ADHD Insight

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not a rare condition as it affects 2-16% of school-going kids. 30-45% of those who develop the condition as kids, continue to experience the symptoms into adulthood. Most people have in some point in their lives experienced some form of hypersensitivity, inattention and impulsivity. However, what differentiates a normal person from a person who has ADHD is the level of the mentioned symptoms. A person suffering from this neurobehavioral disorder:

Is easily distracted
Has a difficulty completing a task and following instruction
Frequently shifts attention and activities
Processes information Slowly
Talks non-stop
Is always moving around
Is extremely impatient

These ADHD symptoms are very dominant and pronounced so that a person suffering from the condition cannot function normally. The condition often goes hand in hand with mood-disorders and anxiety-disorders. If the condition persists, a victim of this condition often becomes a failure in school, work and even in relationships. The likeliness of falling to alcohol and drug abuse or criminal activity is very high. The good news is that it is very easy to treat Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder.

Despite the cause of this brain disorder not being clear to medical practitioners, research has shown that the condition is closely linked to a slight brain dysfunction as a result of neurotransmitter imbalance. However, the cause of this neurotransmitter imbalance remains a mystery for the medical world to discover.

Treatment of the condition has traditionally been behavior therapy, stimulant medication or a combination of the two. Despite the fact that at least 82% of ADHD patients who use the stimulant medication report a positive effect, there are some serious shortcomings associated with the treatment.

Stimulant medication is reported to have a number of side-effects

Adverse drug reactions such as mania is experience by some patients

The medication is at its best a quick fix since the in the long term the condition re-emerges for most of the patients who used the treatment

Many of people have asked of existence of a natural remedy of ADHD. Today, I will reveal to you a treatment that is 100% natural and whose effect does not just offer temporary relief but a lifetime free of ADHD.

Vitamins have indeed been proven without a doubt as the most-effective and sustainable treatment of ADHD. Certain vitamins are beneficial when it comes to enhancing brain activity and functionality and as mentioned earlier the condition results from a neurotransmitter imbalance. The vitamins, therefore, deal with the condition right at its root. This explains why the vitamin treatment is long-term and this is why the Vitamin C treatment is becoming popular by the day.

The vitamins for ADHD include Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin C and Vitamin D. Most of the ADHD patients report a deficiency of the four vitamins. The vitamins work together to combat the symptoms as well as the cause of the neurobehavioral condition.

Vitamin B12 enhances brain function in such a way that it increases mental activity, concentration and reduces tendencies of depression. Vitamin B6 stimulates the brain to produce novepinephrine and serotonins; chemicals that enhance focus, mood and response to stress. The two vitamins work well together to combat the symptoms of ADHD.

Vitamin D treats the root of the condition by improving a proper blood flow to and from the brain hence enhancing brain functionality. Vitamin C destroys toxins that hinder proper regulation of sugar levels. Vitamin C ensures that the sugar levels do not run high, to such a level that restlessness and anxiety.

Other nutrients that should be accompanied with the vitamins to enhance the brain function include zinc, Omega 3, magnesium and calcium. A lifestyle change is also essential in maintaining optimum functioning of the brain. ADHD Vitamins and other nutrient intake coupled with a healthy and balanced diet, adequate sleep and regular exercises will go a long way in creating a perfect neurotransmitter balance; treating ADHD wholesomely.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a condition that affects human beings regardless of their age. It affects children as well as adults. As an adult, it has the ability of disorienting you to an extent that you become frustrated in life. This is through ways that are able to hamper everything that you do including affecting your career and your relationship with other people. It is important therefore to understand the symptoms of ADHD in order for you as an adult to work on the best strategies of treating them. The symptoms that are commonly associated with ADHD in adults include;

ADHD in adults manifests itself by the person being disorganized and forgetful. The person will find it difficult to organize things in his/her life. This is in form of the person being unable to handle tasks, make priorities, and fulfill responsibilities as well as complete tasks in appropriate time. An adult with ADHD also forgets some things that they are supposed to do. This can be witnessed by the person getting late, forgetting deadlines, appointments and commitments and frequently losing personal items. For this reason they are even unable to organize their thoughts well.

