The Exceptional Student in Danger
Dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder Naturally.

Compiled and written by Dr. Brian K. Bailey author of Secrets to Happiness, Inner Peace and Health

Having ADD myself gives this topic special meaning. My oldest child failed to graduate from high school, most likely because of his ADD. It wasn't diagnosed until he was 16. He had experienced a lot of failure in school already. My youngest son, at age 10, is benefiting from his diagnosis. I am currently teaching a number of students that have undiagnosed ADD. I hope the article will help in their education and others. It may be one source of the multiple problems in our society involving delinquency, depression, teen suicide, teen pregnancy, anorexia, bulimia, drugs, cigarette and alcohol dependency, crime, and a growing medical, legal and educational cost to every citizen on this country.

Children with ADD are actually exceptional in their thinking ability, the problem is that their thought occur too fast for their brain to process. They are extremely curious and have a zest for learning new things. They are constantly asking why and wanting to know everything that is going on around them, hence their restlessness. ADD children are very creative and imaginative thinkers with good intentions, but have trouble getting along with peers and teachers. Later in life that can translate into difficulties in work management, relationships, drug and alcohol dependence, depression, despair and crime.

WHAT IS ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER?

Many teachers and parents have received, and will continue to receive, the diagnosis of ADD for children who have problems. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has identified and defined this disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association (1980), ADD is indicated when children display inappropriate inattention, impulsivity, and sometimes hyperactivity for their mental and chronological age. ADD may be diagnosed as with or without hyperactivity. Approximately 20% of the population will be diagnosed as having ADD.

Teachers and parents are the ones who usually seek help for children who exhibit the problems associated with ADD. Children from ages 8 to 10 years are most likely to be referred and diagnosed as ADD. The younger the child is when diagnosed as ADD, the more severe form of ADD they are likely to show. Conversely, if preadolescent and/or adolescent children are diagnosed, they will usually show a less severe form of ADD. ADD is most obvious in situations that call for self-application or in group situations, and may be absent in a one-to-one situation or in a situation that is novel to the child. These facts are kept in mind as the criteria used for diagnosis of ADD are considered.

WHAT ARE THE APA CHARACTERISTICS OF ADD?

The American Psychiatric Association (1980) uses the following criteria for diagnosing ADD.

1. Inattention (will exhibit at least three of the following):--;often fails to finish things he or she starts&em dash;often seems not to listen&em dash;is easily distracted&em dash;has difficulty concentrating on schoolwork or other tasks requiring sustained attention&em dash;has difficulty sticking to a play activity.
2.Impulsivity (will exhibit at least three of the following):--;often acts before thinking--shifts excessively from one activity to another&em dash;has difficulty organizing work (this not being due to cognitive impairment)-needs a lot of supervision&em dash;frequently calls out in class--;has difficulty awaiting turn in games or group situations.
3.Hyperactivity--ADD may be diagnosed as with, or without, hyperactivity (if hyperactive, will show at least two of the following):--runs about or climbs on things excessively&em dash;has difficulty sitting still or fidgets excessively&em dash;has difficulty staying seated--moves about excessively during sleep--is always "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor."
4.Onset before age 7.
5.Duration of at least 6 months.
6.Not due to schizophrenia, affective disorder, or a severe or profound mental retardation.

When a child shows the appropriate criteria, the diagnosis of ADD will be given.

ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

According to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.) (American Psychiatric Association, 1987), to be diagnosed as having ADHD a child must display, for 6 months or more, at least eight of the following characteristics prior to the age of 7:

1. Fidgets, squirms or seems restless.
2. Has difficulty remaining seated.
3. Is easily distracted.
4. Has difficulty awaiting turn.
5. Blurts out answers.
6. Has difficulty following instructions.
7. Has difficulty sustaining attention.
8. Shifts from one uncompleted task to another.
9. Has difficulty playing quietly.
10. Talks excessively.
11. Interrupts or intrudes on others.
12. Does not seem to listen.
13. Often loses things necessary for tasks.
14. Frequently engages in dangerous actions.

UNDIFFERENTIATED ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

In this form of ADD, the primary and most significant characteristic is inattentiveness; hyperactivity is not present. Nevertheless, these children still manifest problems with organization and distractibility, and they may be seen as quiet or passive in nature. It is speculated that undifferentiated ADD is currently under diagnosed, since these children tend to be overlooked more easily in the classroom. Thus, children with undifferentiated ADD may be at a higher risk for academic failure than those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Convergence of influences

Kids like these are under especially intense peer pressure. They must find a group of people they identify with, people like themselves, who accept them and can be on their team, or perhaps, gang. A child pegged as unsuccessful or troubled will often find camaraderie with other kids who also have that experience.

