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Past lives and learning disabilities

D

DJ

Senior Registered
Hi all,

Keetz mentioned in another post that her son is six and ADHD but doing above grade level work. (ADHD has little to do with intelligence).
My ponderance is this---and as a teacher I am especially curious---why is there getting to be more cases of ADHD, learning disabilities, social disorders, etc amongst school-age children? What, if anything, has prompted this??

I recall reading in an article of a few Russian educators being shown around a school. A child with ADD was pointed out to them. They wanted to know what ADD was. Then they explained they didn't know because they didn't have it in Russia. "We don't allow it," they said.
Which has made me wonder---is it real? Some people say yes, some no. However there *does* appear to be something different in the brain of an ADD child. Yes, physiologically different! So, is it only in Western countries? Is it our climate? Our food? Has the lessening of child behavior gotten so expansive that it is now inherently, physically being motivated into the brain? OR, do they in fact have ADD children on the Asian continent but are soo demanding that children learn to push themselves that much harder if they have to?

I have no recollection of students misbehaving so badly in my classes growing up as some of them do nowadays. I've had parents actually say to me that they are just beginning to say "No." Many of the children tell the parent what to do, or if they explain themselves for misbehavior, they get themselves off the hook.

Perhaps the children of today are feeling the tension of the planet? We're just about to reach a boiling point, if we already haven't.
I don't know. I'm raving here. Don't mind me. I guess my main point here is to ask the question: Do any of you who are parents see any correlation between your child's learning or social disabilities and their past lives? Why is school behavior becoming worse in general? As a teacher, I don't get much information because quite frankly, there isn't that much opportunity for trance-inducing car rides or the like.

Peace to you,

DJ
 
Hi DJ

As the mother of a child who seemed to be autistic for several months and then returned to semi-normal after a diet change, I have looked into this extensively.

Charity is very gifted but is very excitable and still has vestiges of her 'autistic' days.

I was ill several times when I was pregnant with her (I was in my first year of teaching at the time)and took several rounds of antibiotics. It was very difficult to nurse her, but I managed to do iot for 5 months. She was 'colicky' and had digestive troubles from the start.

Shortly after her first MMR, she turned into a maniac. I was sooooo worried... She was pulling away from me and doing really weird things, like smearing her feces on the wall day aftrer day. Finally, I tried taking wheat and dairy from her diet. I did it for 2 months and she improved dramatically. I try to limit her intake now, but it is hard. She is still very excitable and easily discombobulated, but she is not on any medication because I prefer to avoid it.

This is also the child who I connect with a spirit I dreamed of that was an angry black woman. I have dreamed of a particular spirit with each child, but Charity's was ANGRY. Raging, even. Naming her Charity was very strategic on my part... I wanted to give her a name that would bring peace.

So, as you can see, there are many factors that could be involved here. I was interning as a special ed teacher (mental and emotional handicaps) a couple of years ago, but I won't go back until my youngest is school age.

Astrology also seems to hold some keys. I was going through a very rough time when I concieved Charity, and she was born during a very stressful time as astrologers see it. Then again, I see astrology as simply being a mirror, so I still can't pin point the cause.

Well, I have been on way too long tonight!


------------------
Be Blessed

Moonbeam
 
Oh this is TOO strange.

I love this forum. You people are wonderful!
There have been too many coincidences associated with my finding this forum. It has been helpful for me personally in my own search and the timing was JUST right for my growth. And now this.

This is the first time that I looked at the children's section. My main goal was to ask about ADHD. My son was just diagnosed. I am a person who does not use medications unless I absolutely have to. I often times try the herbal route first. I am mortified about the idea of drugging my son who is the most wonderful, live in the moment, full of energy little guy I know. He is a joyous little soul who happens to be talkative, a bit impulsive and sometimes becomes fixated on an activity to the point where all else on the planet earth is obliterated. Actually his grades are B level with a C in handwriting but his present teacher feels that we are not accessing his full potential (he has a high IQ). So we should drug him to make him get higher grades?

I was just on the internet getting some information on Ritalin and I am absolutely appalled. There is little knowledge of long-term effects and there are side effects. Some of these side effects were exhibited in 2 of my friends' boys who happened to be on ritalin at some point, but fortunately their parents have taken them both off and have opted for behavioral modifications instead. My friends' children both became very depressed and their appetites were suppressed. The psychologists' solution (2 different psychologists I may add): try readjusting the medication doses and perhaps using other types of medications to treat the side effects.

