All About ADHD : Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
-
Hi all,
Been browsing thru this thread on ADD/ADHD, all 33 pages of it and I would like to share a few stuff which I have learnt based on my experience and research on ADD/ADHD. It contains some solutions but do read everything here so that you can understand the findings better.
I worked in a school for many years in various roles and capacity and when I first heard about ADD/ADHD, we were told that they were kids with learning difficulties, can’t sit still and difficult to manage. But what was really unclear to me was how to deal with them. There were some strategies which were taught like making them sit at the corner away from the others, set clear rules, give encouragement and rewards etc. But these strategies work only sometimes and the problem still exists. Surely we need better ideas.
So what happens when a child is suspected of having ADD/ADHD? Well, one option is to inform the school’s learning and behavioural support officer but they will tell you there is nothing much they could do to fix the problem or give a solution except write a lengthy report and refer the case to a child psychologist. Not sure if you like to go that route as it could get very expensive in the long term with all the medications and its side effects. I don’t know about you but I am not a fan of long term medication.
So anyway, I decided to do my own research on ADD/ADHD and this is what I found. See if it matches yours.
1.\tThey can't pay attention long enough during lessons which they find uninteresting.
2.\tThey get distracted easily, for example when people are walking along the corridor next to their class. Extreme cases of ADD/ADHD are when they get distracted even by birds chirping outside. True story by the way.
3.\tThey procrastinate and for 1 hour worth of classwork, they will wait until the last 5 minutes before showing any urgency to finish their work. They do this because people with ADD/ADHD lacks adrenaline in their bodies so they enjoy this sudden adrenaline rush of excitement.
4.\tUntidy spaces. If their room is being cleaned, does it really get untidy in a matter of hours?
5.\tThey are impulsive, meaning they do things without thinking of its consequences. Like hitting someone.
Some facts about ADD/ADHD
1.\tWhen people with ADD/ADHD try to concentrate, parts of their brain involved with concentration and focus, which is in the front part of their brains, actually turns off, just when they need to turn them on.
2.\tParents and teachers can make ADD symptoms worse if they are ineffective.
3.\tThey can make expert parents and teachers appear stressed and inept.
4.\tPeople with ADD have many more visits to the hospital and get injured more.
5.\tSome people with ADD are never hyperactive but are labelled lazy, unmotivated and not that smart.
6.\tChildren with ADD may take hours to do 20 minutes worth of homework.
7.\tChildren with ADD find it hard to sleep at night and some find it hard to wake up in the mornings.
The next thing I discovered that there was 7 types of ADD/ADHD.
1.\tClassic ADD/ADHD
a.\tInattentive, distractible, disorganized, hyperactive, restless and impulsive
2.\tInattentive ADD/ADHD
a.\tEasily distracted with low attention span, not hyperactive, appears sluggish, normally found in girls
3.\tOverfocused ADD/ADHD
a.\tWorries excessively, argumentative, compulsive, often gets locked in negative thoughts over and over
4.\tTemporal Lobe ADD/ADHD
a.\tQuick temper, periods of panic and fear
5.\tLimbic ADD/ADHD
a.\tMoodiness, low energy, frequent feelings of hopelessness, depression
6.\tRing of Fire ADD/ADHD
a.\tAngry, aggressive, unpredictable behaviour, periods of being mean
7.\tAnxious ADD/ADHD
a.\tAnxious, nervous, predicts the worst, often has physical stress, headaches
I got this after watching a video on youtube called \"Healing ADD - See And Heal The 7 Types!\" with Dr. Amen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWnJ4wjVu9k
Dr Amen is a child psychologist from America. But unlike a traditional psychologist who treats their patients by guessing, Dr Amen scans his patient’s brains using a SPECT scan imaging machine to actually see the patient’s brain. Think about it, if you injured a leg, the doctor will do an x-ray on your leg to see and make an evaluation. So do dentists and other doctors. But psychologists? They don’t look at your brain, they guess. It’s like having a mechanic trying to find the problem with your car without even having the hood open.
From my research, there are possible ways to treat this type of ADD/ADHD, such as the following.
Common treatments for ADD/ADHD
1.\tMultivitamin and mineral supplements everyday
2.\t1000 to 2000mg of fish oil every day (Omega3s)
3.\tExercise (No exercises involving heading in soccer please)
4.\tLimit computer games time
5.\tDiet – High protein and low carbohydrates (for most types of ADD/ADHD. Not all)
6.\tNo yelling. Their low activity in their front part of their brain is due to low levels of dopamine. Yelling may make them more alert but will make them crave for being yelled at more and get addicted to it. The person yelling will get more stressed.