Group consciousness and general attitude will amplify self destructive, rebellious behaviors against groups that have insulted them. That may mean cigarette, drugs, alcohol, and other negative behaviors That prove they are cool and don't care what others think of them. Some of the children, especially the ones with ADD, will feel better on drugs because it helps them to concentrate, even focus and feel good about themselves. However, they can get a distorted view of their own creativity because of the drug effect, and the problem becomes worse. Depression, crime and suicidal tendencies emerge. ADD can then predispose an addictive personality.

The implications of ADD issues are critical to the development of our society. The penal system is not going to work for these young adults any more than the school system did.

Facts you should know:

ADD is presumed to be a problem of brain chemistry. It seems to run in families, which implies that at least for some patients, they may be born with the tendency.

ADD happens in adults as well as kids. In fact, it is now becoming a frequent diagnosis in adults with concentration difficulties or impulsive tendencies.

Kids are usually treated with the stimulants Ritalin or Cylert, while adults may be treated with these or with other drugs, like the antidepressants Prozac or Paxil. In fact conventional physicians will often use a stimulant to diagnose ADD because it will paradoxically calm down ADD sufferers.

Many people who suffer from ADD are quite successfully treated with out any drugs at all, by examining and treating environmental and metabolic problems. Having ADD may not be such a bad thing.

Genetic impact

There may be direct brain chemistry problems caused by genetic variation. If ADD is in the genes it's going to be harder to influence it naturally than if it's caused by environmental or other factors. However if the genetic issue is related to the absorption, assimilation or use of nutrients, it may be easier to treat.

Environmental impact

It's evident both from research and medical practice that a large number of add cases can be resolved completely by addressing environmental or metabolic causes. There are many examples of possible contributing factors throughout a child's development or an adult's life including a history of stress on the mother during pregnancy tension at home during early years of a child's life maternal use of drugs or alcohol early infant colic and chronic recurrent infections repeated antibiotic treatments allergies yeast infections television high stimulation activities that can affect normal arousal states and cause restless sleep use of walkers for infants, which has been shown to affect neurological development and cause learning difficulties foods which are rendered nutrient deficient by processing preservatives, stabilizers, artificial colorings, sugar, sugar substitutes antibiotics and hormones in meat and dairy products chemical and heavy metals in our drinking water.

Infections

Using MRI scans of the brain. researchers at Duke University have discovered that chronic recurrent strep infections affect an area called the caudate nucleus, which works in close association with the cerebral cortex for both motor control and sensory activities. This information is now being linked to ADD and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which are frequently seen together.

Scientists theorize that the resulting diminished size and function of this area can make it more difficult to process information into action. It is possible that this may help explain the daydreaming syndrome in the ADD types and the impulsivity of the hyperactive types.

Endocrine function

The endocrine system profoundly affects a child's energy management. If thyroid function is low, the resulting effects are sluggishness, irritability and low body temperature which can result in increased susceptibility and chronic infections early in life, followed by digestive and skin problems and weight gain

The adrenal glands may have to take up the slack for the thyroid or can be independently exhausted from the everyday stress or a serious illness, accident or shock. Proper adrenal function is vital to a child's ability to handle stress, meditate inflammation and maintain immune system function.

Fatigue, hyper or hypoglycemia, chronic inflammations or infection should be warning to diagnose and treat diminished endocrine function. The goal is to prevent ongoing deterioration and antigen penetration of the protective mucus membranes in the body leading to increased sensitivity to foods and environmental allergies, erratic behavior patterns, insufficient sleep, cravings for sugar and salt, and problems which will eventually overburden the liver spleen and kidneys. You will need to see a physician who understands natural medicine in order to receive appropriate individualized treatment.

Psychological

I believe Serotonin plays a prominent role in ADD/ADHD. I have been very interested in serotonin a prominent neurotransmitter that is strongly tied into all types of behavior. Serotonin is in part responsible for depression, aggression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder most addictions, and obesity. The infamous drugs Prozac and Redux work by increasing serotonin in the brain. The side effects occur because of all the other areas of the body that use serotonin as a neurotransmitter, for example the heart.

My interest in serotonin is in the wholistic (holistic) medical area. For years it has been known that ions effect serotonin levels. Positive ions exhaust serotonin while negative ions increase it. A full moon pushes down a positive ion level and wind storms also increase positive ions. This creates irritability, depression and non-desirable behaviors. The natural phenomenon that increase serotonin are falling water (rain, surf and waterfalls) and trees and other plants. Food (carbohydrates), tryptophan (an amino acid), herbs like St. Johns wort and success in school (and other life activities) all increase serotonin. The key word here is Success.