Have we become completely insane as a society? We are talking about young children with brains that are developing and souls that are just starting to stretch out and feel comfortable in their physical settings. I found some info on the web that said there was some scientific evidence of brain shrinkage and atrophy in adults who have had more long term use. So who knows what to believe? I am curious DJ. You mentioned that there was something different in the brain of an ADD child. Could you elaborate on that? It makes me wonder as well, what have we done to our environment and ourselves to bring about such a traumatic, developmental plague? And it does seem to be reaching epidemic proportions.

An interesting thing, I found that most of the children that are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD are boys. Is this perhaps a wake up call to a societal problem? Does the fast paced environment of the western world actually contribute or cause the problem? Is it the food? DJ, I am intrigued about your idea about tension as a result of an innate knowledge of the state of the planet. We are souls after all and on a higher level I think we all (children included) sense the state of affairs. I also believe that the school systems are set up to accomodate a particular method of mental processing. Since we are all unique, some of us do not process information in the exact same way as others. My daughter seems to process in the manner that information is presented in the school systems, so school is "easy" for her. I think that my son processes information and "sees" the world differently. I find it refreshing that they are different. So I hope that my son happens to get an innovative and patient teacher who is able to mold him or herself to his way of seeing or at least meet him and us halfway. In the meantime we are dilligently working with him at home to maintain his grades and I am trying to find alternate methods to cope with his impulsivity and lack of attentiveness because I don't want to drug him.

Please anymore thoughts or personal revelations on this subject would be greatly appreciated. I value the opinions of the intelligent, wise and insightful people on this forum. As you can see I am very bothered by this.

Thank you,
Peace and light to you,
Shari

PS. Moonbeam do you have any dietary suggestions or any drug alternative methods that you can recommend?

[This message has been edited by Shari (edited 05-29-2000).]
 
Shari,

When I mentioned the difference in the brain of those with ADD, I was remembering when the school where I work had an expert on ADD come speak to us. She told us that researchers *have* found something different with the nerves, I think, in the brains of those with ADD. It's like something short-circuited.
You mentioned that your son can focus in on something so all else is obliterated. This doesn't necessarily sound like ADD to me. Can he finish his work? Or is it that instead of focusing on his work, he focuses on something else (this could be due to boredom)? I have a student in my class who is ADD and he is constantly distracted by everything; however it is difficult for him to *focus*, per se, on anything.
You should also look to your son's diet in case anything is affecting him. Dyes in food such as red dye can cause disinterest. Food allergies, as well.
I attended a meeting concerning the student mentioned above and they suggested certain behavioral changes. He can wear headphones (to block out the noise, which for him is exponentially louder), he can use a study corral, and....in the classroom I often play music such as light classical or meditative, "New Age" music (frankly, it helps *me*, too <g> ).

Peace to you,

DJ
 
DJ

It sounds to me like you are a very sensitive teacher. That is a wonderful thing for your students. Thank you for the wonderful suggestions.

Believe it or not the expert say that there is such a thing as hyperfocusing and becoming fixated on "things" also associated with some ADD children. He does exhibit other traits that would qualify him for the dreaded diagnosis. In fact, my pediatrician said he was "classic ADHD." But I wonder if there is not something to that whole boredom theory. That has been on my mind as well. hmmmm. I also think the whoole diet thing might be a culprit as well. I will certainly pay attention to more of the food additives. I try to avoid foods made with white flour in order to get the full benefit of the whole grain. I found Moonbeam's story about doing away with wheat altogether very interesting.

If you know specifically of any "good" books on alternative methods please let me know. There is so much "stuff" out there it is overwhelming. I thought I would try relying on word of mouth.

Thanks again. Your suggestions are great. I really like the classical music idea.

Peace and light,
Shari
 
Hi Shari
It sounds like your son is very fortunate to have a mother who is so caring! I salute your decision to find alternatives to drugging your son to keep him 'managable". There are others ways, and you will find them!

My daughter can focus intensely, too... But she can be very excitable,hyperactive and destructive, so I have to keep her world very structured. Change in her routine makes her kind of lose her cool, and crowded rooms and load noises send her into a panic.