ADD is a brain disorder and to remedy the situation, I recommend a diet which helps improve the brain so that it can make better and well thought out decisions such as the following.
Diet for type 1 Classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD(High protein & low Carbohydrates)
1.\tFish (Tuna, salmon)
2.\tLean Chicken
3.\tCheese
4.\tLean beef
5.\tTofu
6.\tBeans (Kidney, green beans)
7.\tEgg white
8.\tYoghurt , milk, soymilk
9.\tNuts and seeds (Peanuts, almonds)
**People with type 1 classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD MUST AVOID the following foods! **
Avoid these high carbohydrates for classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD as it would spike their sugar levels and trigger the ADD/ADHD symptoms like not being able to concentrate in class
1.\tSugars, syrups, sweeteners, sweet drinks like MILO
2.\tCandies
3.\tDried fruit (eg. Dried apples)
4.\tCereals (eg. Corn flakes)
5.\tPotato chips
6.\tCookies and cakes
7.\tFlour
8.\tJams
9.\tBread, toast, donuts, pizza, prata (Go to McDonalds and eat the burger without the bread. White bread is worst)
10.\tPotatoes (Hash browns)
11. Fruit Juice
Natural supplements for Classic ADD/ADHD
1.\tRhodiola
2.\tGreen Tea
3.\tGinseng
4.\tPeople with mild to moderate ADD/ADHD can be treated with natural means. Those with severe ADD need medication
5.\tDifferent types of ADD/ADHD need different types of medication. Taking the wrong medication can have devastating effects on ADD/ADHD patients.
Not all are bad about ADD/ADHD. Some are good.
Advantageous of people with ADD/ADHD
1.\tOften highly intelligent, competent and successful in life.
2.\tMany CEOs with ADD/ADHD thrive when they hire people to keep them on track and organized.
3.\tThey make great ER physicians and trauma nurses.
4.\tThey tend to be people who run towards fires as opposed to people who run away from dangerous situations.
5.\tThey make great heroes during wartime as they tend to throw caution to the wind.
Meanwhile here are a few more strategies you can use for your child with ADD/ADHD
1.\tUse computer games as a reward. Get them to do their homework first and then reward them with some game time.
2.\tDo simple physical exercises at home when free
3.\tGet some exercise in the weekends like swimming or cycling
4.\tADD/ADHD kids don't do boring stuff. They learn best using computers and eLearning. Since they can spend hours on the computer, ask them to try the practices on e-learning platforms like MCONLINE or Khan Academy or learn stuff on YouTube.
5.\tAsk teacher to get him to sit in a less distractible seat in class
For people with ADD/ADHD, having the correct diet is important because what you put in your mouth effects the brain. They really need to stay away from stuff which causes a spike in sugar levels, like bread or flour products especially white bread.
I have one student who told me for breakfast every day he has white bread with butter and sugar, a dangerous combination. Here's the explanation. The starches in bread get broken down quickly in the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream as glucose. This causes a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels. The blood enters the brain and this will affect the brain's ability to make proper decisions and sends signals to the brain that they are hungry again.
A few years ago, some scientists did some experiments on the effects of sugar on the brain in mice. A well fed mice when released in a tub of water always manages to swim back to the hard surface. But mice when fed with a high sugar diet struggles to swim back to land. You can watch the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8eQ_8Jogcw (28:25)
Even whole wheat bread spikes blood sugar faster than many candy bars. They really need to stay away from, bread and flour products. Need 2 weeks to see clear results. Try having eggs or fruits like bananas for breakfast instead. You can watch a video about bread here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3puLEt5sr68
But if really can't help it, instead of buying white bread, buy Sprouted Grain bread like this one http://darrensim.wpengine.netdna-cdn.co ... -Bread.jpg . Only Sunshine makes this bread. It’s the most decent one which you can find easily here.
But a better bread which is harder to find is Ezekiel Bread which you can try finding it in the fridge section of supermarkets because it does not have any preservatives. http://nataliehodson.com/why-is-ezekiel ... d-for-you/
Also, avoid all products which says low fat like low fat milk. That’s because they replaced the fat with sugar! Remember, fat does not make you fat. Sugar makes you fat. Drink full cream milk.
