GET HELP NOW

by Dr. Arthur S. Seiderman
November, 2011
Published at www.lancasteronline.com

ADHD is a developmental disorder, believed to be neurologically based.  It effects 3—5% of the population.

Some of the most important characteristics include:

75% of people in the prisons have ADD. The impact of this condition is enormous and may create learned helplessness, anger, frustration, aggressiveness, delinquency, drug or alcohol abuse, family stress, peer relationship difficulties.

Report cards have recently come home. Robbie’s report card says that he can’t concentrate. As a result his school performance and reading comprehension are poor. The teacher tells Robbie’s mom that he is ADHD and should be on medication. The parent takes the child to the doctor and repeats what the teacher said. The doctor says, ” No problem, I’ll write a prescription for Robbie and that will help him concentrate better”.

This is one of the very few times in all of healthcare where an invasive intervention is prescribed WITHOUT any objective testing is performed for verification of the tentative diagnosis. These medications have significant side effects; and, 45 deaths have been attributed to these drugs. It is believed that these stimulant drugs might increase the risk of strokes and serious arrhythmias  in children and adults. As a result, the FDA ( Federal Drug Administration, a U.S. agency ) voted to suggest that these drugs carry the most serious of the agency’s drug risk–a ” black box “. There are other alternative treatments that are NOT invasive, which should be explored first.

Let’s look at the case of Robbie.  Mother stated, “His teacher told us he can’t concentrate, his mind wanders, he’s ADD, socially and emotionally disturbed.”  ” I want him out of my classroom unless he takes medication.”  He was two years behind in reading and had turned into the class clown. Robbie told us that the teacher told him that he was NOT a very intelligent little boy. Mother and child were both in tears. It was found that although Robbie could see 20/20 in each eye, the two eyes did not work together as a team ( convergence insufficiency ).

As a result, he could not concentrate on tasks that were visual, i.e. reading, homework, etc. Trying to read a paragraph or two ” wore him out, and my mind began to wander.”  He could not remember what he had read and would have to go back and reread it. Regular eye exams did not test for binocular dysfunctions; and glasses are of no help. The symptoms for convergence insufficiency are almost identical to those of ADD. Robbie entered a program of vision therapy ( NO drugs ) with us. After about a month his family noticed results, ” He wasn’t fighting us about doing homework any more, and he actually became interested in reading.”  At the conclusion of vision therapy, his reading had improved by 3 1/2 years. He graduated high school and college.

An extreme example?  NO, happens all the time. 7 of 10 children with reading/learning problems experience binocular dysfunctions. Help your child now. Get help, not drugs.