She seems to do best when I keep her away from wheat, dairy, and processed foods in general. No Twinkies or Pop Tarts, ever! Unfortunately, the very things that make her worse are the things the craves. Some days are better than others around here... Keeping her on a strict diet is impossible, but at least I can limit the offending substances.

I had to experiment a lot to find out what made my daughter crazy. When she was two, I put her on a very plain diet of rice, bananas and chicken for a week. She calmed down and her autistic-type behaviors started to decrease noticably. As a test, I let her have a chocolate chip cookie from the bakery at the grocery store. Within 5 minutes, she was out of control. But I was glad, because I KNEW I was on the right track!

I have incorporated several different plans to help give her the best diet... We avoid yeast, wheat, dairy, sugar, chemical additives and processed foods. We eat a lot of veggies, fruits, meats,and grains like oatmeal and rice. Sometimes we have a treat like pizza and icecream, but i know that Charity will get a little bit out of control afterwards.

There are different books... I started with The Yeast Connection because yeast in foods makes me swell up like a balloon. If you use one of the search engines, you will find many sites that link diet to behavior problems and what you can do to help. If you can't find any, e-mail me and I will help.

Behavior modification and learning self control really help a lot, too. The diet just makes it less necessary for Charity to have to control her impulses... she just doesn't have as many when she eats 'right'.

Well, hope this helps and many blessings to you!


------------------
Be Blessed

Moonbeam
 
Moonbeam, Shari, and all,

Moonbeam I think I've heard of those diet connections. And your daughter "craving what she doesn't need" sounds familiar, too. Unfortunately that happens all too often. I ate a ton of protein growing up but now I crave carbs but if I eat too much then it is extremely difficult for me to lose or maintain weight (I'm 4'10"---hard to begin with).

Something struck me though. How is it that after *one* chocolate chip cookie your daughter was out of control? I believe you wholeheartedly. But this whole diet thing has come up in this school-age generation basically, which makes me wonder if there are more preservatives being put into foods, or the growing of wheat is more chemicalized, or if milk is being processed differently. Of course, that could be just one of the reasons, but it could be a contribution.

Food for thought....

Peace!,
DJ
 
Hey Shari,

Fancy meeting you here. I wasn't even going to the "children's section" tonight, since it was late--but decided to after all. For you and anyone else who is alarmed about your child being labeled an ADD kid, the man below might be a godsend to you.
He is a family psychologist in North Carolina, who has written books, and writes a "parenting" syndicated newspaper column. He basically says there is no such thing as ADD...and not to let any "professional" tell you that your child has ADD and needs to be put on medication!

Dr. John Rosemond
PO BOX 4124
GASTONIA, NC 28054
www.rosemond.com

Hope this helps!
Sunday
 
DJ,

Well, because Charity had been on a cleansing diet for a couple of weeks, giving her a chocolate chip cookie filled with yeast, wheat, sugar, and preservatives was like giving her mainline drugs. We were in the grocery store at the time and she started raging like a maniac in the cart. She even spat at an older lady who tried to talk to her.

She had a very bad reaction to medication she was once given---I can't remember what it was, but a lot of kids get hyper on it. I swear she acted like she was on crack cocaine! The doctor said that was a 'normal' reaction to the drug... needless to say, we threw that stuff away!


Sunday

Thanks for the tip... I'm going to check out that site!

------------------
Be Blessed

Moonbeam

[This message has been edited by Moonbeam (edited 05-31-2000).]
 
Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to thank all of you for your thoughts and suggestions. It seems that I have a long road ahead of me. But I am going to be positive about it. I seem to have a great support group at home and beyond. I know that I will find alternatives for Nicholos. Again if there are more thoughts and ideas, I am more than willing to give a listen.