In conclusion, it is possible to heal ADD/ADHD by eating the right foods and plenty of exercise. I have stopped having bread in my diet myself and I can feel the effects already like no longer feeling hungry or thirsty so soon after a meal.
I suggest you try the above advice and let me know of the results after 2 weeks. Hope it can help as many people as possible.
If you would like to do more reading, try this bestselling book called Healing ADD by Dr Daniel Amen. You can find it in Google Play Books and the first 345 pages is free. -
Well, I wished I had read and understood all these stuff a decade ago. My dd was diagnosed only in P4 - after years of yelling (me), crying (her) and complaining (teachers)!
She's now Sec 4 in the NA stream. While Ritalin helps her focus, she still needs to be micro-managed in her studies coz she is still unfocused, not organized, and procrastinate everything! And yes, we still get lots of complaints from her teachers every year!
But we are still holding on.
-
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subbuteo3:
Hey thanks so much for the detailed info!Hi all,
Been browsing thru this thread on ADD/ADHD, all 33 pages of it and I would like to share a few stuff which I have learnt based on my experience and research on ADD/ADHD. It contains some solutions but do read everything here so that you can understand the findings better.
I worked in a school for many years in various roles and capacity and when I first heard about ADD/ADHD, we were told that they were kids with learning difficulties, can’t sit still and difficult to manage. But what was really unclear to me was how to deal with them. There were some strategies which were taught like making them sit at the corner away from the others, set clear rules, give encouragement and rewards etc. But these strategies work only sometimes and the problem still exists. Surely we need better ideas.
So what happens when a child is suspected of having ADD/ADHD? Well, one option is to inform the school’s learning and behavioural support officer but they will tell you there is nothing much they could do to fix the problem or give a solution except write a lengthy report and refer the case to a child psychologist. Not sure if you like to go that route as it could get very expensive in the long term with all the medications and its side effects. I don’t know about you but I am not a fan of long term medication.
So anyway, I decided to do my own research on ADD/ADHD and this is what I found. See if it matches yours.
1.\tThey can't pay attention long enough during lessons which they find uninteresting.
2.\tThey get distracted easily, for example when people are walking along the corridor next to their class. Extreme cases of ADD/ADHD are when they get distracted even by birds chirping outside. True story by the way.
3.\tThey procrastinate and for 1 hour worth of classwork, they will wait until the last 5 minutes before showing any urgency to finish their work. They do this because people with ADD/ADHD lacks adrenaline in their bodies so they enjoy this sudden adrenaline rush of excitement.
4.\tUntidy spaces. If their room is being cleaned, does it really get untidy in a matter of hours?
5.\tThey are impulsive, meaning they do things without thinking of its consequences. Like hitting someone.
Some facts about ADD/ADHD
1.\tWhen people with ADD/ADHD try to concentrate, parts of their brain involved with concentration and focus, which is in the front part of their brains, actually turns off, just when they need to turn them on.
2.\tParents and teachers can make ADD symptoms worse if they are ineffective.
3.\tThey can make expert parents and teachers appear stressed and inept.
4.\tPeople with ADD have many more visits to the hospital and get injured more.
5.\tSome people with ADD are never hyperactive but are labelled lazy, unmotivated and not that smart.
6.\tChildren with ADD may take hours to do 20 minutes worth of homework.
7.\tChildren with ADD find it hard to sleep at night and some find it hard to wake up in the mornings.
The next thing I discovered that there was 7 types of ADD/ADHD.
1.\tClassic ADD/ADHD
a.\tInattentive, distractible, disorganized, hyperactive, restless and impulsive
2.\tInattentive ADD/ADHD
a.\tEasily distracted with low attention span, not hyperactive, appears sluggish, normally found in girls
3.\tOverfocused ADD/ADHD
a.\tWorries excessively, argumentative, compulsive, often gets locked in negative thoughts over and over
4.\tTemporal Lobe ADD/ADHD
a.\tQuick temper, periods of panic and fear
5.\tLimbic ADD/ADHD
a.\tMoodiness, low energy, frequent feelings of hopelessness, depression
6.\tRing of Fire ADD/ADHD
a.\tAngry, aggressive, unpredictable behaviour, periods of being mean
7.\tAnxious ADD/ADHD
a.\tAnxious, nervous, predicts the worst, often has physical stress, headaches
I got this after watching a video on youtube called \"Healing ADD - See And Heal The 7 Types!\" with Dr. Amen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWnJ4wjVu9k
Dr Amen is a child psychologist from America. But unlike a traditional psychologist who treats their patients by guessing, Dr Amen scans his patient’s brains using a SPECT scan imaging machine to actually see the patient’s brain. Think about it, if you injured a leg, the doctor will do an x-ray on your leg to see and make an evaluation. So do dentists and other doctors. But psychologists? They don’t look at your brain, they guess. It’s like having a mechanic trying to find the problem with your car without even having the hood open.
