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ADD/ADHD and alternative interventions Login/Join
 
<w.c.>
posted
Neurofeedback has been used for many years, and often successfully, by physicians and therapists in treating ADD and ADHD, at least according to the research literature I've seen. But I've also known adults who benefited little, or not noticeably, and have wondered how to account for that (I'd imagine the same is true for children). One possible explanation may be found here, in the research below, where conscious access to the inner area of the body (chest and stomach) is the goal, something that neurofeedback may only inadeverdently produce in those already sensitive to that bodily region of mostly subconscious awareness. What further suggests this explanation to me is taken from Michael Gershon's book "The Second Brain," which documents the many years of research in gastroenterology re: stomach and intestinal production of 95% of the body's serotonin. The heart appears to produce much of the body's dopamine, and so considered together, even from just a reductionistic scientific POV, increased body awareness may not be an easily controlled value in neurofeedback training for some clients.

The research subjects in the study below were children, although I'd imagine HeartMath researchers would eventually test their technology for its use with ADD/ADHD adults as well.

http://www.heartmath.org/e-bro...artMath_and_ADHD.pdf
 
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ADD/ADHD is a controversial topic, to say the least. As you know, some don't even think it's a pathology. My son, Paul, probably fits the description, but he "managed" to go through K-12 public schooling as an A student -- just have to let him fidget a bit and run around outside. Ritalin was never in the question.

The talk show host, Neil Boortz, constantly rails against using ritalin for ADD/ADHD and has something of a crusade going on about it. I'm guessing he's probably paid adverse consequences in his life.

Good link!
 
Posts: 7539 | Location: Wichita, KS | Registered: 09 August 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
I NEED TO BE ON SOME SORT OF A DRUG

Recently I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -- Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how this insidious disease manifests itself:

I decided to wash my car. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trashcan under the table, and notice that the trashcan is full. So I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take m y checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the can of pop that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the pop aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.?

I see that the pop is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the pop, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye -- they need to be watered. I set the pop down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, we will be looking for the remote, but nobody will remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of pop sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e- mail.
 
Posts: 5413 | Location: Washington State | Registered: 21 September 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Question: How many ADD children does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: Hey, let's go ride bikes!
 
Posts: 5413 | Location: Washington State | Registered: 21 September 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
<w.c.>
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Yikes! I've seen a friend circumambulate his daily routines like that; it's maddening for him. Sheesh . . . its disturbing just reading that description.
 
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Yikes! I've seen a friend circumambulate his daily routines like that; it's maddening for him. Sheesh . . . its disturbing just reading that description.

I think I posted that little A.A.A.D.D. funny because I know I partially resemble it. I'm also a little bit of what is called obsessive-compulsive. I'm also a little bit of what is called obsessive-compulsive. I'm also a little bit of what is called obsessive-compulsive. But only a bit. The way I see life is that the "best" working brains are those that are just a bit askew, just a bit out of round, so to speak. And please understand that I don't include myself in that. I am quite dysfunctional, I assure you, and not a particularly notable asset to the world. But if you look at the great thinkers, the great scientists, the great inventors, leaders and doers, you'll find that most of them are, frankly, a bit whacked. I think this is so because it is precisely when we ramp up some attribute about our selves (like obsessive-compulsiveness, which is a ramped up desire for order) that we create the kind of drive and ability that makes a distinctive difference in the world (for better and for worse). "Normal" is surely the preferred state to be in. Balanced is better and more peaceful. Unbalanced is maddening. I wonder if what gives the unbalanced (so to speak) such influence is that they are driven not only by the power of their unique abilities but by the desire to fix themselves. Surely the vitality one feels through one's core competencies would lead one to believe that through the use of those competencies one can heal oneself. And thus a vicious cycle may be set up that is tough to escape from but easy to flame-out in.
 
Posts: 5413 | Location: Washington State | Registered: 21 September 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
<w.c.>
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I see.
 
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