Evolutionary psychology argues that each success enhances the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain-and so also our motor coordination and self-esteem. Failure and negative social feedback inhibit the effects of serotonin and lead to lower self-esteem and possible violence.

When young people see no hope to rise within mainstream society, they may create their own hierarchical gang cultures that provide them with opportunities to succeed within their counterculture's mores. Those among successful people in mainstream society who decry gang symbols and exclusionary turf areas should look to the high-status symbols they use to flaunt their success and to their exclusionary golf courses and walled communities. People in both mainstream cultures and countercultures have the same biological need to succeed; they all need a positive self-concept and self-esteem.

Recent research shows that, in primate groups with a developed, stable hierarchy, those at the bottom (who had little control over events) experienced far more stress and stress-related illness than those at the top. Conversely, during periods in which the hierarchical structure was unstable and shifting, those currently at the top (whose power position was threatened) experienced the most stress and stress-related illness.

This finding suggests that it is in the interest of the power elite (in community and classroom) to maintain social stability, and it is in the interest of the currently disenfranchised to create as much social instability (and classroom disruption) as possible In a desperate search for respect and success.

What to Support

The fewer opportunities young people have to succeed in mainstream society, the more social instability we can expect. It is in our best interest to support inclusionary policies that promote social goals and to enhance the powerful role that schools can play in helping students to seek their dreams.

Our brain's complex collections of neural networks process our cognitive activity. Several dozen neurotransmitter and hormonal systems provide the key chemical substrate of this marvelous information-processing system.

Recent studies with human and nonhuman primates suggest that fluctuations in the neurotransmitter serotonin play an important role in regulating our level of self-esteem and our place within the social hierarchy. Researchers associate high serotonin levels in the brain with high self-esteem and social status and low serotonin levels with low self-esteem and social status. High serotonin levels are associated with the calm assurance that leads to smoothly controlled movements, and low serotonin levels with the irritability that leads to impulsive, uncontrolled, reckless, aggressive, violent, or suicidal behavior.

Research suggests that social feedback creates fluctuations from our basal serotonin levels, and these fluctuations help determine our current level of self-esteem. Thus, serotonin fluctuations are adaptive in that they help primates to negotiate social hierarchies, to move up as far as circumstances permit, and to be reasonably content at each stage. Social success elevates our self-esteem (and serotonin levels), and each such elevation further raises our social expectations, perhaps to try for a promotion or leadership role we hadn't considered when we were lower on the hierarchy

A biological system of variability in self-esteem prepares and encourages us to reach and maintain a realistic level of social status. A high or low level of self-esteem (and serotonin) is not innate and permanent. Successful people may tumble precipitously in social status, self-esteem, and serotonin levels when they retire or are discharged, and thereby may experience a rapid reduction in positive social feedback.

This doesn't mean that the serotonin system developed in order to help low-status people endure their fate for the good of all. Evolutionary psychology argues that natural selection rarely designs things for the good of the group.

But the serotonin system provides us with a way to cope in a bad social situation-to be content to play a group role that is consistent with our current limitations.The human serotonin system seems to function similarly in males and females in the important roles it plays in regulating self-esteem and impulse control.

Is it possible to stimulate the serotonin system when conditions become so averse in a person's life that self-esteem and serotonin levels plummet into the depths of depression? Drugs such as Prozac can produce an elevation in the effects of serotonin that often enhances a person's self-esteem; this increased optimism and happier mood leads to the positive social feed-back that allows the natural system to take over again in time and to function effectively. Think of jump-starting a dead car battery-a few miles of driving will reenergize the battery, and it can then function on its own.

The serotonin-induced higher self-esteem leads to the positive social feedback letting the natural system take over again in time.

People often use alcohol when they feel low, and alcohol does increase serotonin levels. Thus, it can temporarily help to raise our mood and self-esteem--but chronic alcohol use depletes a brain's store of serotonin, and so it makes matters even worse by further impairing the impulse control system.

Nutrition may provide another avenue to serotonin elevation. Prolonged periods of stress increase our brain's need for serotonin. Nutrition researchers have discovered a connection between serotonin/carbohydrate levels and emotionally driven eating disorders that emerge out of family stress, premenstrual syndrome, shift work, seasonal mood changes, and the decision to stop smoking. Non drug diet adaptations have been proposed that could solve some of these problems.

Prescription and other drugs can provide only a temporary chemical boost in self-esteem, and diets require a certain level of self-control. The best support for a serotonin deficiency is probably the natural system of positive social feedback we have evolved over millennia.