From my research, there are possible ways to treat this type of ADD/ADHD, such as the following.
Common treatments for ADD/ADHD
1.\tMultivitamin and mineral supplements everyday
2.\t1000 to 2000mg of fish oil every day (Omega3s)
3.\tExercise (No exercises involving heading in soccer please)
4.\tLimit computer games time
5.\tDiet – High protein and low carbohydrates (for most types of ADD/ADHD. Not all)
6.\tNo yelling. Their low activity in their front part of their brain is due to low levels of dopamine. Yelling may make them more alert but will make them crave for being yelled at more and get addicted to it. The person yelling will get more stressed.
ADD is a brain disorder and to remedy the situation, I recommend a diet which helps improve the brain so that it can make better and well thought out decisions such as the following.
Diet for type 1 Classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD(High protein & low Carbohydrates)
1.\tFish (Tuna, salmon)
2.\tLean Chicken
3.\tCheese
4.\tLean beef
5.\tTofu
6.\tBeans (Kidney, green beans)
7.\tEgg white
8.\tYoghurt , milk, soymilk
9.\tNuts and seeds (Peanuts, almonds)
**People with type 1 classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD MUST AVOID the following foods! **
Avoid these high carbohydrates for classic ADD/ADHD OR MOST ADD/ADHD as it would spike their sugar levels and trigger the ADD/ADHD symptoms like not being able to concentrate in class
1.\tSugars, syrups, sweeteners, sweet drinks like MILO
2.\tCandies
3.\tDried fruit (eg. Dried apples)
4.\tCereals (eg. Corn flakes)
5.\tPotato chips
6.\tCookies and cakes
7.\tFlour
8.\tJams
9.\tBread, toast, donuts, pizza, prata (Go to McDonalds and eat the burger without the bread. White bread is worst)
10.\tPotatoes (Hash browns)
11. Fruit Juice
Natural supplements for Classic ADD/ADHD
1.\tRhodiola
2.\tGreen Tea
3.\tGinseng
4.\tPeople with mild to moderate ADD/ADHD can be treated with natural means. Those with severe ADD need medication
5.\tDifferent types of ADD/ADHD need different types of medication. Taking the wrong medication can have devastating effects on ADD/ADHD patients.
Not all are bad about ADD/ADHD. Some are good.
Advantageous of people with ADD/ADHD
1.\tOften highly intelligent, competent and successful in life.
2.\tMany CEOs with ADD/ADHD thrive when they hire people to keep them on track and organized.
3.\tThey make great ER physicians and trauma nurses.
4.\tThey tend to be people who run towards fires as opposed to people who run away from dangerous situations.
5.\tThey make great heroes during wartime as they tend to throw caution to the wind.
Meanwhile here are a few more strategies you can use for your child with ADD/ADHD
1.\tUse computer games as a reward. Get them to do their homework first and then reward them with some game time.
2.\tDo simple physical exercises at home when free
3.\tGet some exercise in the weekends like swimming or cycling
4.\tADD/ADHD kids don't do boring stuff. They learn best using computers and eLearning. Since they can spend hours on the computer, ask them to try the practices on e-learning platforms like MCONLINE or Khan Academy or learn stuff on YouTube.
5.\tAsk teacher to get him to sit in a less distractible seat in class
For people with ADD/ADHD, having the correct diet is important because what you put in your mouth effects the brain. They really need to stay away from stuff which causes a spike in sugar levels, like bread or flour products especially white bread.
I have one student who told me for breakfast every day he has white bread with butter and sugar, a dangerous combination. Here's the explanation. The starches in bread get broken down quickly in the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream as glucose. This causes a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels. The blood enters the brain and this will affect the brain's ability to make proper decisions and sends signals to the brain that they are hungry again.
