Intro to ADHD

• ADHD inattentive type  (old ADD)
• ADHD hyperactive type
• ADHD Combined Type
• No more ADD right now

Predictors of ADHD

• Family History
• Prenatal issues e.g. exposure to lead, tobacco, substance abuse, poor prenatal care
• Perinatal issues e.g. anoxia from cord, fetal distress, LBW, prematurity
• Stress and cortisol

COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES

Please remember the following guidelines in communicating with ADHD children:

• Be economical with your words (in other words do not say come and sit down over here  near me dear, but rather “sit down”)
• Don’t preface a command with would you like to–just give the command
• Always allow for a receptive lag
• Make sure you have eye contact before you talk (which may require you calling his name  or touching him)
• Be positive in directions, rather than negative, it’s much  better to say “do this” rather than “don’t do that” or when correcting the child you could ask a question “what is the right way to have handled this?”
• Speak at a slower rate to facilitate auditory processing

ADHD STUDYING HINTS

• Use Highlighter
• Stand
• Earn the easel or bouncy seat
• Increase natural lights
• Gum actually increases focus
• Ticket System: Let the child earn his afternoon privileges by good school behavior as denoted by teacher ratings

The Incredible 5 Point Scale (by Kari Dunn Buron) helps students become aware of emotions and its degree( such as anger, fear, or pain)

– 5 – I can’t control it. I want to go to a calm place.
– 4 – I want to relax in a quiet place.
– 3 – I can’t concentrate on the task and want to observe the activity nearby
– 2 – I am getting upset about  that . But I still want to keep trying
– 1 – I feel great

Creating a Calm Down Corner
Does your child benefit from:

• Physical activity
• Music
• Artistic play
• Fine motor play
• Sensory Play
• Try a stress ball, counting to 10, roller pin, breathing and pulling band

Parent training

• Pay attention to appropriate behavior
• Ignore minor inappropriate behavior
• Don’t sweat the small stuff
• Clear and concise directions
• Immediate rewards
• Keep words to a MINIMUM

John’s To Do List

MORNING

____     7:30 Take pills
____     7:40 Shower
____     7:50 Get dressed with socks & shoes
____                     Hang towel
____     8:00 Breakfast
____     8:20 Homework/books in backpack
____     Pack lunch
____     Take out trash (Tuesday and Friday)

AFTERNOON

____     Wash hands
____     Exercise 30-60 mins./ pull ups
____     Homework
____     study for Religious School
____     Typing

EVENING

____     Homework
____     Clean up room
____     Brush teeth
____     Pack backpack
Parenting the ADHD child

• Natural consequences best
• Privilege removal does not always work
• Parental Consistency
• Work Detail
• Cold Shoulder
• Behavioral Contracting
• Reading about ADHD together

Alternative Therapies for ADHD
SUPPLEMENTS (in order of evidence)

• Fish Oil- eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA (3X) and docosaahexaenoic (DHA) acid
• Zinc  20 – 100 mg
• Iron   80 mg/day for Elementary age
• Magnesium     6 mg/kg/day
• B-6    1 mg/kg/day  for Elementary age
• Thiamine (really B1)
• Pycnogenol  1 mg/kg/day

Diets to treat ADHD

• High-protein, low carbohydrate, sugar-free
• Can have immediate or delayed effect
• sometimes called  anti-allergy diet or elimination diet
• Involves systematically removing the following and checking for behavior changes

1. wheat
2. dairy
3. eggs
4  peanuts
5. corn
6. soy
7. chocolate
8. yeast
9. tree nuts
10. fish and shellfish
11. Citrus
12.  Tomatoes
13. Aspartame MSG
14. Vinegar
15.  Strawberries

Food Dyes

• Dyes such as sunset yellow (yellow #6) found in fruity drinks, blue #2, red coloring (#40) in jams and drinks, tartrazine (yellow #5) in lollipops and carbonated drinks…can increase hyperactivity
• Also:  Carmoisine (E122)
• Quinoline yellow (E104)
• Allura red (E129)
• Sodium Benzoate – soda preservative
• 60.(British Study 2007) proves foods dies increase hyperactivity in toddlers

Alternative Therapies for ADHD

• Movement (breaks, stretching)
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Weight (vest and heavy work)
• Working Memory Training
• Biofeedback
• Meditation

Exercise

• Exercise turns on the attention system
• Reduces learned helplessness
• Improves Endorphins, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin levels

Working Memory Training

• Working memory Is the ability to hold onto information long enough to complete a specific goal e.g. unfinished task
• Improved working memory increases alertness to environ and social cues
• Working memory can be trained through rigorous, sustained mental practice
• COGMED.com, Luminosity.com

ADHD Concentration building games Dr. Robert Myers, Child Psychologist

• The Coin game
• Relaxation and Positive Imagery
• Mind-Body Integration
• Crossword or Hidden Picture Puzzles
• Memory and Concentration games e.g.
• Mosquito Killer, Memory, Simon
• Biofeedback Therapy
• EEG biofeedback therapy rewards scalp EEG frequencies that are associated with relaxed attention (BETA), and suppresses frequencies associated with under- or over-arousal(THETA).
• www.eeginfo.com/research/adhd
• www.neurodevelopmentcenter.com/

Neurofeedback

• Brain Train:
• SmartDriver and SoundSmart
• CyberLearning Technology uses Playstation with EEG Feedback
• SmartBrainGames offshoot of NASA research