Chiropractic Care for Children with ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common condition that tends to emerge in children during their early school years. A person with ADHD may have some or all of the following symptoms:
- difficulty paying attention to details and tendency to make careless mistakes in school or other activities; producing work that is often messy and careless
- easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others
- inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities
- difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that require concentration
- frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
- procrastination
- disorganized work habits
- forgetfulness in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch)
- failure to complete tasks such as homework or chores
- frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one's mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations
It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD.
It is not entirely certain what causes ADHD, but the current thought is that it is a combination of an overactive nervous system, coupled with a decrease in the brain's ability to filter out extraneous sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions. Although chiropractors don't directly treat ADHD, there are a number of things that chiropractors can do to help eliminate things that stress a child's nervous system, such as:
- Remove spinal subluxations that irritate the nervous system
- Suggest dietary changes to avoid common problem foods
- Test for allergies that may be stressing the nervous system
- Suggest changes to the home to help reduce exposure to toxic chemicals
The most common medical treatment is the use of the drug methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin. Ritalin is actually a stimulant drug that normally speeds up the activity of the nervous system. But for reasons that are not entirely clear, it tends to have a calming effect on those who suffer from ADHD; possibly by increasing the activity in the area of the brain responsible for filtering out extraneous sensation. The problem with taking Ritalin is that is does not do anything to resolve the cause of the ADHD, it only masks the symptoms. Continued use of Ritalin over long periods of time has also been shown to have detrimental effects on the brain itself
It is important that a child receive a thorough examination and appropriate diagnosis before any treatment is considered. It is also important to look at all treatment options before placing your child on Ritalin and chiropractic care is a great place to start. Contact Genesis Chiropractic Health Center today to schedule an appointment.