Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered to be a condition resulting from a combination of lifestyle and environmental factors combined with a genetic predisposition.
Studies show that maternal factors such as smoking, alcohol use, nutritional deficits, a C-section, and a family history of ADHD can increase the risk of ADHD in a child. Childhood nutritional imbalances, dietary factors, brain injury, exposure to toxins (i.e. lead; pesticides), excessive television viewing, and allergens are some of the environmental or lifestyle factors that have been associated with the condition.
Standard treatment focuses on stimulant medications, non-stimulants that affect neurotransmitters, and antidepressants. Each has the potential for significant side-effects. See “ADHD Treatment: Taking the Road Most Travelled” for a summary of typical conventional treatments.
Due to concern over medication side-effects and lack of drug effectiveness for some children and adults, many people seek natural and integrative approaches to ADHD. Our article “Natural and Integrative Treatments for ADHD” describes some of the key interventions that are currently used.
Related articles are shown below. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can search using the box at the upper right of the page or browse our forums.
Stella Waterhouse, author of A Positive Approach to Autism, wrote this article for ACN Latitudes. Sensory problems affect people from all walks of life, yet they usually receive little attention. They are found to varying degrees […]
Homeopathy is a safe and often effective natural therapy for children and adults with ADD/ADHD and its associated symptoms, and recent research has confirmed this. Homeopathic primary care can be effective, though this condition is […]
Majid Ali, MD A simple model is presented for understanding the spectrum of Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactivity, learning disability, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and Tourette syndrome. In this model, the focus is on developmental and acquired problems […]
Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD Sheila Rogers, MS, Director of ACN: When I was developing the advisory board for ACN Latitudes, I asked a medical editor whom he would recommend as an expert in nutrition. He immediately […]
Siegfried Othmer, PhD was interviewed about the use of biofeedback, by John Spencer, PhD Introduction by Dr. Spencer: Biofeedback is a technique in which electronic or mechanical instruments relay information to participants concerning their physiological […]
William G. Crook, MD Note from Sheila Rogers: I had the honor of interviewing Dr. William Crook 25 years ago. This pioneering physician was the first to publicize the fact that there was a gut-brain […]
Bernard Rimland, PhD Dr. Rimland, an advisory board member for ACN Latitudes, wrote this article in the mid 1990s; the recommendations remain valuable today. I receive many letters and phone calls from parents and teachers […]