Training Works Better than Coping Drugs
|
Fortunately, gaining good mental focus does not require using today's increasingly
questionable medication..... Dr. Kevin Ross Emery is a considered expert in the ADD/ADHD field and authored "Managing the Gift: Alternative Approaches for Attention Deficit Disorder" : " Can a person with ADD/ADHD focus without medication? In my experience, the answer is yes, if everything else is in order and it is structured properly." "....Many people don't recognize that ADD individuals can not only focus, but actually hyper focus. That's because what children (may decide to) focus on -- TV, games, etc., may not seem to have much value." "When you're working with ADD/ADHD children and adults, try asking the following questions -- Answers here can help resolve focus issues, without affecting creativity and the wonderful, wandering intelligence of those gifted with ADD and ADHD: 1. Have you presented the subject in an engaging way? Have you helped the individual's mind understand the value of what they are trying to learn? 2. Are you allowing (or even encouraging) the learning style that is most appropriate for the individual? 3. Have you checked for environmental factors that can make focusing difficult? 4. Have you presented the material in different ways, so that the student has choices? Have you made it easy for the learner to move between those approaches, to help the learner absorb the material? 5. Are you allowing them to process the information in sections, according to their appropriate processing style? 6. Do you allow the student to take the information in a number of different directions? That is, do you answer the learner's questions, even if you do not understand where the questions came from? Do you tie the answers into what they are learning? 7. Have you monitored the learner's diet? Diet and environmental issues can affect focus issues, and energy and emotional issues as well." "The Focus Myth - ADD and ADHD" Dr. Kevin Ross Emery, September 27, 2010 http://www.opposingviews.com/i/the-focus-myth-add-and-adhd About Dr. Kevin Emery: http://www.mydrkevin.com/about-dr-kevin/ "...In our experience, people with ADHD or ADD labels are often of above average intelligence and/or above average creativity, and they can almost invariably concentrate when they want to." "ADHD Help – One To One Hypnotherapy & NLP" http://www.justbewell.com/adhd_help_hypnotherapy_london_nlp.html The good news is that paying attention can be taught. In order to help a child learn to focus, you need to treat this as a skill that must be learned and practiced -- just like learning the alphabet or how to multiply. https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/09/paying-attention-is-a-skill-schools-need-to-teach-it.html About Slate: https://slate.com/about Today, mental weaknesses can be seen as physical systems in need of training and practice, instead of coping drugs. “Primum non nocerum (first do no harm). That which is used - develops. That which is not used wastes away.” Hippocrates http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/248774.Hippocrates The brain's discovered ability to adapt and grow—reorganizing neural pathways and even creating new ones—is called 'neuroplasticity'. "An extraordinary discovery of the twentieth century" http://www.learninginfo.org/neuroplasticity.htm "Neuroplasticity is the science behind brain training" "Because the brain is always adapting and building, our ability to think, remember and learn is never static— it can always be upgraded and improved..." "....brain training 'rewires' the brain to perform more efficiently than ever before." http://www.learningrx.com/brain-training-101.htm -- It is not well understood that focusing stimulants can at best serve only as a temporary coping mechanism; drugs are a brief 'crutch', not a means to a cure. Worse, coping-drugs can prevent the brain from developing its own resources... In a 2012 review, the American Academy of Pediatrics approved biofeedback and neurofeedback as a Level 1 or 'best support' treatment option for children suffering from ADHD: ".....in other words, Ritalin helps to hide the symptoms, whereas neurofeedback changes the biology of the brain to eliminate the symptoms." (see page 10 of below report) How the AAP reached its conclusions: http://www.braintrainuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/How-AAP-reached-conclusion-other-recent-evidence-July-2013-V3.pdf Many kids are off their medication in less than six months. Watch this independent news story on how easily brain training resolves ADHD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4legUHI2tfg&feature=player_embedded (3 minutes) How do you “exercise” your brain? "While it’s not like other parts of your body that you can move or stretch physically, it seems like different “workouts” for the brain are popping up virtually everywhere lately." View several related articles here: National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine http://www.nicabm.com/nicabmblog/category/neuroplasticity/ "...Shattering decades of dogma, scientists began publishing studies in 2008 showing that “fluid intelligence”—the ability to learn, solve novel problems, and get to the heart of things-- can be increased through training." "Expanding upon one of the most-read New York Times Magazine features of 2012, Smarter