ADD/ADHD
Drug Alternatives
By Craig Stellpflug, Neuro Development Consultant
F
or the parents of a child
• According to an article by the
diagnosed with ADD/ADHD,
Washington Post, after three years
all is not lost! There are good
on ADD/ADHD medications,
and proven alternatives to medicat-
the child is academically back to
ing a child diagnosed with ADD/
where they would have been if
ADHD. However, the remedies are
he or she was never put on drugs
not always as easy as swallowing
in the first place. After three years
a pill. Taking the time to discover
on an ADD/ADHD medication,
and correct the underlying factors
the dosage has been raised an
to this disorder can be extremely
average of 41% because the body
rewarding and have a positive and
acclimates to and “tunes down” the
life-long impact even as the medi-
effects of the drug.
cations prescribed for this disorder
• ADD/ADHD medications fre-
can have a negative and even
quently cause the very symptoms
devastating lifetime effect.
they are treating and actually work
To medicate or not to medi-
by means of malfunction rather
cate is a decision each parent of
than improved function, according
an ADD/ADHD child must face.
to Peter R Breggin, MD.
Alternatives to medications are not
ADD/ADHD, Autism and other
always readily apparent either. It
disorders are medically classified
is the right and responsibility of an
as neuro developmental disorders
informed parent to insist on explor-
and spectrum disorders according
ing alternatives at any stage of diagnosis and treatment.
to Stanford University. There are no medical tests to defini-
The fact is that up to 20% of American school-aged
tively identify these disorders and all diagnoses of these
children are now on behavioral medications, according
disorders are based upon subjective findings. There are no
to child neurologist, Fred A. Baughman, Jr., MD. A recent
surgeries or other medical procedures that will alleviate the
article by Michael Dorausch, D.C., on PlanetChiropractic.
symptoms of a neuro developmental disorder. The medica-
com also cites an estimated 49% increase in the medicat-
tions so often prescribed as purported treatments do nothing
ing of children under the age of five years, along with an
to address the causes of a neuro developmental disorder.
increased spending of 369% on medications for children.
Simply put, a disorder by definition is a condition
where the normal order of things is disrupted. It takes order
The real questions that parents need to ask are these:
to overcome disorder. In other words, you cannot expect
• Are medications an effective treatment for ADD/ADHD? organized function from a disorganized brain. All the
• Do the risks outweigh the benefits in the treatment plan?
symptoms of ADD/ADHD, autism and other brain disor-
ders have differing individual causes.
• What are my alternatives to medicating my child?
The causes of ADD/ADHD as a spectrum disorder lie
in incomplete developmental levels, brain disorganiza-
Are pharmaceutical drugs an effec-
tion, under-developed sequential processing skills, brain
tive treatment for ADD/ADHD?
maturation abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, food
sensitivities, allergenic responses, sub-clinical health issues
The pharmaceutical facts about drugs used for medical
or other bio-medical issues.
treatment of ADD/ADHD are as follows:
So is medication an effective treatment for ADD/
• According to a recent article by the Associated Press,
ADHD? The answer is an emphatic no. Medications
ADD/ADHD medications initially raise math test scores
only temporarily mask some of the symptoms by causing
of a child with ADD/ADHD by less than three points after
malfunction in the brain while having long-term physical
one year.
effects that are, so far, vastly under-studied.
30 Phoenix
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