Thanks again.
Much peace,
Shari
 
Guys:

Have you considered allergies in the problems?
I can't talk long but I just wanted to say that my younger son had a very bad reaction to a sleeping pill that our doctor gave him to help him get his schedule in order. He was giggling wandering aimlessly, falling upstairs (he came down for a glass of Ovaltine, he said but he fell as he was going up the stairs with it and when I rushed over to see ;if he was alright, there was nothing in the glass) He was berserk for al least three hours and then gradually came back to earth. I am convinced that he was not even concscious at the time but this was an allergic reaction. It sounds very much like the problems Moonbeam had with the cookies. Has the little one been checked for allergies? The problem is that they only check for the most common things here and not at all for food additi;ves or drugs, so their tests are not always too helpful, but an expert on allergies can usually tell you if the behaviour is from allergies.
Both of my kids were very sensitive to sugars and particularly chocolate; I used to get them these great carob covered raisins that were sweetened with honey from a health food bulk store. They could eat honey from our bees but the refined sugars were like feeding them nitroglycerine.
I think that the burgeoning prevalence of over processed foods for the purpose of enhancing shelf life is causing many problems for kids.

Another thing that I read somewhere but I can't remember where was that there is a big problem lately with a mould that attacks grains and also cardboard and paper products, that causes bizarre behaviour and other health problems. I try to transfer my flour to tupperware storage bins ar fast as possible to avoid contact with these spores, as my youngest is violently allergic to moulds.
Is there a lot of cardboard around? TRy sniffing it. I've found lately that since I have made an effort to get it out, I can smell the mustiness of mould in the cardboard. It doesn't seem to have to be damp at all for this stuff, which likes all forms of cellulose to thrive nicely.

I don't know if this will add information or not but any little bit may be of use.

Love
Shay
 
Moonbeam & Shari,

John Rosemond comes across as being very strict and rigid at times...but I do believe he has hit on some very true ideas about the problems parents and children are facing today. And he does offer very practical solutions to specific problems, instead of just tossing out a lot of platitudes. Just take from his writings what you feel is useful and truthful. And believe me, nothing he says is as "scary" as the idea of drugging children to control their behavior!

Best Wishes,
Sunday

P.S. I recently heard of someone who took her son to the pediatrician after he was diagnosed as having ADD by his teacher. It turned out what he actually had was a hearing problem--his hearing level is less than half of what it should be. It wasn't a matter of him "not listening"; it was a matter of him "not hearing".



[This message has been edited by sunday (edited 06-03-2000).]
 
Here is a website for you guys to check out....

Thom Hartman is wonderful! I highly recommend all his books.

Thom Hartman

Deborah
 
My family has a lot of "hyperactivity" (really, it's more like we're just running at a higher temperature than everyone else) and my older son sometimes gets that bouncing-off-the-walls thing going.

This might sound bizarre, but my family has used an herbal remedy for this for generations! In fact, when I was two my mom started me on it...We've found if you give it to a kid who's bouncing off the walls, they will often *sleep.*

I needed to give you the background because the remedy in question is controversial. People who give their kids prescription amphetamines have just about accused me of child abuse for it. It's a water infusion made from the seeds of a South American plant, made palatable by mizing it with (for us, soy) milk and sweetener (usually Succanat dried cane juice).

In other words, coffee.

The alkaloids in coffee have a paradoxical reaction in the brains of some children. This is the same way that Ritalin and other drugs for ADHD work, but I prefer using coffee because it is more natural. Also, kids are usually put on a daily dose of drugs, whereas coffee can be given when the spinning-out starts, and skipped for days if no spin-outs happen.

cashew, a sweet li'l nut

P.S. For the other short person here... I am also 4'10"!!
 
Cashew,

Yeaaaaaaa for petite people!!!!

I always tell my students that it doesn't matter how big their bodies are. It matters how big they are here (I point to my forehead) and here (I point to my heart).

DJ
 
DJ,

Heck yeah! I love being small. I'm the only one on the airplane who has plenty of legroom, I can get my clothes cheap by shopping in the kids' section (and I get to confuse people by telling them I'm a size 14...14 *kids*!), and at nearly 30 I still get asked if I'm babysitting my little brothers!

Actually I was thnking about stuff the other day because I'm in this pre-mid-life crisis. Thinking about all the stuff I wish I could change about myself, like I wish I had a beautiful face, a nice singing voice, the ability to understand the kind of math that goes into quantum physics, stuff like that, and I realized my height was the one thing I wouldn't want to change at all.

