Holistic healing

Drug free: Natural cures for ADHD

Experts believe you can help cure the symptoms of ADHD holistically, leaving Ritalin firmly in its box. Here Phoebe Doyle looks at the alternative approaches

Experts believe you can help cure the symptoms of ADHD holistically, leaving Ritalin firmly in its box. Here Phoebe Doyle looks at the alternative approaches
An estimated five per cent of children in the UK have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) making it the most common child-onset behavioural disorder.

Bad news if you’re born male too, as it’s our boys that are three times more likely to be affected. Neurologically–based with genetics also tending to play a part, the condition tends to run in families. Characterised by an inability to concentrate for long periods, restlessness, trouble with following instructions, and impulsivity, ADHD can cause huge disruption in all areas of the child’s life. Sufferers often appear to only function in extremes, such as happy or enraged, low or high. The condition has been diagnosed in children as young as 18 months old, fairly surprising considering the signs of ADHD seem to be fairly symptomatic of pretty average toddler behaviour. However, such early diagnoses tend to only happen in extreme cases when the hyperactivity is causing safety concerns. More often it is diagnosed sometime later, commonly at primary school. It can leave parents stressed, depressed and at a loss as to what they should do to help.

The Ritalin route

For several decades Ritalin was been freely prescribed for children with ADHD until scepticism from parents, teachers and some doctors about the drug resulted in stricter guidelines being introduced. However, there are still growing concerns about possible ‘over-prescription’ of this once deemed ‘wonder drug’and its potential for extremely unpleasant side effects such as insomnia, depression, ‘zombie-like’ behaviour, to name but a few. NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)guidelines currently state that the drug should not be prescribed to children younger than five but it has been known for children under two to receive the treatment. Currently around 450,000 prescriptions are taken each year but it remains shrouded in controversy, leaving many parents seeking alternatives.

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

Homepathy

Homeopath Sue Smith says has had great success helping children with ADHD and it’s a path taken by parents who come to her following diagnosis. “When parents come tome, it is almost without exception because they want to avoid their child going on Ritalin”, she explains. Homeopathy works so well in this area because it treats the whole person; noting the complex interaction between genetic,environmental and biological influences.

So what might be prescribed? “Unlike more mainstream medicine, homeopaths don’t have a definite treatment for each patient with the same condition” Sue says. “That said, the remedy medorrhinum is frequently offered as it helps readdress the balances of the extremes often characteristic of ADHD”.

Diet

It’s certainly nothing new to acknowledge that the quality of the food we ea tcan have a marked effect on how we are. Many parents insist that their children’s behaviour changed remarkably when they cut out all food additives from their diet. However paediatric dietician Judy More (child-nutrition.co.uk) advise staking a cautious approach before making any major dietary changes: “If parents are going to make significant changes to diet they must talk to a qualified dietician beforehand,” says Judy who has been consulted by many anxious parents following their children’s diagnosis of ADHD. “The first step is to always find out as much about the child and their diet as possible.It’s useful for the parents to keep a diary writing down all foods the child has and the behaviour they simultaneously display”, she explains. While the power of the internet means that parents will inevitably do their own research Judy warns:“Children can often be fussy and their diets may already be fairly limited, cutting out more foods can result in their general nutritional needs not being met and this can cause further problems.”

Since the initial Durham trial on omega 3 supplements in 2002 there has been plenty of media buzz around fatty acids, brain power and attention. Some see such supplements as the golden ticket to getting children focused and ready for learning, however, Judy cautions: “It’s all about the individual child.

“While I haven’t directly recommended these supplements for ADHD, I have supported parents that have expressed a desire to trial a course.” Judy encourages parents to be keen observers of their child’s behaviour while taking supplements, writing everything down for analysis.

Lifestyle

Scientists have found certain lifestyle factors may affect a child’s attention abilities. Watching too much TV is considered by some a prime suspect when it comes to finding lifestyle causes for ADHD. Dr Aric Sigman, author of The Spoilt Generation(£12.99, Piatkus) and pioneer of anti-TV campaign ‘Ban The Box’believes there is a direct link between TV watching and attention problems. In his paper Visual Voodoohe points to the rapid increase in diagnosis of ADHD and holds TV watching largel to blame. He cites a study which noted that “for every hour of TV a child watched per day, there was a nine percent increase in attention problems”. Dr Sigman says under the age of two children shouldn’t watch any TV at all and above this age it should be as little as possible.Alarmingly though, some estimate around half of three-year-olds have televisions in their bedrooms.

Cognitive behavourial therapy

Put simply, behavioural approaches to therapy address the problem behaviour and work on mechanisms to change this. For young children behavioural methods include reward for positive behaviour; tangible rewards such as stickers or certificates and intangible rewards such as praise.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on the way a person’s thoughts and feelings affect behaviour. CBT helps people examine their thoughts and beliefs and learn coping strategies to help change them.

It is a ‘talking therapy’ and involves the therapist identifying difficult areas and addressing them. Many sufferers of ADHD have issues with self-esteem which a therapist can address.Anger and aggression can also cause problems and children can be taught strategies for situations in which these emotions arise, for example step back or count to ten. “Parents can sometimes feel at the end of their tether,”says Keith Chadwich from the Manchester Centre for CBT. “CBT is an evidenced-based approach and research suggests it can help some children with an ADHD diagnosis and their parents or carers learn new ways of thinking and behaving. “But CBT is not a cure or ‘magic wand’ and takes commitment and practice to become effective.”

Home Help

Try these key behavioural strategies to adopt in the home

Offer continuous positive praise. At times it may seem like there is nothing to praise. But experts advise ‘catch them being good’ and seek out good behaviour.
Use tangible rewards for good behaviour; for example, stickers,pretend medals and certificates.
Give frequent reminders of what behaviour is expected in a particular situation.
If addressing negative behaviour make sure punishment is given immediately so will be directly related.

A study at Oxford University compared academic progress of those taking fatty acid supplements with those taking a placebo and noted significant improvements in the former

The symptoms?

Clinical and chartered psychologist from the London Independent Hospital, Dr Seema Quraishi says that although the symptoms listed below are not exhaustive, if parents recognise a few of them in their child and are concerned, they should seek professional advice: