From the outside, they are bright and busy. They may fidget, squirm, twirl…never stop moving. They are disorganized, easily distracted. Their rooms are utter chaos. They shift from one uncompleted task to another. They have difficulty following instructions or sustaining attention. They are daydreamers. Sometimes they are quick to anger and have difficulty making or keeping friends. This is how children with ADHD appear to parents, teachers and other children.

From the inside, as one fifteen year old girl describes, "It’s like having a million thoughts go through my head all at once."

Description and Diagnosis

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has three subtypes, 1) ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Type, 2) ADHD-Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive Type 3) ADHD -Combined Type (The most common). They are all called ADHD these days, even if the hyperactive component is missing.

Dr. Richard Irwin, Developmental Pediatrician with Tulsa Developmental Pediatrics and Center for Family Psychology, says, "It’s important for people to understand that the core characteristics of ADHD are difficulty with concentration and attention, easy distractibility, excessive impulsivity and varying degrees of hyperactivity. The NON-hyperactive ADHD child tends to be less impulsive in nature and may struggle the most with concentration, distractibility, disorganization and forgetfulness."

Dr. Irwin also says that these traits are most evident when a child is involved in an activity they find boring, like school work. But that they are able to sustain attention for long periods of time when they are doing something they enjoy like playing video games.

A diagnosis of ADHD can be made by a General Pediatrician, Developmental Pediatrician, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist or Psychologist. All can prescribe medication if necessary, except for the Psychologist.

Traditional Treatments

According to Dr. Irwin, "The current gold stand treatment is a combination of medication therapy, supportive parenting guidance and counseling and behavior modification strategies (as indicated), specific accommodations in the classroom, special education interventions and tutoring for any areas of specific educational weakness.. Social sills group training and instruction in study skills also are used."

The office for Tulsa Developmental Pediatrics is located at: 4520 S. Harvard. Their number is 743-2334.

Two Non-Traditional Therapies.

Neurotherapy

Neurofeedback involves teaching a person to modify his or her brain wave activity. Some people have too little or too much of certain types of brain wave activity in different areas of the brain. Neurofeedback teaches them how to maintain a healthier balance.

Neurofeedback research began in the UCLA Medical School labs in 1965. Since then it has been used to help people overcome a variety of problems including addiction, anxiety, depression and migraines. It’s even been used by the military and by NASA.

Some children with ADHD can benefit from Neurofeedback by "learning to attend to the activity at hand," says Dan Corley of Neurosystems. "It’s not really a matter of controlling brain waves."

Corley does not normally diagnose, but sees patients after they have been diagnosed by one of the specialists mentioned above. In hour long sessions, the child is trained to increase and decrease brain waves in the correct frequencies.

Corley says parents and teachers often notice changes after 7 -10 sessions. About the same time, the children report they are sleeping better, remembering more dreams (REM sleep) and they can often reduce medications or sometimes stop taking it all together. Dr. Corley can be reached 748-9213. His office is at 2424 E. 21^st. St. For additional information about ADHD and Neurofeedback, he recommends reading, "Getting rid of Ritalin. How Neurofeedback can successfully treat Attention Deficit Disorder with Drugs." by Robert W. Hill, Ph. D. and Eduardo Castro, M.D.

Chiropractic Care

"My son tells me it takes the noise out of his head," says Brandon’s mother. "He knows when he needs to go in to the doctor and he tells me."

Brandon (not his real name) is a patient of Dr. Robert Brooks of Brooks Spinal Care of Tulsa.

Dr. Brooks says, "Some cases of ADHD can be caused by structural mis-alignment in the spine. The misalignment can affect the cranial vault or the spinal column and create stress in the central nervous system."

Dr. Brooks says these alignments can often be corrected with no more than a gentle touch on the side of the neck. He takes x-rays both before and after to determine whether the misalignment is completely corrected or only reduced. "Many spines are corrected with just one adjustment," he says.

Brandon’s mother says it definitely calms her son. She also says he is still taking medication…for now. But she believes his care is a balancing act and wants to consider all options that will help her son.