You’ve probably told your child to sit still and focus so that he or she can get homework done.  Anyone with ADHD is no stranger to well-meaning statements like, “If you try hard enough and concentrate, you can become whatever you want to be.”  However, relying on mind over matter can be frustrating and downright discouraging for someone with ADHD; after all, their distractible and inattentive brains aren’t exactly their biggest assets. But what if there was a way to use fidgeting as a means to improve focus?

Current research shows that fidgeting is actually beneficial for children with ADHD.  In her book ADHD and Education, Dr. Sydney Zentall observed that inattention increases when a task is repetitive, lengthy, and familiar. Basically, a child with ADHD tunes out when a task becomes boring.  According to her research, an activity that uses another sense besides the one required for the primary task – e.g. listening to music while reading a textbook – improves the academic performance of children with ADHD.  In other words, doing a secondary activity along with a primary one helps the brain focus on the latter. This secondary activity can be referred to as “distractions” or “fidgets”.

Fidgeting is a conscious, mindless activity you do while you work on a primary task.  Fidgeting does not necessarily refer to wriggling in one’s seat; it’s doodling while talking on the phone or pacing while studying for a test. In order to be effective and constructive, fidgeting has to be a deliberate act. At the same time, it shouldn’t take attention away from the task at hand; fidgeting has to be an activity you don’t even think about.

To help your child use fidgets to self-regulate their symptoms, you first need to accept that children require these sensory-motor activities to help them function well.  Don’t tell your child to “Sit still!” or “Look at me when I talk to you.” Acknowledge that these activities are not signs of disrespect, but a way for the child to adjust when they have difficulty sustaining their attention.

Explore different strategies and encourage your child to try new ways to fidget.  Here are some fidgets that might work

Talk while walking

If your child tends to tune out when you give instructions or try to have an important conversation, see if his or her attention improves if you walk while you talk.  Other non-strenuous activity like doing a puzzle together or playing catch will also work. This strategy will make it easier to talk about how your child’s day went or other important matters.

Encourage doodling

Tell your child to try doodling pictures or words while listening to a boring lecture in class.  Doodling is one of the best fidgets and least intrusive one for improved focus.

Buy fidget toys

Busying one’s hands also facilitates focus when a child is listening or thinking about how to answer a question. Fidget toys can be anything, really – a hand-sized plushie, a small rock, even mundane objects like paper clips.  Just make sure these fidgets are small enough to fit into your child’s pocket, allowing him or her to use them without distracting classmates.

Listen to music

Try playing music when your child does homework or chores – something with a steady beat that isn’t too loud or too fast.  Try BrainBalance Music, specialized music designed by Dr. Robert Melillo’s work on sound frequencies and brain function. According to his research, the two hemispheres of the brain become stimulated by certain sound types and frequencies, which is critical to overcome attention problems. For more information, visit i-waveonline.com.

Chew gum

Moving the mouth will help your child concentrate for an extended period of time. If your child’s teacher gets distracted by the sound of gum chewing, have your child suck on a hard candy instead.

Beat the time

Turn household work into a fun game! When doing chores, challenge your child by setting an alarm and racing to get the task done before the time is up.  To sweeten the deal, offer a small reward if your child finishes on time.

The words “electro” and “therapy” often bring to mind cruel psychiatric treatments that seem more fitting in haunted asylums than in hospitals. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is nothing like that. This fairly new technology involves administering very low electrical volts on the head to relieve depression, anxiety, and the symptoms of ADHD. Instead of going to a mental hospital to receive the treatment, CES can be done at home using a small handheld device. CES is approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States as a medical device, and recent studies show that it can improve attention spans and behavior among kids with ADHD. But is it really safe? Are there any side effects to CES?

A brief history of CES

CES was first developed by the Soviet Union in 1949 as a treatment for insomnia – hence the original name “electrosleep.” Soon, its developers discovered that the device could be used to treat depression and anxiety. In the early 1960s, physicians in the United States and Canada began using CES for a wide range of psychiatric conditions and continue to do so to this day. However, CES is not considered a mainstream treatment because not all doctors in general medical practice are aware of this technology and its benefits. To date, there are 160 published studies on the safety and efficacy of CES in treating psychological disorders, specifically depression, insomnia, and now ADHD. A study from Harvard’s School of Public Health showed that these low electrical voltages can boost neurotransmitter activity, particularly the production of dopamine and serotonin.

