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I wrote this article on solutions for some learning
disabilities following reports that many diagnoses of ADD and ADHD, made by
school teachers and child psychologists, were later shown to be in error. Such
errors in judgment (there are no clinical tests) can have devastating
consequences on the children involved - who may suffer from chaotic family
relationships, food allergies or who be more intelligent than their teachers.
What are Learning Disabilities?
If a child or teenager shows a lack of concentration or
curiosity, or is a nuisance to teachers, or is considered lazy, the child
may be labeled learning disabled. Children labeled with learning
disabilities are expected to have less creativity and spontaneity, less
motivation and less sense of life. Yet many children diagnosed with learning
disorders suffer from poor nutrition or disturbed families.
Few learning disorders can be confirmed in a laboratory; these
labels are opinions. Yet some children labeled as learning disabled will
seek refuge in alcohol or drugs. Some will become delinquent, perhaps leading to
lives of crime. Many will enter the working world with inadequate education. Some
will withdraw into isolation - and a few will withdraw from reality into psychosis
or suicide.
Some children with learning disabilities show biochemical
imbalances and irregularities in medical imaging - although many children
with similar imbalances and irregularities may learn easily and quickly.
Some health professionals believe that biochemical imbalances cause
learning disabilities - while others believe that learning disorders
cause biochemical imbalances.
Practitioners who believe that metabolic
imbalances cause learning disorders will likely prescribe
psychotropic drugs; while practitioners who believe that learning disorders
cause metabolic imbalances will likely recommend dietary analysis,
remedial therapy and/or systemic coaching.
Children of Divorce
. Systemic Education
. Food Allergies .
Eating Disorders
Education Success
Educational success represents academic success and
social success. Educational success reflects the needs of governments,
teachers, parents and employers. Children cannot challenge those needs.
Some significant blocks to successful education are societal
beliefs about "What is possible in education?",
parental beliefs about "What can our children accomplish?"
and teachers' beliefs about "What can be changed at school?".
Western education suffers from these beliefs.
Academic success can be assessed with examinations and
tests, while social success can be assessed within relationships.
Children labeled learning disabled are less likely to relate to
other children or to teachers with friendly confidence - instead they
may become loners or form gangs. (A relationship boost may occur
if friendship skills are taught by teachers who demonstrate friendliness.)
Parental Alienation . Parent Coaching
.
Emotional Incest
Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities
Guidelines in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM) require that children show typical symptoms of learning
disabilities for at least six months. However, differences between diagnostic
frequencies indicate that these psychiatric labels may be applied to children
who are perceived as nuisances by teachers. (That is, many students
suffer from teaching disabilities).
We find that both learning disorders and
eating disorders often arise from family
relationship chaos, and people with either (or both) disorders often respond
well to our parent coaching.
Learning Disabilities & Nutrition
Many children with learning disabilities subsist on sugar and
sugar-forming junk foods and/or suffer family chaos,
both of which can cause and worsen learning disorders. Even so, food
sensitivities are rarely explored. Amphetamines
appear to offer a simple solution, regardless of their side-effects.
Many children with learning disabilities are
intolerant of or allergic to common foods. Foods such as wheat, potatoes, milk
or corn products can cause children to show depressed or hyperactive behavior,
leading many doctors to manage those children with amphetamines such as Ritalin or
Dexedrine.
Some emotional symptoms of allergies to common foods may
be diagnosed as learning disorders. These symptoms include aggressiveness,
anxiety, depression, dizziness, hyperactivity, indifference, insomnia,
irritability, sleepiness, slurred speech and stuttering.
Few people are aware that common foods can cause psychological
symptoms through hidden allergies and intolerances. Food intolerance tests can
diagnose toxic reactions. Studies
of food intolerance tests showed a 70% success rate, while only 20% accuracy
with skin testing. (Note that many people seem addicted to foods to
which they are allergic or intolerant).
Dietary analysis does not always solve learning disorders, but
careful observations and follow-up tests can expose potential food problems.
Your children's tolerance of food has a great impact on their lives.
Learning Disabilities & Drugs
Most health professionals who believe that learning disorders
are caused by a biochemical imbalance will routinely prescribe
mind-altering drugs to manage children.
Amphetamines can subdue hyperactive children and reduce the problems
faced by parents and teachers. But children medicated with
addictive drugs may show dysfunction into their adult lives.
Ritalin is
similar to cocaine. The side effects of amphetamines include
lost appetite: medicated children are often underweight and grow more
slowly than their peers. Other side effects include addiction, elevated blood
pressure, irritability, emotional instability and fatigue.
Adderall is an amphetamine combination that,
instead of blocking dopamine reuptake, triggers the release of dopamine and noradrenaline. Approved by the FDA in 1996, Adderall is an alternative
medication to Ritalin, often prescribed as a Plan B when Ritalin
is ineffective.
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Excerpts from Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs
In most people the effects of
stimulant drugs are short-lived and there is often a letdown or crash
after they wear off. During this crash the patient can feel
very depressed, sleepy and sluggish.
