In 2006, the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) delivered a black box warning to Ritalin, a common stimulant drug prescribed for children for ADHD. It seems that stimulant drugs were the cause of serious heart problems in 135 children, of which 81 people died.
Others said that the numbers are much smaller. And frankly, some children had heart problems, many of whom were undiagnosed.
Numbers don't matter. The death of one child is still a serious concern. As many as 2 million children a month take these drugs. Some estimate that 2.5 million children are on stimulant drugs. This is a lot of children taking drugs. Amazing statistics, to say the least.
Then in 2008, the American Heart Association said that children are given a standard heart test, an ECG (electrocardiogram), if their doctors think they should take a stimulant for ADHD. This is not a law, only a proposal, and some believe that this is an overreaction. As a parent and grandparent, I will certainly follow the EKG proposal ... even if the insurance has not paid.
Now, before I go further with this story, please do not take the child from their ADD medication or suggest to parents that this be done. If you want to look at reducing the dosage or stopping the medication from a child, you should talk to your doctor.
What does this story mean in terms of ADD behavior at home and in class? I predict that anxious parents and doctors are going to pick up the children from their nurses without worrying about the EKG.
What are we going to do with 2 million hyperactive children!
For years, we did not have to take responsibility for helping these children or for insanity trying to maintain some order in the classroom and at home. The drugs did it for us. Now we can be on our own.
Here are ten brain training tips to help you and your children cope with ADD:
1. Stop eating sugar, including drinking fruit juice. Cut back on bread and pasta, especially. what is made with white, processed flour.
2. Limit TV and video games, especially TV and games that have a lot of flashing lights.
3. Help them get organized. Keep the schedule and be consistent.
4. Stop telling them to sit still. Their ability to do this is limited. In addition, the movement is important for learning. This is a serious brain-based learning strategy!
5. Practice deep breathing. Children can even learn the simple form of meditation, which is nothing more than observing breathing. Even getting more oxygen to the brain is a brain-based learning method.
6. Cross the right ankle over the left, and then hug yourself, crossing your arms all over your body, leaving them to the right. Reduces stress in the central nervous system. Try it yourself.
7. Get plenty of sleep. Put the kids to bed earlier.
8. Exercise, play, run, skip, insist on a break, especially. A “free” break where children choose what to do compared to a structured game.
9. Make Brain Gym® (see http://www.braingymclasses.com). Few children left their medicine, or at least reduced the doses, doing the brain training room. Another very effective brain-based learning strategy.
10. Eat more foods with omega-3 fatty acids, such as wild salmon, sardines, tuna flaxseed, and flaxseed oil. Take fish oil supplements. (Find tuna without mercury. Check your health food store.) Omega-3 fatty acids increase dopamine production in the same way as Ritalin and other stimulant drugs. Brain-based research involves what we feed our brain and how this food affects the neurotransmitters of the brain.
Choose two or three strategies from this list of brain-based learning strategies and see what happens! I guess you will see an improvement! Less ADD behavior.