How it works

CES treatments are administered by a small, battery-powered device that resembles transcutaneous electric nerve stimulations – devices often used in physical therapy for pain relief. Electrodes attached to thin wires are then clipped to the earlobe. The CES device sends very low pulses of electricity (less than 1.0 milliampere). The frequency of the pulses can be adjusted depending on the effect desired. During the treatment itself, the child should feel nothing more than a faint tingling sensation. After the treatment, most patients enter the “alpha state” – a feeling of relaxed alertness. Researchers notet hat the results of CES tend to be long-lasting and cumulative; succeeding treatments are said to cause less anxiety, improved focus, and long attention spans. Children who respond positively are also known to sleep better and experience a heightened sense of well-being.

Side effects

There have been no reports of any serious side effects of CES to date. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs for ADHD, it doesn’t cause any lasting damage and it does not interact with any other medications your child will be taking. However, the device should only be handled by an adult or a doctor, and should be used with caution.
Getting started

There are two ways your child can avail of CES. The first is to find a doctor or a medical center trained to administer the procedure. You can also purchase your own cranial electrotherapy stimulators through two companies – Alpha-Stim, Fisher Wallace Laboratories, and their licensed distributors. Although the benefits and safety of CES have been extensively tested on children, consult your child’s doctor before trying this therapy at home.

Photo taken from Biofeedback Center of Florida

The causes of ADHD can come from the most unlikely sources. A groundbreaking new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that preschool children who had more gas appliances at home had lower cognitive abilities and are more likely to have ADHD symptoms than their peers. The relationship seems strange, until you realize that gas appliances can be a source of indoor pollution. They release an odorless gas called nitrogen dioxide, a toxic pollutant that can interfere with the body’s ability to carry oxygen to the lung. If the ventilation at the kitchen is poor, this toxin can stay trapped inside the house and slowly waft up to the bedrooms. Young children do not have the immune system defenses to properly guard themselves against toxic substances. As a result, the smallest exposure to toxic chemicals may interfere with their nervous system growth and development.

For the study, researchers visited the homes of 482 babies during the first twelve weeks to count how many gas appliances were in the house. They also installed a device that measures the nitrogen dioxide levels in the kitchen every two weeks. When the children turned four, the researchers did detailed tests on their behavior and intelligence. They discovered that there was a positive relationship between the number of gas appliances, the nitrogen dioxide levels in the house, and the symptoms of ADHD, especially inattention. Children who had more gas appliances at home also had slightly lower scores in executive function tests and verbal intelligence tests. The relationship remained the same even after checking for factors like income, educational level of parents, drinking or smoking during pregnancy, or breastfeeding.

Researchers also noted that some kids are more sensitive to the effects of nitrogen dioxide than others. They took a DNA sample from every baby and looked for the glutathione gene GSTP1, which is the gene that produces a specific antioxidant. This enables the body to eliminate environmental toxins more efficiently. Half of the children were found to have faulty GSTP1 genes, and had a stronger association between the nitrogen dioxide levels at home and ADHD symptoms.

Although it’s too soon to make any definite conclusions, this is the first major study done on indoor pollution and the risk of ADHD. It’s also important to note that the study does not claim that gas appliances cause ADHD; merely that there seems to be a relationship between the two. Nonetheless, there is an increasing amount of evidence that links air pollution with impaired brain development, and some studies show that indoor air pollution can actually be worse than outdoor air pollution.
So what can you do with this information? First of all, I don’t suggest that you make a mad rush to the appliance store and switch to an electric stove. Just make sure that your kitchen (and other rooms with gas appliances) has a fan and excellent ventilation. Keep the fan on and the windows open when you use the gas stove. You should also consider placing a spider plant in the kitchen. Believe it or not, NASA researchers have tested the ability of spider plants to remove environmental pollutants linked to gas appliances. They discovered that one spider plant in a one gallon container can remove over 99% of the nitrogen dioxide buildup within just 6 hours!

Environmental pollution might seem like it’s beyond our control, but there’s a lot we can do to control the air quality in our homes for our children. And it doesn’t even have to be expensive to do so!

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.

Books

Your child probably has a variety of interests, but he or she might be especially fond of one specific subject. Get your child a book on this subject. Non-fiction books on insects, pirates, magic, and other topics that interests kids can be easily found at any bookstore. Many kids with ADHD are also avid readers and have certain books they enjoy reading, whether it’s comic books, teen romances, or horror stories. Find out what your child enjoys reading about then find a fiction book that follows this theme.