You mentioned weight. If it's not too personal, what do you weigh? I was 95 lbs. in high school, 120 until I had kids, hit 151 in each pregnancy, and am now 110 creeping up the scale to 115. I don't know anyone else as short as me , so I don't know what "normal" is...

cashew
 
Cashew!,

We're about the same age. Hey I shop in the kids' dept. too! That's where I get a lot of pants--slacks and some jeans. Lately, though I haven't had any trouble finding pants *anywhere* due to this capri fashion. Isn't it great? I have a bunch of them. Capris fit me at the perfect length.
I, too, love my height---but I think it's part of the reason I've always had to struggle to maintain my weight. If I don't exercise, I gain. I can tell easily if I gain even 2 lbs. I gain and lose easily. My "normal" weight is about 95 lbs. I'm about 100 right now.

Peace!,
DJ
 
Hi Guys

Cashew, thank you, I didn't mention the coffee thing because people frequently think I'm nuts. That used to be my youngest son's sleeping pill when he was terrified about seeing the lights in his room, which he saw when his nanny died. People used to think me an abusive parent for giving coffee to a 4 or 5 year old, but our doctor told me to try it.

DJ have you ever wondered with kids with so called learning disabilities, whether some educators are narrowing the field for what they will adapt their teaching techniques to?
my oder boy simply could not catch on to the idea of reading, however he knew every insect we have on the property, their life cycle. He was glued dto the TV for any documentary, or for the science professor programs and he could give it all back to you after, with understanding, and usually with the science shows, do the demonstration himself. His gr.1 teacher insisted he was lazy, but, knoqwing how bright he was this didn't fit for me. He fervently wanted to read, to get at those dinosaur books and not have to wait for mom to read to him. Finally our pediatritian demanded that the school system test him for a learning disability, and it was found that he had no word memory, that every time he saw a word it was all new for the first time, so reading would always be a torture for him. the tester said that he really belonged in a gifted class, but said that they (the school system) would not put him there because they wrongly regarded kids with this kind of learning disability as sub-normal, and that all he really needed was for all of his learning to be in the visual or audio form. Shae was right, not only did they not want to see him in the gifted school, they reacted to his problem by putting him in with kids who simply were not of a very high IQ, so doing adding the boredom factor & frustration to the mix. They vacillated between trying to put him in what he called the slow class, and informing me yet again that he was lazy and didn't deserve the "extra consideratiation" that other sld kids got. In fact the only consideration that he got was that he didn't have to take french in high school, and was given extra time on examinations, when he should have had either verbal exams by the instructor, or been on his in class perfoemance. In spite of the tester's instructions, book work was never removed from his plate, they only simplified the work he was given, even though he was perfectly capable of understanding everything he had thrown at him, if it was visual or audio. I think that being labelled sld caused him more problems than it helped, by insulting his intelligence and boring him to death. I also suspect that my pestering them to change their methods and put the boy in the gifted class, where I suspected his abilities would be enhance rather than his weaknesses constantly beaten on and pointed out, was ultimately behind the poor treatment they both recieved, as some of these people tried to beat me up though my kids. I beleive rather than a disability, some of these problems are only problems in our modern, intolerant world. If a kid is not learning exactly like all the pack, there is something wrong with him and labelling them sld gives the lazy educator an excuse for poor performance. If the boy had been put in the gifted class, there was a lower ratio of students to teachers and the teachers would most of the time have seen his strengths and fed his desire to learn rather than frustrate and cripple him.

Have you encountered this?

SHAY
 
To those of you who have been writing about ADHD, there is an excellent website, www.helpforadd.com. A psychologist at Duke University, Dr. David Rabiner, created the site. He reviews all of the latest articles from medical journals and summarizes these articles as well as recent clinical trials and studies. His summaries are easy to read, balanced, and he contributes his own knowledge and experience to his monthly on line newsletters. I highly recommend this site. I have a daughter who was diagnosed with ADD, ODD, and depression at the age of five. While I too hate using medication, all I can say is that the world will not change to suit your child, and that sometimes medication is both useful and necessary. I have to balance my dislike of medication and conventional medicine with the trauma ADD causes in my daughter's family, school, and social circumstances. I would much rather her achieve some measure of success and happines in life with medication rather than being free of meds and absolutely dysfunctional and miserable.

------------------
Christine
 
To everyone,

I think there is greater awareness and less
tolerance for parents who substitute a
healthy diet and parenting for drugs. That
can only be a good thing.

