Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) & Drug-Free Treatment
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What are A.D.D. and A.D.H.D.? What are the latest treatment methods available?
Before discussing ADHD or ADD treatment, it is important to understand what these disabilities are. ADD means that the brain cannot correctly regulate attention, making it hard to control impulses and complete "boring" tasks. About 25% of children with attention deficit disorder also have restlessness leading to ADHD. Even a calm child can still have attention deficit issues. Later in life, ADD can become problematic for teenagers in the midst of their college search and application process. As adults, ADD or ADHD can affect people as the try to perform tasks affiliated with their daily jobs and can manifest itself in learning disabilities for adults taking online education courses.
ADD is a very common issue facing millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of adults of suffer from Adult ADD.
Too often the first proposed solution is to medicate, which while effective, can also lead to other undesirable side effects. There is an alternative however, that is growing in popularity as more and more people become aware of it. That alternative is Drug Free ADD Treatment. This type of treatment relies on improving cognitive skills by 'exercising' the brain with games and puzzles.
Cognitive skills are high level functions carried out by the human brain, such as comprehension, auditory processing, attention & information processing, and problem solving. These processes are required for effective learning, and are different from the acquired skills we learn through our academic experience. If a child has a problem in one of these areas, his ability to learn will be impaired, and his academic performance will suffer.
These cognitive skills map to areas of the brain, and by "exercising" the parts of the brain tied to a child's identified cognitive weakness, we can see measurable improvements in cognitive functioning,. This in turn leads to a diminishing of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD attention disorders and learning disabilities, and improvements in school and academic performance.
ADD & ADHD in the News
- Asking for ADHD Accomodations in College
- Even though college students with ADHD are no longer covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, they are still protected against discrimination...
- KGO-TV Special on 18 Year Old's Memoir about Life with ADD
- A UC Berkeley student has become the youngest American to write a memoir about living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - or ADHD. Scientists say his book could be the breakthrough that reaches patients and skeptics alike.
- ADHD and Sex: No Shame, No Blame
- ADHD affects sex? Who knew? Yes, it's one of those areas, like sleep, where we often fail to connect the dots to ADHD symptoms.
- Study may show whether Neurofeedback helps people with ADHD and other disorders
- The costly, controversial therapy is getting its first federally funded test - A new federal study may show whether Neurofeedback helps people with ADHD and other disorders.
ADD Symptoms Checklist
- Short attention span. Loses interest quickly.
- Difficulty completing tasks which are perceived as un-stimulating.
- Difficulty following instructions.
- Makes a lot of effort to complete task on time but often does not succeed.
- Makes careless mistake(s) in work. Fails to double check work.
- Easily distracted from task.
- Unorganized. Backpack, class binder or desk is often messy.
- Loses or misplaces homework, assignments, toys or clothing often.
- Poor short-term memory. Often forgets what has just been heard or read
- Easily frustrated.
- Does not get along with other kids very well. Difficulty maintaining relationships
- Has a strong sense of smell or touch. Bothered by clothing tags.
- Poor handwriting.
- Likes highly stimulating games or events.
- Shy, difficulty maintaining eye contact.
- Difficulty following the rules of the game.
- Easily over stimulated. Hard to calm down once over-excited.
- High level of irritability.
- Emotional reactions often younger than age.
- Needs to be center of attention. Class clown.
- Underachiever relative to ability.
- Daydreams a lot.
- Requires constant supervision or handholding.
- Enthusiastic starter and poor finisher.
- Acts before thinking.
- Poor planning ability.
- Difficulty waiting turn in group situations.
- Excessively shifts from one activity to another.
- Has difficulty shifting from one activity to another.
- Low pain threshold.
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Symptoms of Adult ADD/ADHD
Diagnosing ADD using Advanced Testing Methods
To ensure individuals receive the most accurate diagnosis and most effective solutions possible, many centers offering ADD Diagnosis and treatment use a complete battery of neuro-psychological and psycho-educational tests. They are each based on the very latest scientific research. These tests are specialized and targeted for differential diagnosis for ADD/ ADHD, Asperger's Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Dyslexia, Auditory Processing Disorders, and Learning and Mood Disorders.Just as an EKG reveals a heart condition, brain maps (QEEG) provide an insight to brain function. By comparing a person's brain activity with normative databases, a detailed and clinically accurate statistical compression can be obtained that identifies normal brain function and typical patterns of dysregulation associated with specific conditions, including seizures, head injuries, ADHD, non-verbal learning disorders, mood disorders, and depression.