Adults with ADHD are often distracted by activities, sounds, sights and inner feelings when performing their daily routine. They are unable to stay focused on whatever they are doing especially when there are distracters. Thus they have poor reading and communication skills. They have a general difficulty in paying attention which is essential in facilitating effective communication. This also implies that they are likely unlikely to complete tasks that are assigned to them appropriately.

ADHD also makes individuals to experience difficulties when dealing with their emotions which include; controlling their feelings and handling disappointments. People with this condition often experience mood swings which are marked by easy irritation, a sense of boredom, stress and frustration. They are unable to deal with criticism and therefore get super-sensitive on being criticized. In addition, some show symptoms of low self esteem, sense of underachievement and insecurity.

In addition, adults with this type of condition are very impulsive because they are unable to monitor their comments, suppress their responses and control their behaviors. When it comes to monitoring their comments they tend to utter thoughts that are inappropriate because they don’t think over something before leaping. They also have difficulty in controlling their actions and reactions to things that dissatisfy them and hence it is quite easy for them to be in situations that are risky. They are also capable of doing things without reading instructions on how to do them because they lack patience.

Adults with ADHD are often hyperactive. They do things like machines because they are very energetic at all times. This means that they get tired and restless sometimes in a way that it hampers their life. Therefore, as they grow older they become subtle as they are unable to control their inner feelings. They also find it difficult to sit still for a long time and therefore they are capable of doing many things in a day. It seems like they have racing thoughts because in the way they argue they argue excessively.

The following strategies are offered for enhancing attention and managing attention problems. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin. The best resources for strategies are the creative, inventive minds of enlightened assessment professionals, teachers and parents, in partnership with the students they serve. Together they can create multiple alternative strategies.

1. Take the Mystery Away

The first and perhaps most important management strategy is to insure that all students understand how attention works and identify their particular profiles of attention strengths and weaknesses. Then, students should be taught attention management strategies.

2. Understand Consistent Inconsistency

Teachers and parents should understand that the inconsistency of children with attention problems is not evidence of a poor attitude or lack of motivation. It is a part of their biologically based attention dysfunction, and is beyond their easy control.

3. Explore the Option of Medication

For many children and adolescents, medication can be helpful in dealing with attentional difficulties. Medication can improve mental alertness and the intensity and duration of concentration. In addition, it may diminish impulsivity and hyperactivity. The student and his parents may wish to explore this option with his physician.

4. Allow for Movement and Breaks

It is helpful for students who have problems with inconsistent alertness and mental effort to be provided with opportunities to move around. For example, at school, teachers could ask the student to erase the board, collect papers or take a message to the office. At home, parents and/or the student could schedule regular breaks and change work sites. That is, the student could work several minutes at the kitchen table and several minutes on the living room floor. Each time the location is changed, the student may experience a burst of mental energy. Additionally, students may need to be doing something with their hands while seated. They may doodle, roll a piece of clay or perform some other manual tasks that enhance their alertness and arousal.

5. Vary Instructional Strategies

Teachers should use a variety of instructional strategies and these should be changed approximately every 15 to 20 minutes. For example, they could deliver information for 15 minutes via lecture. This strategy could be followed by small group work or cooperative learning for 20 minutes. Next, students could engage in individual seatwork or watch a video.

6. Use Signals

The teacher and parents should have a private way of signaling students when they are tuned out. For example, a gentle tap on the shoulder may be effective. Also, the student’s teachers and parents may need to signal him when something important is about to be stated. Looking right at him, his teacher or parent could say, “Now listen very carefully. I am about to give you important instructions about tomorrow’s test.”

