• The METAL CHILD, just like a piece of metal, does not bend easily. They are usually very-structured kids who like a routine.
• The EARTH CHILD needs close interpersonal relationships and that is where they thrive.
TREATING ADD/ADHD:
AN INDIVIDUAL APPROACH by Samuel Dwight Franklin A.P.
individual. Most often they are treated as a disease diagnosis, with a one- size-fi ts-all best practice approach. This is extremely problematic when patients are children and unable to voice their own desires. The Center for Disease control says that as of 2007 5.4 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD. That is nearly 10% of the child population and each year a higher percentage of children are being diagnosed than the year before. Although many people take issue with the diagnosis of ADHD itself, my concern is not with the diagnosis but the lack of an individualized treatment plan for each child. Each child has his or her own personality and life circumstances to take into account when helping them conquer their problems focusing. Too often each child is given the same medication (and only medication) as many others without any thought to these differences.
W
Oriental Medicine takes a different approach in addressing these problems of an inability to focus. We do something so radically different that it could change the way ADHD is looked at in this world. We look at the child as an individual! We know children will act out but they do not do so in the same fashion. Unfortunately, modern medicine will likely prescribe identical medications for the vast majority of these children. So let’s take a look at how Oriental Medicine classifi es and then goes about correcting ADD/ADHD. Dr. Stephen Scott Cowan, a pediatrician and author of the book
e all realize that modern medicine is having diffi culty treating each patient as an
Fire Child, Water Child, describes how he went from treating children with ADD/ADHD with a modern medicine approach of prescribing medications to a Oriental Medicine approach and the use of The Five Elements Philosophy. During the fi rst 15 years of Dr. Cowan’s career he treated ADD/ADHD the same as his colleagues, with medication. He became very unsatisfi ed with the long term success of his patients. Many children might get moderately better initially—but he felt what he was doing was suppressing symptoms that in reality was a child’s “cry for help.” He believed that using such a “quick fi x” with medications could keep children from developing the individual personalities they were born with and also cause long-term side effects with increased medication usage. Dr. Cowan dramatically changed his treatment philosophy when he became friends with two Acupuncture Physicians, Harriet Beinfi eld and Efrem Korngold. They were both using a thousand-year- old philosophical system of the “The Five Elements” to treat children suffering from ADD/ADHD safely and effectively. The Five Elements in its essence
is a way of describing who we are at our very core nature and how we relate to nature as a whole. These fi ve elements are wood, fi re, earth, metal and water. Each element has its own characteristics and personality and can relate differently to the other elements.
• The WOOD CHILD is a child who has to be hands-on.
• The FIRE CHILD is the child who just wants to have fun and, just like the fl ame, shines very brightly and loves the spotlight.
28 Central Florida natural awakenings
• The WATER CHILD has a deep and strong imagination as big as the ocean itself. They are the dreamers of the world and are often caught daydreaming.
As you can see, there is a lot more to ADD/ADHD than simply a distracted child who does not listen at home or in school. There are many reasons why that child may be acting out or not acting at all and it is up to us to fi nd out what makes the child feel more comfortable in their environment. It is ultimately up to the child to have the willingness to keep trying new ideas and activities to help the situation. Dr. Cowan has used these principles of the Five Elements along with Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Formulas and Food Therapy to treat thousands of children safely—with success and without medications. Learn more about Dr. Cowan’s approach on Sept 5th
when I will go into further detail about this topic.
Samuel Dwight Franklin A.P. has incorporated this approach into his private practice with great success. He has worked in various medical offi ces throughout
his career assisting Medical Doctors in the treatment of patients ranging from Acute and Chronic Pain, Cardiovascular Disease, Mental and Emotional Disorders and Weight Loss. He combines Oriental Medicine along with Craniosacral Therapy (a light touch therapy used to improve the fl ow of cerebrospinal fl uid throughout the brain and spinal cord) to get the best possible results for his patients. Although he treats patients of all ages, his lifelong goal is to change the lives of children suffering from ADD/ ADHD and Autism symptoms through the practice of Oriental Medicine, Craniosacral Therapy and Diet. Get more information from Dr. Franklin at the scheduled presentation Sept 5 at Infusion Tea at 7 pm. See the calendar section for additional information or for more information visit healingwaysacupuncture. com or call 270-339-3299.
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