Is my child’s behavior a side effect of medication?
“Dust mite allergy,” the allergist told John and Tamara, consulting with them about their constantly scratching 10 year old who now had constant red marks on his arms and the backs of his hands, “You’ll have to wash everything, buy hypoallergenic covers, it’ll take a lot of housecleaning.” This sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation to the couple, and so they cleaned. “I actually clogged my dryer vent with lint because of the number of loads of bed linens I washed.”
But there was another culprit that the couple had never thought of; a medication side effect.
Another Study Finds Kids With ADHD Helped By Diet
A new study assessing the effectiveness of a restricted elimination diet on the behavior of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was published in the February 2011 edition of Lancet. The study was conducted in the Netherlands and Belgium.… Continue reading
8 Secret Tips for Parents of Children with ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
For the parents of a child with ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, everyday tasks turn into battles—from getting the child out the door in the morning to getting him to bed at night. My son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 6, so I remember what it was like to have a daily tug of war with an attention disordered child all too well. Parents look for help everywhere. They may read one book after another and hear a parade of behavioral experts speak who give them parenting tips that don’t seem to work. The more books they read and experts they seek out, the worse their child’s behavior seems to get.
“ADHD is a ‘brain difference.’ Your child’s brain works differently than 95% of his peers. So ‘one size fits all’ parenting techniques won’t necessarily fit your child.”
In my practice and in my work with my own son, I discovered a number of techniques and strategies that can help parents of children with ADHD improve behavior. Here are 8 Secrets I have learned that can help parents improve their child’s behavior and school achievement:
Childhood ADHD May Predict Depression and Suicidality
A recent study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry showed that children diagnosed with ADHD between 4 to 6 years old were at higher risk of developing depression and suicidality in their teen years. Girls were at especially higher… Continue reading
Nearly One Million Kindergarten Children Per Year Misdiagnosed With ADHD
According to a recent study by a Michigan State University economist, nearly one million children in kindergarten in the United States are misdiagnosed with ADHD. The study attributes this to the disparity of ages in a kindergarten classroom. Most kindergarten… Continue reading
Rewards may work like drugs for children with ADHD.
A research study conducted at Nottingham University in the UK found that immediate reward in the form of points in a video game had a similar effect on brain activity as stimulant medication. Based on EEG results, the team found… Continue reading
Guesswork in prescribing medications for ADHD moves one step toward elimination due to recent genetic research.
Up until now, the prescribing of medication for children with attention deficit hyperactivity is often tedious for the physician and the family. Children who do not respond to the first stimulant prescribed may respond to the next one tried or… Continue reading
Your child diagnosed with ADHD? May want to check their zinc and iron levels.
A recent research study to be published in the August 2010 issue of Child Psychiatry and Human Development found that low blood levels for zinc and iron are associated with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder based on scores on… Continue reading
ADHD and Pesticide Exposure
A recent study published in the June online edition of Pediatrics showed that children with higher levels of organophosphate pesticide metabolites in their urine were at higher risk of developing ADHD symptoms. For every 10 fold increase in organophosphate pesticide metabolites in the… Continue reading
Melatonin May Help ADHD Sleep Problems in Children
A recent review of the literature on sleep-onset insomnia in children with ADHD published in the December issue of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy found that Melatonin may be helpful to children with ADHD who have difficulty falling asleep. This is… Continue reading