... People who abuse
amphetamines and other stimulants - usually in attempts to lose weight or
stay awake for prolonged periods - often find that a dose that had worked
for a while is suddenly ineffective and they need a higher dose. ... Soon,
the person is addicted to the drug. Stopping it suddenly leads to severe
withdrawal reactions characterized by depression and extreme fatigue.
Suicides have been reported amongst people who suddenly stop taking
amphetamines.
"Patients must
understand that they will probably become addicted to the medication
and that they should never stop taking it abruptly." |
Systemic Solutions & ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
Children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorders
(ADD or ADHD or ADS) often appear to be lazy, inattentive, hyperactive and
impulsive, as are most children at times. Children may be diagnosed with
ADHD if they become bored quickly, are easily distracted, make careless
mistakes, daydream and do not complete educational tasks. (Many children
diagnosed with ADD can complete interesting tasks.)
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People with ADHD have an elevated risk of
psychiatric disorders (Jensen et al. 2001), and of educational and career
difficulties (Mannuzza & Klein 2000), as well as about 20% increased
use of emergency and outpatient medical services (DeBar et al. 2004).
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Few psychiatrists and doctors give physical exams for
suspected ADD; they just fill out checklists. Yet a diagnosis of ADHD cannot
be confirmed in a laboratory, like an infection. A label of ADD or ADHD
can indicate that a health professional does not know what is wrong.
If family relationship chaos, food sensitivities or allergies are causing
a child's symptoms, then that child does not have ADD.
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ADD, Ritalin & Adderall |
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3% - 5% of
school age children are diagnosed with ADHD, with up to 20% in some schools.
About 10 boys are diagnosed with ADHD for each girl. Common treatments are
Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall - drugs of convenience
for many parents and caretakers.
(Should giving children psychoactive
drugs be a first choice - or a last option?) |
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Side-Effects associated with Ritalin & Adderall |
- headaches
- over-stimulation
- difficulty sleeping
- decreased appetite
- raised blood pressure
- feel tearful and miserable
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- abdominal pain (temporary)
- growth retardation (temporary)
- tics (muscle twitches, spasms)
- (rare) hyperactivity reactions
- (rare) irregular pulse
- (rare) white cell count drops
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Have you experienced temporary attention deficit during a
crisis, or during external conversations? Have you experienced temporary
attention deficit during internal conversations or self-talk? People
with ADD may benefit from systemic coaching that helps them concentrate, control
self-criticism, decrease inner conflict and enjoy better relationships.
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Children having
difficulty in peer relationships, such as being rejected by other children or
not having close friends, may have higher risk for
anxiety, behavioral and mood disorders, substance abuse and delinquency
as teenagers.1
Parents of children diagnosed with ADHD may
report that their child do not play with groups of friends nor enjoy in
after-school activities, and that their child has few friends, is bullied at
school or has trouble cooperating along with other children.2
-
Woodward, Lianne and Ferguson, David;
Childhood Peer Relationship Problems and Psychosocial Adjustment in Late
Adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1999
New York University Child Study Center.
IMPACT Survey, 2001
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You can help children diagnosed with ADHD or ADD by
providing dietary analysis for the children
and systemic couple coaching for the parents.
Correcting the diet of children with learning
disabilities often helps improve their behavior. Testing for food allergies and
sensitivities and providing needed vitamins and minerals may help many "learning
disabled" children.
Coaching parents to build or rebuild their own happiness can
often help learning disabled
children. Systemic couple coaching helps parents identify and resolve
transferences and
relationship bonds - which may manifest as immature behavior and family
secrets. Children, especially children under the age of 14, often respond quickly,
positively and dramatically to their parent's increased happiness.
Adults with ADD may be energetic, creative and spontaneous.
They may also interrupt people and be forgetful. If ADHD traits are perceived as
a lack of love for or interest in other family members, stress and resentment
may follow. Yet many adults with ADHD symptoms avoid treatment or coaching.
Evaluating
Partnership . Predictable Partnership
. Couple Coaching
Systemic Solutions & Dyslexia
Dyslexia is about learning to read. Research
suggests that up to 20% of people (1 in 5) show
some symptoms of dyslexia. Dyslexia may be diagnosed when reading
difficulties appear to be uncorrectable.
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"Dyslexia is not a diagnosis,
it is a prediction that children cannot learn to read. And with that
prediction on record - why, strangely enough, none of them ever do.
Unless they happen on a teacher who doesn't believe in educationese
witchcraft."
From Inferno by Larry Niven
& Jerry Pournelle |
If dyslexia can be corrected - it is not dyslexia! Many people
diagnosed with dyslexia seem to have a basic left-right confusion. Dyslexia seems
to be more common if children witness long-term parental role reversal,
where a mother takes a fatherly role and vice versa.
Our parent coaching
may reduce any systemic need for symptoms of dyslexia in children.
Private sessions for the parents of children diagnosed with dyslexia may
help those
children enjoy a significant increase in reading speed and comprehension.
Consult a physician about any
opinions about medical conditions or medical treatments.
Part 2: Solutions for
Learning Disabilities .
Would you like to
benefit from our experience?
Copyright © Martyn Carruthers 1999-2010 All rights reserved. |
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