Arts & Crafts

Kids with ADHD are known for their original thinking and creativity. Encourage this part of your child’s personality by giving them art supplies. You can easily find paints, clay, paper, and markers at office supply stores and craft stores. Make sure you check toy stores for toys that promote creativity; for instance, Crayola has a play set that allows kids to make their own crayons. Consider giving the art supplies along with a book that details simple projects they can do with their materials.

Toys with wheels

By this, I mean a bicycle, a pair of Rollerblades, or a skateboard. Movement addresses the hyperactive component, and toys like these will give your child a chance to release some of this extra energy. Did you know that riding a bike or skating counts as exercise too? And that exercise is the cheapest, natural way to manage ADHD?

Musical instrument

If your child shows interest in a particular instrument, why not give the opportunity to learn this instrument? Music lessons are great for kids with ADHD because they address the creative component, attention component, and behavior component all at the same time.

Fidget toys

You can actually reduce hyperactivity by giving your child fidget toys – tiny toys that provide sensory input or engage your child’s attention during “quiet” events. Fidget toys allow kids with ADHD to attend to an interesting activity without excessive movement or talking. Try giving your child a bag with fidget toys and carry this with you to family gatherings to control your child’s behavior. Examples of fidget toys include small manipulative toys, textured toys, a squeezable toy, or a handheld video game that can be muted.

The inattention and hyperactivity plagued by children with ADHD place them at higher risk of getting injured while crossing the street, riding a bicycle, or playing in the playground. They are also more likely to injure more than one part of their body, receive concussions and other head injuries, or get hospitalized for accidentally ingesting poison. Although the average child is also likely to receive these injuries at least once, children with ADHD experience these accidents more frequently. Often, the extent of their injuries tends to be more severe and result in temporary disability or admission to intensive care units.

Researchers peg the occurrence of these accidents to the ADHD symptoms at play and other co-morbid disorders that occur with ADHD. For instance, a child with ADHD may engage in high-risk games without thinking of the dangers, or cross the street without looking for oncoming traffic. For ADHD teens that drive, car accidents and other traffic violations are a real concern. In fact, some studies observe that young drivers with ADHD are more likely to have their license suspended due to accidents and traffic violations. Other high-risk behaviors for teens with ADHD are engaging in premarital sex, drug experimentation or abuse, and dropping out of school.

Of course, the more serious accidents tend to occur if the ADHD is left untreated or if the treatment is insufficient. It’s not enough to simply medicate children and teens for ADHD; one must implement a holistic treatment and teach them injury prevention tactics. Experts recommend taking these safety precautions around children and teens with ADHD:

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Australian epidemiologist Dr. Michael Abramson discovered that text messaging can rewire young people’s brains and train them to become careless. One of the main culprits is a feature called predictive text messaging, where the phone’s software guesses the word the user wants to type and completes it with a keystrokes. It’s fast and efficient, but horribly inaccurate. Experts believe that a developing child’s brain can be vulnerable to this sort of carelessness with frequent use.

In a pioneering study, Dr. Abramson and his colleagues from Monash University in Melbourne examined the cellphone use of 317 non-ADHD adolescents aged 11 to 14. 25% made more than 15 calls a week, and another 25% sent over 20 text message weekly. This data was then compared these to their scores in a battery of computer tests. He observed that students who used text mobile phones accomplished the tests faster, but their answers were considerably inaccurate.

The findings of this study seem to support the observations of cognitive scientist Laura-Ann Petitto from the University of Toronto. She points out that adolescents today are more vulnerable to behaviors promoted by cellphone use because their dependence on these gadgets occurs at a critical age of brain development. During the pre-adolescent and early teen years, the mind is still open, changing, and growing. When confronted by a technology that demands speediness and automatic behavior, it increases the likelihood of making careless errors and impulsive responses.

Dr. Petitto adds that text messaging in particular addresses a brain function that is central to human beings – language. Although text messaging is visual, it also makes use of language, and features like predictive messaging may stunt the language growth of adolescents. Researchers observe that heavy cellphone use makes young people likely to commit spelling errors in everyday words like “occurrence”. They are also more likely to be more tolerant of grammatical mistakes and incorporate these into their lexicon.

Fortunately, young minds are also very resilient. Dr. Pettito says that the bad habits instilled by text messaging can easily be reversed. But first, you need to pry the child away from the cellphone.

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