is based on the principle that individuals with ADHD have abnormal brain wave pattern that are either over-stimulated or under-stimulated. Beta waves should appear in tasks that require concentration and focus, but individuals with ADHD usually have large theta wave patterns, which indicate a state of daydream. Neurofeedback can retrain the brain until they emit beta waves, thus eliminating symptoms of inattention and distractibility.

How it works: The practitioner will take the medical history of the child and identify the symptoms that need to be treated. Then electrodes will be strapped on to the child’s head while he or she performs a cognitive task like reading out loud. The brain wave activity will be mapped out so the practitioner can figure out the abnormalities in the pattern – which is the theoretical source of the child’s ADHD symptoms. Through a computer game, the child’s brain will then be retrained. The computer game will only work if the child concentrates and emits beta waves. If there are too many theta waves, the game stops working and will only resume when the child concentrates once more. The positive benefits of neurofeedback training remain for months and years after the last session. After a year of therapy, patients tend to reduce their medication dose by 50% or stop taking them altogether.

Costs and drawbacks: The sessions are only 30 minutes long and completely painless. However, the average cost of a treatment course can range anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. Neurofeedback practitioners are also only available in certain areas. Finally, neurofeedback can only address the inattention issues of the ADHD spectrum and should be used in combination with other treatments.

Bottom line: If you can afford to pay for the neurofeedback treatments, it seems to be worth a shot, especially if your child cannot concentrate on schoolwork.

[More...]