They are words that every parent dreads hearing from a
doctor's mouth: Your child has attention deficit hyperactive disorder, a malady
that affects the executive function of the brain causing inattentiveness,
impulse control problems, behavioral issues, and troubles with normal
activities like school, and as they mature, trouble maintaining personal
relationships and achieving professional success.
No one in the medical community fully understands ADHD yet,
but doctors have found that psycho-stimulants, a powerful class of drugs
including Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine, have helped many sufferers seeking
ADHD treatment. In most meta-analyses of studies conducted on the effectiveness
of these medications, seven out of ten people with ADHD experienced a reduction
of their symptoms.
However, using stimulants can be dangerous with side effects
including racing pulse, hypertension, anxiety, unwanted weight loss, and headaches
to name a few. For this reason, many psycho-stimulants are considered an unsafe
ADHD treatment for children.
There are other drugs, like Strattera, Intuniv, and Kapvay,
that have been approved for use in children but they come with side effects of
their own, including potential suicidal idealizations in teenagers and the risk of
liver damage that causes jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Because of the risks of using drugs for ADHD treatment, many
people want to find a safe, effective alternative that doesn't involve
medication. Luckily, there is a safe, non-invasive, non-drug therapy available
on the market: Biofeedback.
Essentially, a child suffering from the symptoms of ADHD can
be "hooked up" with electrodes to a machine that plays back their
brainwaves on a screen. They can then learn, usually through a video game, how
to control their physiological reactions to certain spikes or dips in their
neurological activity associated with their disorder, thus giving them the
ability to control their responses and their symptoms.
In many cases, biofeedback has been proven just as effective
in managing ADHD symptoms as 30 mg per day of Ritalin, but with one important
distinction: with biofeedback there are no side effects, and it is completely
safe. The technology used is over one hundred years old, and it has helped
thousands of children in the decades it has been in use with this application.
Biofeedback offers children with ADHD the same chance at
living, working, and loving as their peers that were lucky enough not to
develop the disorder. That's all any parent wants for their children, and now
it's possible without powerful, potentially dangerous drugs.
If your child presents symptoms of this disorder, or has
already been diagnosed, consider seeking biofeedback as a way to manage his or
her ADHD. Talk to your child's pediatrician today.
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