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"Sit down, Johnny! Pay attention, Sally! If you don't behave, I'm going to have to call your parents again". These are a teacher's words to children who misbehave in school. Some of this is perfectly normal. However, with ADD and ADHD children, these phrases of disapproval from teachers are constant.

ADD and ADHD are on the rise. There are many publications that indicate these conditions are about 15 to 20 percent higher now than 20 years ago. Teachers are often ill equipped to deal with chaos in the classroom. This takes special training, and with most children mainstreamed, teachers are left to their own devices. One can see, then, why drugs are recommended. It is simply to keep the classroom peaceful and productive. "Educate the masses". Everyone in the USA gets an education. It may not be a superior one, but everyone is entitled to an education. That's the American way. However, if you want a superior education for your child, you had better be prepared to do a lot of the work yourself.

I am a Naturopathic physician, a clinical nutritionist, and a veteran teacher with 15 years experience teaching first grade through college. Naturally, I have had many discussions with colleagues on just these issues and wondered, "Why are these conditions on the rise?" I have read hundreds of articles on ADD and ADHD since the '70's when it was called "minimal brain dysfunction". Recently, I have been synthesizing much of this information and have been very effectual in some children's lives.

In my office, my first questions to the ADD-diagnosed child and the parents are: What do you eat and drink? What did the mother drink and eat when she was pregnant? Are there any toxic substances in the air, water, ground, or house where you live? Does the mother or the child have any allergies (not limited to foods). If the child is wearing glasses, I know I can help him. How does your child feel about himself? From these basic questions, I start being a detective.

When I taught school, I used to watch what the children had for lunch. What the cafeterias served for lunch was appalling, and what the parents sent in the lunch boxes was even more appalling. Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Yoo Hoos, bagels headed a list a mile long of foods with empty calories and no real nutrition. Even the normal children could not concentrate after lunch. "Thank Heavens! Recess!" They ran off the sugar and chemicals at recess, and by the time they returned to the classroom, they were ready to fall asleep.

From the Golden Arches to the empty calories in boxed cereals, where there is probably more nutrition in the box than in the product, more than a generation has now eaten that way. Pregnant mothers also eat that way, but they add more milk and maybe some vegetables. I personally would like to see those pink and blue vitamins that OBGYN's give to pregnant women tested and studied. A recent count of chemicals, food additives, dyes, colorings, and preservatives used in fast and processed foods equals well over 2500. There are now many notable papers from peer review journals all over the world that note the human body is simply not equipped to deal with those chemicals. The body has a hard enough time dealing with those substances in the air and water.

Would you put grape juice in the gas tank of your car and expect premium performance from it?

Then, there is the fat controversy ... People, including pregnant women, are now limiting their fat intake so much, or eating a lot of poor quality fats, that it is becoming dangerous. The brain is made up of about 68% fats, called lipids. I have never seen a child with ADD or ADHD that had a normal essential fatty acid profile. This is also a factor in why so many children under the age of 10 wear glasses now. With continual poor food choices, there is a risk of compromising brain function due to the lack of essential fatty acid balance.

In my practice I take pregnant and lactating mothers completely off of poor quality foods and place them on nutritionally dense foods plus appropriate supplementation. The parents of ADD and ADHD children who come to me spend hours learning about food and how to cook nutritious food that will assist their child's cognitive function. Often, I recommend allergy testing. Sometimes challenge tests for heavy metals are indicated. I always recommend an essential fatty acid profile for these children. In addition, I recommend proper cleansing, carefully selected nutritional supplements, appropriate homeopathics, and stress reduction to bring about balance in these children. And it works!

For emotional wellness and stress reduction, I utilize an emotional stress reduction technique called ONE BRAIN to assist with the child's self esteem. This technique was developed by Three in One Concepts in Burbank, CA. It was originally developed for learning disabled children. Children may be uncomfortable talking to therapists, and with ONE BRAIN, the child does not have to talk. It is a lovely technique based on left/right brain hemisphere integration. It can identify the cause of the stress, track back to when it all began, and clear it, so that the individual is calm and hopeful. I recall one session where an adult hypertensive client's blood pressure dropped a dramatic 40 points. With ADD and ADHD children, self esteem is always an issue. These children feel defective, and after a ONE BRAIN session, they leave lighter and happier.

Children are our greatest resource. ADD and ADHD children are having a hard time out there. I strongly believe that with hard work and dedication, these high spirited, usually very bright children can be focused, calm, and productive without drugs.

Dr. Karen Purcell's office is located New York City. She is in great demand as a guest speaker, and appears often on radio and television. She also writes many articles for health and healing publications.
212-580-3051 (NYC)

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