EEG Neurofeedback - Drug Free ADD/ADHD Treatment Method
Neurofeedback, also known as EEG (Electroencephalogram) Biofeedback, is a learning procedure that enables participants to improve mental performance, normalize behavior, and stabilize mood. Neurofeedback is a natural, self-regulating approach that helps restore the brain's ability to function in the manner in which it was designed to function.Once brain wave patterns begin to normalize, all the symptoms in the cluster of problems begin to improve. Neurofeedback is perhaps the biggest breakthrough in non-invasive medicine in the last 50 years
To function, the brain must actively maintain its bio-electrical state across all behaviorally relevant timescales. Neurofeedback is brain exercise directed at fundamental brain regulatory mechanisms of these states.
Gradually, the brain responds to the cues that it is being given, and a "learning" of new brain wave patterns takes place. The new pattern is one that is closer to what is normally observed in individuals without disabilities. In the case of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, impulsivity, distractibility and hyperactivity all tend to respond to the training. This tends to lead to much more successful school performance.
The beneficial effects of EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback) Training are thought to be permanent. As brain wave training is actually a form of learning, once a person has learned how to control his brain wave patterns, he always knows how to do so. Brain wave training does not cause any discomfort, and it is not accompanied by negative side effects. The feedback simply reflects information about the brain, like a mirror. People tend to find the training experience to be quite pleasant.
ADD/ADHD Guestbook
Take a moment to sign our Guestbook if you don't mind. Feel free to share your feedback and any thoughts, observations, or questions that you might have about ADD or ADHD in children and adults, as well as varying forms of treatment.
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alisha66
Dec 1, 2010 @ 12:28 am | delete
- The Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder come in the many forms and no two people display the same symptoms of the ADD or ADHD. The symptoms of ADD or ADHD manifest itself in undue passivity or the inattentiveness, or uncontrollable, aggressive hyperactivity. It is true that the hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity are often normal, especially in children. In fact, most of us may have acted as during the years of our childhood and even occasionally in the adult world. However, there is what we call a normal range of behavior and an abnormal wide. The range is an unusual manifestation of ADD or ADHD.
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Mood Disorders
Oct 14, 2010 @ 6:58 am | delete
- ADD, hyperactivity, and dyslexia are believed to be disorders of certain mechanisms of the central nervous system. Infants and children are the ones most often affected, and most often subjected to the widespread and indiscriminate use of drugs, especially Ritalin, for quick short-cut suppression of deeper problems. ADD interferes with the child's home, school and social life. Unable to screen out stimuli, the child is easily distracted. This usually intelligent child receives a label of being "learning-disabled" and finds the nervous system cannot be slowed down to focus long enough to complete an assigned task. Other symptoms may be head knocking, self-destructiveness, temper tantrums, clumsiness and sleep disturbances. ADD may exist with or without the hyperactivity aspect. ADD has been diagnosed for hundreds of years, but more recently has become more prevalent due to the increased use of chemicals, pollutants, or heavy metal toxicity (such as lead, mercury, and cadmium). One estimate quotes over l.3 million with Attention Deficit Disorder; another source quotes up to 3 million with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Although genetics, infections and brain damage (trauma) have been cited as causes of ADD and LD (Learning Disabilities), these cases are quite rare compared to causes like a dysfunctional home, heavy metal toxicities, nutritional deficiencies, and food and chemical allergies. The majority of cases are caused by an immune defect and allergies to food additives, preservatives, chemicals, or inhalants. To deal adequately with this illness, we must address all these potential imbalances. Some of the nutritional deficiencies that correlate with LD or ADD are calcium, magnesium, iodine, iron and zinc. On the other hand, high copper, lead, cadmium and aluminum levels have also been seen in learning disabled children.
http://www.thebrainhealth.com/category/mood-disorders
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Dr. Lara Litov
Mar 31, 2010 @ 5:15 pm | delete
- I am a naturopathic physician utilizing neurofeedback as an adjunct therapy to my practice in the Bellevue area of greater Seattle. Feel free to learn more at http://bellevuenaturopathic.com.
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MASTER321
Feb 24, 2010 @ 1:46 am | delete
- This is such the perfect lens and very informative for my ADD educational needs, thanks for sharing
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