If positive social feedback is nature's way of regulating the serotonin system so that both an inexperienced substitute football player and the team's star can work together comfortably and effectively, then positive feedback in the classroom is a powerful social device for helping us to assess and define ourselves (self-concept) and to value ourselves (self-esteem). Serotonin research adds biological support to some educational practices that enhance self-esteem and these practices don't require a prescription or an ID card that proves you are 21:

Portfolio assessments encourage self-examination in students and enhance student self-concept and self-esteem journals, creative artwork, and other forms of reflective thought can produce the same results.
When students have many opportunities to work together in groups, they may experience success in both leading and supporting roles. Positive self-esteem can develop at any level in a work group, if the problem is challenging and the group values the contributions of all.
Many school conflicts arise because an impulsive, reckless act escalates into aggression. We have tended to view these events only in negative terms as misbehavior, as something to be squashed. But what if we used positive group strategies to help students study such behavior and discover how to reduce it? Practical, cooperative learning strategies for conflict resolution have been provided that are consistent with neurobiological research.
A four-decade longitudinal study of seriously at-risk children who matured into resilient, successful adults found that they received unconditional love from family or non family mentors, who encouraged their curiosity, interests, and dreams and assigned them responsibilities that helped them discover their strengths and weaknesses. We can also provide this support in the classroom&em dash;and parents, guardians, and other community members can help.
Cognitive science research is now providing some welcome biological support for practices that many educators have felt were simply right, even though these strategies take more instructional time and energy and result in less precise evaluations. Now that this kind of research is becoming available to us, let's use it.

Healthy Support For ADD

Why are we seeing more ADD now? Better diagnosis and recognition might be one reason, but it might also stem from the diverse issues affecting children's health, including processed foods, familial stress and TV. Stressful lifestyle leads to poor nutritional habits, compromised immune function, chronic infections and eventual hypersensitivity to foods and environmental substances. The medical treatments used for these problems suppress immune function and perpetuate inflammation.

Remember that there are many health issues which can underlie a diagnosis of ADD. So even if your child has received an established diagnosis, and even if their condition is improved by the use of conventional medication, you will still get great benefit from the following suggestions.

Essential Nutrients

Get a nutritional plan. Begin with a natural mostly vegetarian diet, sugar-free diet. Identify and eliminate food sensitivities. Avoid food additives, especially artificial colors. As much as possible stay away from processed foods, stick with whole foods.

Foods to Heal and Rejuvenate the Body

Click the above link for a healing diet.

Supplements

The dosage for nutritional supplements depends on the age and size of the child. These recommendations are for an average sized 8 to 14 year old.

Calcium citrate is important for relaxed muscle tone. Start with 1,000 mg. at bedtime.

Magnesium Aspartate, Malate or Citrate is calming to the nervous system, start with about 250 mg.. three times a day

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids is important for immune and adrenal function. Give at least 500 mg.. three times daily.

Vitamin B complex contains substances which are important in many body functions, including those which regulate brain
chemistry. A natural food based high potency formula is recommended (Super Nutrition, The Perfect Blend- High Potency Formula 2) is a good choice, give 3 to 4 tablets per day with meals

Essential Fatty Acids are just that, essential! They are anti inflammatory. Give 2 to 4 tablespoons a day of ground flax seed, mix it in foods or use on salads.

D,L-Phenlyalanine 500 mg.. three times a day (a neurotransmitter precursor)

L-Glutamine 500 mg.. three time a day (a neurotransmitter precursor)

Pycnogenol 25 mg.. three times a day.

Richard A. Passwater. Ph.D., Report on Pycnogenol®

Click above link for more information.

Botanical Medicine

The herbs hypericum (St. John's Wort), Valerian root, Avena Sativa (wild oat seed), passiflora (passion flower) and scutellaria (skullcap) are excellent for strengthening the nervous system, and have a calming effect on the body and mind.

Siberian ginseng helps protect against the mental and physical effects of stress by encouraging normal adrenal function. Licorice root nitrifies the adrenals and soothes the mucus membranes.

Drugs

Drugs are sometimes necessary to "jump start the brain" but this should only be temporary until nutritional, social and psychological benefits can kick in.

Summary

These children are sensitive, caring, loving, and want to be successful. In my personal experience of having ADD myself, and two children with ADD, as well as teaching children with ADD/ADHD, I have learned a lot. They march to a beat of a different drummer, but their successes are monumental ones. They sometimes see things in a different way than other people. They have a way of being sensitive to other's needs. They have so many ideas at once to sort out. They have so many avenues of thoughts to explore.

His latest book is the SECRETS TO HAPPINESS, INNER PEACE AND HEALTH: COMPLETE GUIDE TO OPTIMAL WELLNESS OF BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT); his 1999 corporate lecture series is TWELVE ESSENTIAL KEYS TO SUCCESS.

Dr. Bailey also does consultation worldwide over the phone, mail or by e-mail.

drbailey@aol.com