Wholistic Medical Centre

Hyperactivity is an increasing problem in modern society and “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” – commonly labeled ADHD “and attention deficit disorder” – commonly labeled ADD is one of the fastest growing conditions among children in Western countries today. It is also sometimes labeled hyperactivity disorder.

The rate of diagnosis is up to ten times more likely in boys than in girls. ADHD is also more likely to be diagnosed in North America and Australia than in any other countries. Interestingly the rate of diagnosis can also vary greatly between states. However with ADD, which has more symptoms of inattentiveness and dreaminess than hyperactivity, the comparative proportion of girls with ADD is much higher.

If your child is demanding, has a poor attention span, appears to need little sleep and exhibits aggressive behavior they will likely be diagnosed with ADHD. In reality they are often little more than simply boisterous or they may have allergies or Food intolerances that affect their behavior.

If you or your child’s teachers feel your child may be exhibiting ADHD symptoms you will need to consult your doctor. The stimulant drug Ritalin is frequently prescribed, however it has a number of side effects and like all pharmaceutical ADHD medication currently in use it does not address the underlying issues causing symptoms of ADD and symptoms of ADHD to manifest.

Hyperactivity is often related to food intolerance, particularly to sugar and refined carbohydrates, food colorings, flavorings and preservatives. Nutritional deficiencies can affect brain function, so check your hyperactive child is getting the recommended amounts of iron, zinc, Vitamin B and magnesium.

ADHD “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” is the current official blanket term used to describe all subtypes of ADHD and ADD

Although the title of ADHD is reasonably new, a behavioral condition with a similar set of characteristics has been documented since the turn of the 20^th century. As more research into the condition was conducted, particular ADHD symptoms became predominant, which led to the following name changes.

As can be seen from this table people have been attempting to understand a particular set of challenging childhood behaviors for a number of years.

The occurrence of ADHD has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. This is probably due to the Western way of life in the 21^st century and the need for children (and adults) to sit still for long periods of time rather than moving around like the human body is designed to do.

In modern society children are expected to sit still, in the classroom, for extended lengths of time rather than moving around. Children (and adults) sit at a desk, sit in front of a computer and sit in front of the TV rather than running, exercising and playing. People nowadays will drive rather than walk or cycle, even short distances. People will use an escalator or lift rather than use stairs, even for one or two floors. This reduces the opportunities for the human body to work off its excess energy.

However, there was little documentation about attention deficit disorder from the last century. This could be largely because in the previous centuries people didn’t live such a sedentary lifestyle with little opportunity to burn off their physical energy. In fact early explorers, pioneers, rural farm workers, actors, builders, entrepreneurs and many other active career paths actually benefit from the symptoms that are labeled as a problem in so many of our children and adults today.

It is possible for ADHD children to become very successful ADHD adults if the correct occupation is chosen i.e. an active or creative occupation.

This leads to the question “Are these ADHD children the problem or is our modern day school system simply unable to cope with the natural diversity of human behavior?

In fact the need for people to conform and sit for extended periods of time is not only one of the ADHD symptoms but also leads to many other examples of ill health today such as obesity, diabetes, heart problems etc.

Until now the understanding of ADHD has come from medical research and therefore the traditional ADHD treatment has been to use pharmaceutical ADHD medications. As this use of Ritalin, Dexedrine etc. only masks the ADHD symptoms and doesn’t treat the underlying cause it is prudent to try and work out what is causing the ADD symptoms in the first place.

The symptoms of ADHD may also be caused by diet i.e. allergies or food intolerances, depression or post traumatic stress, environmental influences like lead toxicity or maybe family problems.

Remember if you only ask medical questions you will only get medical answers.

Many ADHD symptoms can be helped and controlled by diet and many people claim success in controlling ADHD symptoms with natural remedies. The main emphasis should be on eliminating preservatives, colorings, flavorings, dairy and citrus.

There is also a school of thought that believes some ADHD children may have neurological differences in the part of their brain that manages behavior, concentration and self control.  Some brain scans show diminished blood flow and activity in the frontal lobes of the brain.

There are also some cases where ADHD children also have dyslexia, speech problems or hearing difficulties.

There is a strong hereditary to ADHD. If either or both parents have ADHD it is quite likely the children will also have ADHD symptoms, Children with ADHD will develop into ADHD adults unless the symptoms are able to be isolated and dealt with.

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