7. Leverage Interests

Attention is enhanced when interest is heightened. Thus, students should be encouraged to read, write and talk about subjects in which they are interested. Additionally, students’ attention is enhanced when information is personally relevant to them. For example, if students need to learn a chronological timetable, the teacher could begin with having the students develop a chronological timetable of the important events in their own lives.

8. Minimize Noise & Other Distractions

Students who are easily distracted should benefit from a structured auditory environment. They may need preferential seating near the front of the classroom so that noise and distractions from other students are minimized.

9. Develop Previewing and Planning Skills

Teachers and parents can help students develop previewing and planning skills by requiring them to formulate plans for writing reports and completing projects. For example, when completing a book report, the students could submit plans for how they are going to accomplish this task. They will likely need specific instruction, followed by modeling, then guided practice, and finally feedback on performance. The concept of previewing should be explained to the students and they should be aware of the fact that the activities they are engaging in will help them develop previewing/ planning skills. It is helpful if they are first given practical examples of planning, such as planning for a party.

10. Use Behavior Modification and Self-Assessment

The use of behavior modification and self-assessment strategies can be helpful in increasing desired behaviors (e.g., task completion) and/or decreasing behavior problems (e.g., impulsive blurting out during class). The specific behaviors that need to be changed should be identified (e.g., completes reading classwork; raises hand before answering questions; brushes teeth before going to bed; puts dirty clothes in laundry). The specific consequences for behavior change should also be identified. The consequence for positive behaviors must be more rewarding to the student than failure to complete the positive behavior. For example, if the child is allowed to stay up an extra 15 minutes in the evenings, this behavior must be more rewarding than leaving his/her dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. Additionally, performance of the targeted behavior must be the only way that the student is able to obtain the reward. In the previous example, the child is only able to stay up the extra 15 minutes at night if he puts his dirty laundry in the designated place. School-home notes can be used to communicate back and forth between home and school. In both settings, charts and graphs can be used to monitor progress toward the goal. Students should be encouraged to assess their own behavior in addition to being assessed by the adult. They could be given an additional reward for accurate self-assessment.

11. Discourage Frenetic Work Patterns

To help students refrain from rushing through their work, teachers and parents could avoid making statements such as, “You can go out to recess as soon as you finish your assignment” or “You can watch television when you finish your homework.” Offers such as these may inadvertently encourage students to work too quickly and carelessly.

12. Get Organized

A notebook with three sections labeled “Work to be Completed,” “Work Completed” and “Work to be Saved” may be used to help students organize their assignments. Color-coding notebooks for different subjects may also be helpful for organizing work.

13. Use Daily Planners

A student should use a structured daily planner to help him organize his assignments and activities. A planner that is broken down by subject within the day and has sufficient room to write all the information he needs would be preferred. ELAN Publishing offers a number of good student organizers. Alternately, he may benefit from using a personal digital assistant (PDA).

14. Set Up a Home Office

At home, parents should guide their child/adolescent with setting up his/her own well-organized “office.” Parents should schedule a weekly time that their child/adolescent will dedicate to straightening up the office and making sure all office supplies are well-stocked (e.g., post-its, pencils, pens, highlighters, paper, paper clips, stapler). The student should find his/her best time(s) for studying (his/her most alert times of day), and post these times as his/her “Office Hours.” The student should also experiment with different kinds of background noise levels that work best for him/her when doing homework of studying. Some children/adolescents actually concentrate better in a noisy environment or while listening to music while others may need to use ear plugs.

15. Allow Time to Wind Down

Many students with attention problems have trouble falling asleep at night. It is helpful for them to have an established routine for going to bed at night. For example, they could read a book or have a book read to them. They can engage in stretching exercises before getting in bed. They could drink a glass of milk or hot chocolate prior to going to bed. They might also listen to quiet, easy music while falling asleep. “White noise,” such as a fan, may also be helpful in facilitating sleep.