Good discussion, made interesting reading.
Took me awhile too...lol. Kat
 
Meaning no offense, in answer to an original question, Asian cultures DO push kids much harder than America (especially America today). Any ADD kids in communist Asia are either forced to work harder (and are miserable for it) or disregarded as inept. I display no signs of ADD, but have current and past memories of friends and acquanitiences who have.

In regards to "social disorders," I believe that one can be born with the same disorders as well as with different ones or none than s/he had in a past life. Since it is the same soul, s/he will give off a similar impression regardless. For instance, my own autistic misdiagnosis was largely due to my posture, gestures, and voice. Believe me, it's unique, and one Asperger-esque quality is talking in a unique voice unlike anyone around you, be it deep and pratically accented or something else. *I sound like an excited horse or something.* *laughs*
 
Christine, I agree with you 100%. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD, and I, like many parents had concerns about medicating him. While giving him alot of attention, and monitoring his diet may help, some children, like my son, need the medication to function at school, at home, and in society.

I don't believe all children that have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD should be medicated. Some alternative methods have worked wonders with some children, but not all children respond as well to alternatives.

My son is hyper in the morning. After he eats a big breakfast he takes 20mg of Adderall. The medicine takes about one hour to affect him. On the medication he is still a very active little boy, but he is much less likely to do impulsive destructive things that could hurt him or others. And he is much more able to concentrait on his schoolwork. Socially he can get along much better with his peers.

I have taken him off the meds at times, and he will always revert back to his impulsive destructive behavior.
 
qUOTE=sunday]Hey Shari,

Fancy meeting you here. I wasn't even going to the "children's section" tonight, since it was late--but decided to after all. For you and anyone else who is alarmed about your child being labeled an ADD kid, the man below might be a godsend to you.
He is a family psychologist in North Carolina, who has written books, and writes a "parenting" syndicated newspaper column. He basically says there is no such thing as ADD...and not to let any "professional" tell you that your child has ADD and needs to be put on medication!

Dr. John Rosemond
PO BOX 4124
GASTONIA, NC 28054
www.rosemond.com

Hope this helps!
Sunday[/QUOTE]

Hi Sunday,

After reading your post I just had to respond.
I don't know this Dr. John Rosemond, but I did work for years for a child and adolescent psychiatrist who treated many children with ADD/ADHD, and am also a mother of a son who has ADHD.
Before I allowed my son to be medicated at all, I tried removing things like sugars, red dyes, yeast, etc from his diet and heavily monitoring what he could and couldn't eat and drink, to see if this would help. It helped a small amount as far as the hyperactivity is concerned, but not at all on him being about to concentrate, stay on task and not be disruptive.
While I do believe that many children are needlessly medicated when they would benefit from special diets, etc., there are some children who are almost not allowed in the classroom without being medicated. I went through all of Brandon's school years trying to do whatever I could to help my son. I stopped the medications at different intervals during his school years to see if he would be fine without it. Every time, I would receive calls and notes sent home from teachers and the principal because his behavior was bad and he couldn't stay on task. I had not told them I had stopped his meds.
Before I would allow my son to placed on medications, he did was given the T.O.V.A. test a few times, all with the same results.

To DJ (I believe?): Both boys and girls do have ADD/ADHD, not just boys. It's more common in boys, but girls definately do have it.

Love and Light,
Melissa
 
Melsie,

FYI - The people you are responding to (Sunday and DJ) have not been here for six years. A lot has changed in 6 years. The date of their posts is in the upper left hand corner. ;)
 
I hope you'll forgive me if I respond with something someone else has already said - - I haven't read all of the replies.

Here is my story...

I have a 19yo son. When he was about 12, he was diagnosed as borderline ADD (without the H). I felt like the doctor was just using it as an excuse to push pills into him and herd him through the office more quickly: i.e., if they don't have to give them actual therapy, it's an easier buck. Right? I was very distraught because my son was doing many of the same things I did as a child and I pushed myself to "deal" with the issues and I thought he should, too. So I didn't "buy into" the diagnosis.

Fast forward to last year and I got sick. I was given an Rx cough medicine and suddenly, the cogs in the gears all clicked into place for the first time in my life. It wasn't a constant "chore" to keep my thoughts clear/categorized. I knocked-off every chore on my to-do list - - things that would have normally taken me a week to get done, I *completed*! Completing tasks has always been a huge ordeal for me. I'm great at starting, just never seem to be able to complete anything. I've always been plenty smart enough, but often made below average grades in school (which had a lot to do with finishing projects). I'm very creative; I play a few different instruments, I draw, paint, carve, sew (without patterns) and crochet. There's really nothing "creative" that I can't tackle. However, put me in a classroom and it's nearly impossible for me - - unless it holds my interest - - and even then, it's difficult for me.

