Natural treatment for ADHD

Interest increases into natural alternatives by the day. More and more information is now becoming openly available regarding the side effects of stimulant medications to treat this condition. With estimates now reaching around 20 % of children presenting symptoms of ADHD and with approximately 8% now having a formal diagnosis we are fast approaching a generation in crisis. The problem for families living with this, hinges around the difficulty of obtaining that all important diagnosis. Most diagnoses are dependent on a checklist of symptoms through observations of the child's behaviour over a period of 6 months. The problem is with a checklist approach is that there can be many reasons underpinning those behaviours. Certainly with ADHD, although exact causes are not known, there is usually an imbalance e of the brain chemistry involving a chemical called dopamine. The exact reason behind this is not known although there is much debate around genetic influences.



So for many people it makes far more sense to start with natural approaches that do not have any harmful side effects with their children but of course the challenge is to find out which natural approach is going to be most effective.



A holistic natural approach is the best way forward. However, it is important to be able to measure how effective the natural approaches are in helping your child with ADHD. Firstly it is important to identify what behaviours need to be improved, by doing this it is possible to set in place incentives for your child when they show desirable behaviours and to have agreed consistent behavioural boundaries in place with all family members and your child's main educators. What is your child like at coping with various emotions. Frequently emotions can be mismanaged by the child. Something is wrong with the way your child is feeling but they do not know how to express this in any other way than through their behaviour. For this reason, a natural approach is the Dr Edward Bach Flower Remedies which constitutes a complete emotional management system and all you need to do is to identify which one most appropriately matches the way your child is feeling.



Next step, it is important to look at diet. There is a possibility food or certain additives in food can trigger certain behaviours. Discovering what these are is a vital step in treatment of ADHD.



Exercise is also known to help, as it is a self correcting measure for that all important brain chemistry and increases the feel good factors at the same time. Other natural methods include addressing any deep seated core issues that your child may have relating to past events that anchor in their feelings that get triggered alongside negative patterns that they rerun because they do not have any other coping mechanism in place to deal with these. Also, it is possible to learn natural approaches that help with relaxation. Many children presenting ADHD characteristics find it very difficult to relax and often have their sleeping patterns disturbed. Another natural method to improve behaviour is based around their learning environment. Often schools are unable to cope with these behaviours and resort to excluding children which can put added strain on family members. A natural learning environment learning through a programme of Eco activities and working with animals has always traditionally proved the best learning approach to children experiencing these challenges in a traditional classroom environment.



By trying all these integrated different approaches and monitoring improvements in behaviour it is possible to identify the underlying causes for ADHD with a natural approach before resorting to damaging medications.





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ADHD Naturally