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December 2006
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) along with learning disabilities and developmental delay issues in children seems to have become a greater problem over the 23 years I have been in practice. Recently I was reading a patient information article written in the Journal of the American Chiropractic Association that covered these issues and I wanted to share this important information. Personally, I have been able to help many children with non-drug and integrative approaches in my Great Barrington practice. Certainly there are cases where medication may be appropriate, but many doctors and pediatricians would rather parents explore as  many options as possible before they try medication.
In the past decade, prescriptions for drugs such as Ritalin, a stimulant medication commonly used for ADHD, increased five-fold, with 90 % of all prescriptions worldwide consumed in the United States. As many parents grow leery of the traditional medical approach to ADHD, integrative health care providers are offering promising results with non-drug approaches that focus on therapeutic exercise, spinal and craniosacral correction, dietary and nutritional intervention and lifestyle changes that affect brain and neurological function.
Some children may simply have difficulty learning certain subjects. But the current system, in a sense, prompts school officials to encourage their parents to have the children diagnosed with ADHD, says Dr. Scott Bautch, past president of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Council on Occupational Health. Some teachers might also have difficulty with students who have a different style of learning, according to Dr. Bautch.
If the child is a visual learner- and the teacher is not, perhaps the child is not being taught in a way he or she can learn. Before diagnosing the child with ADHD, Dr. Bautch recommends doctors talk to the child and parents: “Is the child too active? Bored? Has dyslexia or a different learning pattern? It can be a behavior problem, problems at home, or frustrations with the teacher’s style,” explains Dr. Bautch. “If we went to a conference where the speakers taught in a way we can’t learn, we would be frustrated and would misbehave. We’d get up and leave or chat to the person sitting next to us.”
The traditional medical model, however, seems to follow the cookie-cutter principle. The diagnosis of ADHD is based on a questionnaire. But this is superficial and too simplistic and not thorough enough to make such an important diagnosis, which in many cases is then followed up with medication as the main treatment.
Many chiropractors, and other integrative health care providers offer a non-drug and non-invasive treatment alternative for ADHD patients that target the underlying problems, not just the symptoms. Dr. Robert Melillo, a chiropractor with postgraduate training in neurology, states, “Motor activity- especially development of the postural muscles- is the baseline function of brain activity. Anything affecting postural muscles will influence brain development. Musculoskeletal imbalance will create imbalance of brain activity, and one part of the brain will develop faster than the other, and that’s what’s happening in ADHD patients.” Other therapeutic exercises such as cross crawl and proprioceptive exercises and the Brain Gym approach can have very positive affects as well.
Some children respond very favorably to diet and supplementation in regards to behavior and learning. For instance, removing sugar, refined flour products, gluten, dairy, food dyes, preservatives and additives from the diet have been very helpful to many children. Other suggestions might include, focusing on natural, mostly organic foods with as few pesticides or herbicides as possible. Determining any food sensitivities and/or allergies is extremely important. In regards to learning, IQ, and neurological development breastfeeding has shown to be of vital importance.
If you or a loved one is diagnosed with ADHD or has related symptoms, consulting an integrative health care provider, in addition to your child’s teachers, special educators and your pediatrician can be an important step in deciding the best combination of treatments for your child’s needs.
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