Twenty year old National Institute of Mental Health study on ADHD treatment called into question! New research suggests that combination of behavior therapy and medication may ultimately provide best overall results for children with ADD/ADHD.
Some of my patients are very sports oriented. When we start IM, I tell them all about how professional sports teams such as the Miami Dolphins or the golf pro ViJay Singh use IM as part of their training to improve and enhance their performance. Every once in a while, I get a patient who just really “gets on a roll” and makes improvements very quickly earning lots of “bursts” (so many consecutive super right on the beat hits).
Bill was one of those kids. He just loved beating his scores during every visit. He got the idea in his head, that he wanted to reach 1000 bursts before he completed his sessions. Every visit, Bill would request to perform various exercise that he knew he was good at, just to increase his number of bursts so he could reach his goal. Now a kiddo (who happened to have Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD) who has set his mind to something is very difficult to stop!…
These safety rules for ADHD children may seem obvious, but we find that reminders seldom hurt — especially for caregivers who don't live every day with attention deficit and hyperactivity.
A parent or older sibling must always supervise free play.
Stop his jumping or running sooner than you might with another child.
When outside, hold hands.
When out for a stroll, walk on the side that's closer to the street.
Be ready to stop a child with your actions, not words, should he happen to dart off.
Hold hands in stores or malls, or place the child in a wagon or cart with a seat belt.
Article Published on Additude magazine.
There are so many children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD these days. Some kids are struggling to pay attention in class or are labeled as the class clowns or troublemakers at school or other organized events. Whether it be a hyperactivity or an inattention to task, could there be a common thread that was missing when we evaluated these children? We utilized standardized tools such as the Bruininks, VMI ,WOLD and Jebsen. They all tended to score below their same aged peers on these tests, handwriting was poor and sometimes it just didn’t seem like they heard what you were telling them.
Check out this artcle published in "The Dispatch" on September 17, 2011
Written by: Jan Swoope- jswoope@cdispatch.com
The eyes have it: Some find life-altering results in vision therapy
On Wednesday, 10-year-old Matt Morel of Caledonia came home from school with a social studies assignment and 10 or so questions to answer about Christopher Columbus. The everyday task might seem ho-hum in most households, but that the fifth-grader could tackle it on his own is cause for joy as far as his parents, Melanie and Keith, are concerned. A year ago, he couldn't have.
"Before Matt had vision therapy, there was no way he could read that and do it," declared his dedicated mom, who used to spend hour after frustrating hour trying to help her son slog through homework. "Even if he had an open book for an exercise in class, it was useless."
The routine school assignment illustrates as well as anything the life-changing triumphs the Morel family has witnessed since the fall of 2010.
At age 14, Kayla Williamson of Starkville had been on ADD medications since second grade and, in spite of varied curriculums, testing, specialists and speech therapy, struggled with learning.