Well, I went through a HUGE guilt complex because by now, my son is out of high school and I've realized that yes, it *is* real. And, I figured it out at the age of 39. Before that, I thought it was just too many parents that weren't properly disciplining their children, or working with them on their homework, etc.

Now, I do believe it is real, but I still think it is over-diagnosed. I think that a large marjority of the population is ADD to at least some extent. For me, I did learn to cope by using time management, an organizer, and forming very specific habits. I think that it's probably always existed and that people either learned coping skills or didn't, depending on their circumstances. I think many of the great artists (composers, authors, painters, etc.) were probably all ADD/ADHD and the way they "thrived" was finding their niche. I also wouldn't be surprised if the pendulum swung the other way for people who weren't able to find their niche and maybe they found destitution (actually, that happened to lots of those we view as greats now).

So that's my two-cents. I hope I haven't stepped on any toes, but that's my story. Hope it helps.
 
I thinks it the sugar and processed foods that are making us sick.I have routinely seen children totally change their behavior within 2 weeks of just a perfect elimination of sugar, boxed/canned crap and refined carbohydrates..
 
HealingHands said:
I thinks it the sugar and processed foods that are making us sick.I have routinely seen children totally change their behavior within 2 weeks of just a perfect elimination of sugar, boxed/canned crap and refined carbohydrates..
Click to expand...
That may help hyperactivity, but I wasn't raised on that crap. Plus, now I have insulin resistance and have been conscientious about not eating any of that stuff, plus I'm very careful about what sugar goes into my body. I don't want full-blown diabetes! Regardless, my brain still has difficulty compartmentalizing my daily activities.
 
MoonDansyr said:
That may help hyperactivity, but I wasn't raised on that crap. Plus, now I have insulin resistance and have been conscientious about not eating any of that stuff, plus I'm very careful about what sugar goes into my body. I don't want full-blown diabetes! Regardless, my brain still has difficulty compartmentalizing my daily activities.
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I'm sorry to hear about your struggles. You should have a look at this site. Dr Stoll, originally a conventional doctor has adopted a more holistic approach to healing and has written some amazing books that have helped me with my brain chemistry disorders such as Panick Attacks, OCD, Tourettes.

www.askwaltstollmd.com
 
Thanks! I will check it out!

My biggest struggles right now is far worse than ADD. I had a kidney infection at the end of June and was given a *very popular* flouroquinone antibiotic, not knowing how poisonous said antibiotic was and now I'm doing a detox to try and get it out of my body. It has wreaked havoc on my joints and GI tract, as well as my nervous system. There are ongoing law suits (that I didn't know about beforehand), yet they're still prescribing this stuff like candy.
 
Well, this board ate my previous post, so I will just say, please see my post in the thread "My son didn't want to be born" and please remember that the people who write books and give seminars claiming that there is no such thing as ADD are also making money off of the condition, and it is the children who don't get proper treatment that suffer. To me these people are in the same class as the quacks that go around saying that apricot pits cure cancer or some such nonsense; they make their money off off people who are in denial, but in this case it's children who are being hurt. Also, many of the parents who won't give their kids medication for ADD would be among the first to insist on treating a physical condition that they could see with their own eyes (such as, if the kid were short, they'd be running to the doctor for growth hormone).

I'm not saying drugs are the answer to everything, and lord knows that some doctors and the entire pharmaceutical industry would like to see everyone on medication. But conditions like ADD are no less real than a non-functional thyroid gland (to use another example where lack of a hormone can cause problems). And you wouldn't treat something like that with diet changes alone. So please don't make your kids suffer by listening to quacks with a book to sell! Get a second or third opinion if you need to, but remember, if you do this wrong your kids will be the ones who will suffer for it THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, so don't be like the parents in certain cults who let their kids die rather than seek appropriate medical treatment.

As for other countries not recognizing ADD, some of those countries put their kids to work in factories (to make the crap we buy in big box stores) at 8 years old. Is that really the sort of country you want to emulate?
 
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