Hi everyone,
I was wondering whether parents and/or teachers out there might have had or heard about any successes with using nutritional treatments in place of or as support for ADD medication treatments. I heard a respected ADD psychologist speak on this topic at a CHADD meeting recently, Dr. John Taylor, and he had a wealth of information I had never heard before, despite my many years of training and experience in the LD field and with ADD kids (including my own son).
For instance, he believes that ADD may be partly due to a lack of protein in the body, or perhaps the ability to process protein, which causes the brain to run at less than optimal levels, particularly impacting the executive funtion centers (which is where attention/focus abilities are housed). He also believes many ADD kids are impacted by toxic chemicals (which has already been documented in many studies apparently) and/or are very sensitive to food additives, a theory once propounded by Dr. Feingold, I believe, but since discredited, or so I had heard. Dr. Taylor believes there are at least five different approaches to treating ADD, the medication being just one. While he is not against medication, he believes at the very least it should be supported by nutritional and other changes, and I have to admit, what he said makes a lot of sense to me. Dr. Taylor has a website, by the way, that anyone can check out who is interested in his ideas, it is at www.ADD-plus.com
Anyway, there are many new food supplements on the market that try to treat AD/HD this way, including Focus Factor (just one for which I have heard radio advertisements), so I was wondering what was the experience, good or bad, of the group with these approaches and new products. Another product my son has begun using with good results is Blue-Green Algae supplements, so if anyone has any experience with that, I’d love to hear about it also…
Food
Nutrition and supplements aren’t the same thing. Nutrition is very important in my observation. I can always tell when my son hasn’t eaten lunch - he gets more oppositional, more emotional, and harder to reason with. Protein definitely is the big factor, along with sleep. Of course, both my ADHD-type kids hate eating - it requires them to interrupt their important activity. They hated sleeping, too - both said that it was such a “waste of time!” We never went the whole-hog Feingold route, but just limited sugar and refined carbs and made sure all meals included protein and occurred regularly, because they would often forget to eat.
Regarding research, it is also important to remember that while medications can improve short-term performance, there is no indication that taking medication long-term leads to improved outcomes, academically or socially. Unless I am mistaken, the studies referred to are looking at symptom management, not long-term outcomes. Also, medication, even when prescribed by a competent physician, does not work for all kids, and in some cases can have pretty drastic adverse effects, so I can’t agree that taking whatever is prescribed by your physician is at all good advice. I would suggest that every family take pesonal responsibility for looking up the proposed benefits and potential side effects of each and every medication prescribed, and to make up your own mind about what is safe and effective for your child based on your philosophy and on the observed effects of treatment from you and your child’s viewpoint. I would also stress that medication alone is NEVER sufficient for any child if you have an interest in long-term outcomes. The fact that the child is “paying attention” or even getting good grades doesn’t mean they are learning anything more. Look deeper for your child’s strengths and teach them how to manage their challenges.
I just read yesterday about a study on Buddhist monks, showing that the size of different parts of their brains changed over time based on their meditation practices, and that the parts of the brain that they utilized differed markedly from those of non-meditators. To me this says that your brain is NOT a fixed quantity which can only be modified by medical means - it suggests that what you think and how you act has a substantial effect on how your brain develops, even into adulthood.
It is clear to me from my own research and from working with my own ADHD-type kids that we exert far more control over our brains than we have been taught to believe. Sure, it’s harder for them than other kids, but they CAN learn to develop those skills. Nutrition is a big part of it. So are clear goals and expectations. So is building on strengths. So is finding a good educational environment. For some kids, allergies and heavy metal poisoning may be issues. There are lots of ways to go, and the most important thing is to keep your family values and goals intact, and to do what works for you. Medication is not a cure for ADHD - it is one possible tool in the tool box. It is vitally imporant to look at your child’s entire life and to do everything and anything you can that will empower them to feel and to be successful in the long term.
“Natural” supplements are also drugs in that they are chemicals that affect the body including the brain. They are NOT necessarily harmless. Digitalis is a plant that can save a life or kill a person. Furthermore, no nutritional supplement has been proven to improve attention in students with attention deficit disorder. Longitudinal NIH studies, however, have shown that medication with a theraputic environment (special education) improves symptoms the most, but medication alone is the significantly next best alternative. ADHD is caused by a lack of effective uptake of neurotransmitters in the brain, which can be remediated by medication, not untested supplements. I have yet to meet a student who has been effectively helped by nutritional supplements.
That being said, good nutrition in general helps students learn. So my suggestion as a parent of a child with LD, a special education teacher and lecturer, physician’s wife, and medical research editor is feed your kids well with healthy foods and avoid any toxic materials as you would normally do for your children’s health. Choose your child’s physician carefully, and give them any medication that has been prescribed by a competent medical expert.
Fern Goldstein