penetrates the hot new field of intelligence research to reveal what researchers call a revolution in human intellectual abilities." http://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Science-Building-Brain-Power-ebook/dp/B00F3KXN4M http://www.learningrx.com/brain-training-101.htm How do we know brain training works? "A rapidly growing body of scientific and medical research continues to prove that brain training rewires the brain and creates life changing results." http://www.learningrx.com/brain-training-101.htm "Just as you can go to a gym to exercise your body, you can exercise your brain by using scientifically designed and tested brain training software." "What are Brain Exercises?" Neurotech Coaching http://yourbraintraining.com/brain-exercises.html "There are different kinds of attention that must be exercised if a student is to learn successfully. These are sustained attention, selective attention, and divided attention skills. These skills can be identified, measured, and trained. Strengthening weak attention skills usually results in dramatic improvement in behaviors typically associated with ADD or ADHD..." http://www.learningrx.com/attention-issues-in-children.htm "Paying attention is a more important skill than you might think - and new evidence suggests it can be taught..." "A student-centered, experiential based, academic and functional curriculum" http://www.hocusfocuseducation.com/hocus-focus/introduction-to-hocus-focus/ "If you think you're having focus problems -- if you've thought 'oh if I could only get my hands on some ritalin,' think about setting up an attention fitness regimen for yourself instead..... once you make it a habit, it starts to pay off.": How to Rebuild Your Attention Span and Focus http://lifehacker.com/5596964/how-to-rebuild-your-attention-span-and-focus "...Strong focusing skills can help a child prepare for many different things in life, from taking in and absorbing new information to succeeding in test-taking. If you notice that your child is lacking in the concentration department, and is often prone to being distracted, drifting off into space and daydreaming, try several strategies to improve his situation." How to Improve Focus in Children: http://www.ehow.com/how_10042497_improve-focus-children.html Randy Cazell is an elementary guidance counselor who wants to help students learn practical approaches to help them focus in school: "Hocus Pocus Learn to Focus" http://www.amazon.com/Hocus-Pocus-Learn-Focus-Cazell/dp/1598500740 "Concentration exercises can improve frontal lobe functioning." Dr. Glen Johnson http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/frontal-lobe-exercises-4488.html It turns out, that concentrating on a single, mundane task for as long as possible can strengthen our focusing muscles, while multitasking can be damaging: “ 'Do not multitask frequently. If you do, you will hurt your thinking, even when you are not multitasking,' advises Professor Dr Clifford I Nass, one of the researchers of the Stanford study in an exclusive interview." "Stop multi-tasking; it's a brain, not an octopus" February 10, 2012 http://www.firstpost.com/living/stop-multitasking-its-a-brain-not-an-octopus-209143.html "Basic technique to get the part of your brain responsible for focused attention, the prefrontal cortex, pumping......" How to Train Your Focus Muscles June, 2013 http://waystofocus.com/how-to-train-your-focus-muscles/ "....In this video clip, Daniel Goleman, PhD, author of Emotional Intelligence and most recently Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, explains why getting around distraction and moving toward better focus can be so important on several levels, and he shares a simple but effective technique that can help boost concentration." Training your Brain for Better Focus January 31, 2014 By Ruth Buczynski, PhD http://www.nicabm.com/nicabmblog/author/ruth/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=53ve0jQczr0 (3 minutes) A good question: "Why haven't we heard more about the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics review supporting this much safer and more effective alternative to drugs for focusing issues? One certified UK neurofeedback clinic addresses this with other key questions: "The power of neuroscience-based Neurofeedback is that it sits at the intersection of Medicine, Psychiatry and Psychology, but isn’t owned by any of these fields. So today it isn’t taught at Medical School, Psychology faculty, or Psychiatry specialist training." "....Although individual practitioners have been carrying out Neurofeedback in increasing numbers in the USA, Canada, continental Europe and Australia, it is still relatively unheard of in these countries, and not quite mainstream." http://www.braintrainuk.com/top-10-questions/ Here in the US, Northern California Neurotherapy is a state-of-the art-clinic offering specialist practitioner information at this site: http://norcalneurotherapy.com/ Does neurofeedback treatment feel weird? What are all those attached sensors doing? The sensors are attached to the scalp with a simple paste, like vaseline, and are simply there to listen to the brain; there is no stimulation or signal transmitted by the equipment. The brain does all the real work, adapting in response to the feedback; there are virtually no negative side effects, during or after treatment. |
