I Survived Depression - so can YOU!

Got a child with ADHD? It can be very difficult as well as frustrating. I know because my friend’s son is nine and has had ADHD all his life. Gregory is all over the place. One minute he is playing a video game, the next minute he is playing with something else and the next moment he wants a snack.

It’s difficult for the adults in Gregory’s life because it’s so hard to keep up with him and it’s frustrating because we all know it’s not his fault.

One of the most noticeable symptoms of ADHD is a difficulty in concentrating. Everything attracts him and it’s very easy for him to loose focus on what he is doing. Although Gregory can be very trying at times, he is a very kind, intelligent, likable kid that just needs special attention and a little understanding. There are several courses of action that can be taken to make Gregory’s life easier and they include:

1.Medication - About 4 million Americans take medication for ADHD, including at least 1.5 million children ages 5 to 15. Ritalin and Adderall are the most common and the only ones proven effective. Because so many children are taking these drugs, people are beginning to become concerned about long term effects. I don’t like the idea of Gregory taking medication, at least not long term and would like to see him begin to use other options such as

2.Controlling diet - The most important thing here is the elimination of food additives. Studies have shown that food coloring and preservatives affect the growth of cells in the brain. Not a good thing especially in an ADHD child. There is also a common perception that to much sugar will makes a child hyperactive, but studies have shown that sugar has little effect. In fact sugar tends to make children sleepy.

The other approach in controlling a child’s diet is instead of subtracting certain foods, adding vitamin supplements. There are certain deficiencies in an ADHD child as far as vitamins used to support brain function. The problem here is we all know how difficult it can be to control what a child eats. I like this approach, but don’t see it as realistic. The last plan of action and the one that I find the most interesting is -

3.Exercise - With the worries over medication and the difficulty in controlling a child’s diet, more people are looking to exercise as the answer. Studies are beginning to show that children who exercise are coping better. If kids could exercise 3 to 5 times a day they might not need medication at all says John Ratey associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Exercise increases brain cells and makes them work together. Half an hour a day on a daily basis is all that is necessary to see some improvement. Repeated exercise teaches the brain to handle more information and process it better. The exercises that show the most improvement involve concentrated hand eye coordination although any exercise is useful.

Coping with the ADHD child is not easy. The only thing more difficult is treating the ADHD and relieving the symptoms.

Tags: ADHD, Coping+with+ADHD

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2007 at 5:02 am and is filed under ADHD, Exercise, Nutrition | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.