A few years ago, some scientists did some experiments on the effects of sugar on the brain in mice. A well fed mice when released in a tub of water always manages to swim back to the hard surface. But mice when fed with a high sugar diet struggles to swim back to land. You can watch the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8eQ_8Jogcw (28:25)
Even whole wheat bread spikes blood sugar faster than many candy bars. They really need to stay away from, bread and flour products. Need 2 weeks to see clear results. Try having eggs or fruits like bananas for breakfast instead. You can watch a video about bread here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3puLEt5sr68
But if really can't help it, instead of buying white bread, buy Sprouted Grain bread like this one http://darrensim.wpengine.netdna-cdn.co ... -Bread.jpg . Only Sunshine makes this bread. It’s the most decent one which you can find easily here.
But a better bread which is harder to find is Ezekiel Bread which you can try finding it in the fridge section of supermarkets because it does not have any preservatives. http://nataliehodson.com/why-is-ezekiel ... d-for-you/
Also, avoid all products which says low fat like low fat milk. That’s because they replaced the fat with sugar! Remember, fat does not make you fat. Sugar makes you fat. Drink full cream milk.
In conclusion, it is possible to heal ADD/ADHD by eating the right foods and plenty of exercise. I have stopped having bread in my diet myself and I can feel the effects already like no longer feeling hungry or thirsty so soon after a meal.
I suggest you try the above advice and let me know of the results after 2 weeks. Hope it can help as many people as possible.
If you would like to do more reading, try this bestselling book called Healing ADD by Dr Daniel Amen. You can find it in Google Play Books and the first 345 pages is free.
how I wish I could have read this earlier!
Eh...just a pointer...some adhd kids also lack in their motor skills, coordination skills etc -
Snow24:
getting adhd diagnosed is a long journey. firstly how old is your child?Hi
My son keep forgetting to bring his water bottle, pencils case home, not focusing in class and disturbing classmates does it look like adhd.how is ADHD dignose?
if u are going kkh/nuh it might take up to a year or so to get it diagnosed.
u need to get a referral letter from kkh in order to get subsidized rates. -
CatMoon:
sigh...means that even until secondary...they will still face the same problem...day dream, inattentive etc.Well, I wished I had read and understood all these stuff a decade ago. My dd was diagnosed only in P4 - after years of yelling (me), crying (her) and complaining (teachers)!
She's now Sec 4 in the NA stream. While Ritalin helps her focus, she still needs to be micro-managed in her studies coz she is still unfocused, not organized, and procrastinate everything! And yes, we still get lots of complaints from her teachers every year!
But we are still holding on.
my son is only in P1, and he already got many patterns like refusing to do his work, anyhow do his test paper etc -
It's a long, long road, but we must remain strong! :grphug:
I still remember her constantly dropping her pencils \"accidentally\" on the floor every minute that she's on the study table, as well as other 1,001 distractions! (sigh)
Must micro-manage her closely - Just last week, her Art teacher called to say my dd has been avoiding her for some weeks and have not shown her any work-in-progress prepwork for Art exam (8 pages). :mad:
I got the detailed instructions from her teacher, rushed back from office, stirred dd from her slumber and sat down with her and we worked together on the 8pp prepwork. After 3 days, managed to finished it (even working till 1 am!).
What to do? Must hand in on the morning of the exam as prepwork is 60% of exam marks!
And this is only 1 of her subjects!!!! :faint: -
hi parents,
I have a boy that is suspected of ADHD. He gets distracted easily and disturbs his friends quite frequently. I often find it difficult to manage his behaviours. Any suggestions on effective strategies? -
lisssa:
Ask his parents what he eats for breakfast lunch and dinner. Its probably high in sugar. Stay off foods which causes a spike in blood sugar level like bread and milo and his brain will make better decisions.hi parents,
I have a boy that is suspected of ADHD. He gets distracted easily and disturbs his friends quite frequently. I often find it difficult to manage his behaviours. Any suggestions on effective strategies?
ADHD is a brain disorder.
For detailed explanation read my long post here.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum ... &start=320 -
lisssa:
Hi lisssa,hi parents,
I have a boy that is suspected of ADHD. He gets distracted easily and disturbs his friends quite frequently. I often find it difficult to manage his behaviours. Any suggestions on effective strategies?
Unfortunately, there is no magic to bullet to address all behaviors that may negatively affect the learning.
Parents need to work collaboratively with the school for proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate child behaviors.
Setting clear rules (for work & play) and boundaries (and be consistent at implementing it) seemed to be a good first step.
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