October to December 1999 What's New from The Family Clinic
Vision Therapy for Learning Disorders and ADHD
We see many children who can not read. Most are given medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivit Disorder (ADHD) and are put in special reading classes. Many of these children have been in reading classes for years and do not make much progress. Now we have started referring children for vision therapy by a Developmental Optometrist. These professionals work closely with us and give wonderful measures that tell why these children can not read. They also tell us what exercises are needed to improve reading. It is nice seeing a child who has not read begin to learn to read and actually look forward to reading.
We feel near point reading problems are very much under diagnosed. These children easily become labeled ADHD. We do not want to suggest that every ADHD child has vision problems. We do suggest that many ADHD children who can not read, may have near point vision problems and need to be examined.
Do not refer these children to the common Optometrist. They check for "20/20" vision and some other eye problems, but do not test for problems related to near point vision. Near point vision is the vision used for reading. Copying off the chalk board requires near point vision and "20/20" vision. A developmental optometrist will provide information on how well both systems are working. This information can be used to measure changes in visual performance following remediation or therapy. For more information about learning disorders and ADHD as they relate to vision therapy, check out an article by Donald Getz. We invite you to ask: How well does my child see while reading?
Neurofeedback and Stress Management
Well, it has been a while since we last updated "What's new". I was in a car accident and finding a car to replace my recently purchased car, now totaled, took much of my free time. Fortunately, my daughters and I were all safe.
During the interim, I revisited Rob Kall's site on EEG biofeedback. He has added much to his site and it has a new look. If you are interested in information concerning Neurofeedback, ADHD, and stress management, Kall's site is worth looking at.
Nutrition and ADHD
Wow! Check it out! It took me several months to write it, but here it is. This is a book chapter that I decided to publish via Shareware. Ok, so I haven't found a publisher for the book yet. But I still think it will make a good book. It's just that not everyone else thinks so. You can judge for yourself. This chapter, from the book, discusses how nutrition can assist in treating Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Information on allergies, diet, and nutritional supplements is in the article.
Shareware publishing simply means that if you like it, you pay for it. This will reduce much cost. I am only asking $1.00 for this article. If you don't like it or don't find it useful, you don't have to pay for it. If you do like it, pay a one time fee of $1.00. Copy it as much as you want. Give it out to people as much as you want. Please copy the shareware notice as well. So, go ahead .... click on: Nutrition and ADHD and we hope you like it.
Iron Defeciency in Children and ADD Symptoms
We hope everyone is enjoying October. Soon we will start the Holiday Season. This is my wife's favorite time of the year.
Monday I saw two children that had been diagnosed with iron deficiency. One child had pale skin and considerable behavioral problems. The parents of one of the children was wondering why their child would not eat anything and had trouble paying attention in school. I said it could be due to the iron deficiency in the blood.
The parents admitted that each time their son has blood work completed, he is always deficient in iron. The health department gave the family a list of foods to avoid and the child takes iron supplements. Still there is insufficient iron in the blood and the boy is unable to concentrate in school and does not eat much.
Taking some iron supplements may not be the solution to many children's iron deficiency problem. Absorption rates is a key factor. If the child's body is not absorbing the iron in the iron tablet, then it is not doing any good. Several factors help iron become absorbed in children. One of them is the type of mineral supplement.
Colloidal minerals are minerals in an ionized form. Thus they are always liquid. These have the highest absorption rates. Second is the chelated vitamins and minerals. Some mineral supplements are neither colloidal nor chelated and may not become absorbed well in the body.
Another important factor in absorption of iron is taking vitamin C with the iron. Thus a child should take vitamin C with the iron supplements.
A word of caution: Do not overdo the supplementation. Children can have too much iron and it can become toxic. Always take iron and vitamin C under the supervision of a physician. We recommend frequent blood tests to insure that the iron is becoming absorbed into the blood stream. If it isn't then, more work by the Physician will be needed. Theoretically when the iron blood levels are normalized, improvements in concentration and eating should improve with time. For more information regarding Iron Deficiency in Children, please follow this link. It leads to a medical web page about iron deficiency in children.
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