Have the unruly child checked for attention disorder
Feb 05, 2005
DOES your child have temper tantrums, a tendency to become frustrated quickly and inability to sit still?
NUTRITION - By Grace Canada
DOES your child have temper tantrums, a tendency to become frustrated quickly and inability to sit still?
If so, he or she could be having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD) without hyperactivity.
ADHD/ADD disorders affect the central nervous system. They cause a variety of learning and behavioural problems, often making it difficult for the affected child and the family.
ADHD/ADD is a common medical childhood disorder. Unfortunately, it can easily be misinterpreted simply as “bad behaviour.†And the affected child is labelled “badâ€.
This makes a bad situation worse causing the child to have very low self-esteem.
Factors that have been linked to the development of ADHD/ADD include heredity, anxiety, allergies, oxygen deprivation at birth, environmental pollutants such as lead poisoning, artificial food additives and infection, with diet playing an important role.
Many children and adults react to certain preservatives, dyes and chemicals known as salicylates found in foods.
These items can throw off the balance in the chemistry of the brain, producing undesirable changes in behaviour.
ADHD/ADD may be characterised by one or a combination of some of the following:
Symptoms of ADHD:
Problem adapting to new things, a tendency to disturb other children and self-destructive behaviour.
Difficulty doing assignments.
Impatience.
Low tolerance for stress, for otherwise ordinary problems and a tendency to become frustrated quickly.
Inability to sit still for any length of time, impulsive, unpredictable, or daring behaviour, clumsiness or awkwardness and a tendency to talk too much.
Disruptive behaviour in the classroom.
A tendency to blurt out answers without having heard the entire question.
Failure in school despite average or above average intelligence.
Symptoms of ADD:
Difficulty solving problems or managing time, extreme destructibility and procrastination.
Forgetfulness, a tendency to lose things frequently and speech and hearing disorders.
Disorganisation or difficulty in finishing tasks.
Absent-mindedness and inability to remember.
Sloppy and/or impulsively done school work that contains obvious mistakes, lack of concentration, learning disabilities, emotional instability, daily or hourly mood swings and sleep disturbance.
Lack of goals.
In adulthood, failure in career or relationships.
According to researchers, ADHD/ADD are difficult to diagnose accurately. That is because many of the symptoms appear in normal and healthy children during childhood.
What may merely be creativity or a high energy level can be misdiagnosed as ADHD or ADD. A diagnosis of ADHD/ADD should be made by a team of specialists, who are experts in this order.
The purpose of this article is not to make a diagnosis, but to sensitise on the possibility of the problem.
To be on the safe side, if your child is exhibiting the mentioned behaviour, consult a doctor. Additionally, the following recommendations should be applied:
Avoid all forms of sugar, including sweets, biscuits, chocolate, soda, cake, wheat products, tea and any other sugary foods.
Avoid any food or beverage with food additives such as food colour, flavour enhancers, and preservatives.
Avoid carbonated beverages because they contain phosphate additives, which are responsible for exaggerated muscle activity. Meat and fat are also high in phosphorous.
Remove from diet, butter, milk, pork, salt and sausages.
Avoid apples, oranges, peppers, tomatoes and cucumber. These foods contain salicylates.
Salicylates are chemicals naturally found in some foods, but have detrimental effects.
Other foods that contain salicylates include almonds, apricots, peaches, plums, and prunes.
Limit exposure to television, video, electronic games and loud music.
Instead, encourage physical activity or activities that expand creativity.
For further information please write to
Grace Canada,
P.O. Box 9815,
Kampala
DOES your child have temper tantrums, a tendency to become frustrated quickly and inability to sit still?
If so, he or she could be having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD) without hyperactivity.
ADHD/ADD disorders affect the central nervous system. They cause a variety of learning and behavioural problems, often making it difficult for the affected child and the family.
ADHD/ADD is a common medical childhood disorder. Unfortunately, it can easily be misinterpreted simply as “bad behaviour.†And the affected child is labelled “badâ€.
This makes a bad situation worse causing the child to have very low self-esteem.
Factors that have been linked to the development of ADHD/ADD include heredity, anxiety, allergies, oxygen deprivation at birth, environmental pollutants such as lead poisoning, artificial food additives and infection, with diet playing an important role.
Many children and adults react to certain preservatives, dyes and chemicals known as salicylates found in foods.
These items can throw off the balance in the chemistry of the brain, producing undesirable changes in behaviour.
ADHD/ADD may be characterised by one or a combination of some of the following:
Symptoms of ADHD:
Symptoms of ADD:
In adulthood, failure in career or relationships.
According to researchers, ADHD/ADD are difficult to diagnose accurately. That is because many of the symptoms appear in normal and healthy children during childhood.
What may merely be creativity or a high energy level can be misdiagnosed as ADHD or ADD. A diagnosis of ADHD/ADD should be made by a team of specialists, who are experts in this order.
The purpose of this article is not to make a diagnosis, but to sensitise on the possibility of the problem.
To be on the safe side, if your child is exhibiting the mentioned behaviour, consult a doctor. Additionally, the following recommendations should be applied:
Salicylates are chemicals naturally found in some foods, but have detrimental effects.
Other foods that contain salicylates include almonds, apricots, peaches, plums, and prunes.
Instead, encourage physical activity or activities that expand creativity.
For further information please write to
Grace Canada,
P.O. Box 9815,
Kampala