I was once at a conference at which a television producer discussed the basic premise of the sitcom. Simply put, likeable characters experience struggles in amusing ways and fail to learn from them. Different as one show’s premise may be from another, the characters all share one trait -- predictability. They are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again.
"Simply stated, a New Year’s resolution is a self-inflicted invitation to pain, frustration, and feelings of failure."
Michael Laskoff, Adult CEO Blogger
If you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADD/ADHD), then all of this already sounds familiar. We, like the aforementioned comedians, tend to screw up in highly predictable ways. While we are capable of learning from our mistakes, we often tend to understand the pattern long before we do anything useful with our knowledge. Instead, we bring new self-awareness to the same old mistakes.
To state the obvious, no one wants to live this way. Perhaps that’s why people with ADD/ADHD are so in love with the idea of the magic bullet -- the one-stop-shopping means of overcoming all of the disabling aspects of the condition. The only problem is that what sounds too good to be true is actually just that. All too often, the magic bullet ends up going down like a bitter pill.
Even something that makes an enormous difference is unlikely to address the entirety of the problem. For example, I take a prescription amphetamine called Vyvanse each day, and it has changed my life remarkably. With it, I am more focused and likely to complete the sort of sequential tasks that are critical to succeed in business. But as much as the medicationhelps, it would be far less meaningful without the benefit of appropriate behavioral therapyand tens or even hundreds of other life adaptations I've made. Had I vested all of my hope in pharmaceuticals but not done the rest of the work, I would have been disappointed and disillusioned. Worse, I would have likely abandoned medication altogether and lost the real benefits it brings me.
As is clear, I’m not a fan of the idea of the magic bullet, but one bothers me more than almost all of the others -- the New Year’s resolution. What makes it so evil is the combination of retrospection -- usually focused on what went wrong -- mixed with an unsupportable promise not to make the same mistake again. Simply stated, a New Year’s resolution is a self-inflicted invitation to pain, frustration, and feelings of failure.
So this New Year's Eve, don’t make resolutions. Focus on the little things instead. Added up, they can make for the sort of New Year that you deserve.
Michael Laskoff
Michael B. Laskoff is the CEO of AbilTo, which uses a unique approach to create a better alternative for millions of people seeking to overcome commonplace behavioral disorders and life transitions.
Prior to his current work, he co-founded The Branded Asset Management Group, which helped large marketers leverage untapped profit potential in existing brands and worked in senior marketing and strategy roles at Bertlesmann, McKinsey & Co., CompUSA, as well as a number of early e-commerce businesses. His first book, Landing on the Right Side of Your Ass dealt with managing job transition, which was also the subject of his BusinessWeek online column and frequent appearances on National Public Radio.
Dr. Bob DeMaria discusses the role of a certain fat in so many foods and how it relates to ADD And ADHD. His book illustrates how those conditions can be stopped in 18 days. Find out how that can be and how the conditions can be tied to what you eat! http://www.ihealthtube.com
Time spent in nature and participation in adventure sports is known to have a profound effect on those who struggle with ADD/ADHD.
The Academy at SOAR is a boarding school in North Carolina for children with ADD/ADHD, and in this video director Joseph Geier leads students on a multi-day rock climbing trip to Seneca Rocks in West Virginia.
“Most teachers and adults could benefit from pretending that all kids in their class have ADHD – what is good for kids with ADHD is good for all kids.” – Dr. Hallowell
There is no substitute for parent understanding the child’s mind and conveying that over and over again to teachers! A child needs an advocate after a diagnosis of ADHD and too often testing results get “filed away”.
Become a partner with your child’s teacher. Don’t go in with a set of things you “want” from the teacher. Go in with the goal of creating a relationship that will support your child. Consider baking brownies or helping out in class. Treat your child’s teacher as the professional she is.
Creativity is impulsivity gone right. Encourage it in your child and use it yourself.
Most kids with ADHD don’t do things the “normal way”. Don’t feel bad about this, and don’t say or do things that will make your child feel badly about his or her unique approach. Also, work with teachers to get rid of the shame in approaching problems and situations in a non-standard fashion.
Getting rid of shame and fear are key!! The greatest learning disorder of all is fear. All kids, and this includes kids with ADHD, need to feel emotionally safe in the classroom and at home. Talk with your child about his or her classroom and social experiences to make sure this is happening. Remember Dr. Hallowell’s own experience learning to read with dyslexia and how much having Mrs. Eldredge’s arm around him encourage him to try.
Set your child up to make progress on something that matters to him. This builds confidence and motivation. (For more on building confidence, see the book “The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness” by Dr. Hallowell.
With all children, but particularly with kids with ADHD, simple, consistent rules are the best. This is true of the classroom and at home. For example, always treat others with respect is a simple rule that can be applied to many situations.
Use all modalities/multi sensory training: Visual, auditory, kinesthetic.
Create a predictable schedule at school and at home. Kids thrive in situations that have enough predictability that they don’t need to guess about what is coming next (this does not mean “boring” though!) An important part of that schedule is getting enough sleep. Get your kids into bed early, if at all possible.
Give warnings about upcoming transitions from one activity to another. For example, “Now we are going to write our practice sentences, then we are going to move into science.”
Don’t be stingy with accommodations. One example is extended time on tests. The idea of the test is generally to see if a child has mastered certain material. Does the amount of time that is needed on the test make a difference? Why not give all kids untimed tests?
It is easier to take on a big task if it is broken down into small steps.
Monitor progress often and give feedback often.
All kids need escape valves. Make sure to provide time to get up from desk, walk around, have recess, bring some physical activity into what they are doing.
Make sure to give positive feedback when it is deserved. Don’t fake it, though. Kids know whether or not you are just trying to puff them up.
Teach outlining and memory tricks
Make a game out of learning.
Consider talking with your teacher about having a home to school notebook for quick comments on daily basis and easy communications.
Family dinner is one of the highest predictors of high SAT scores. Take the time to have family dinner and connect with each other.
Driving in a car is another great way to connect with your kids. Spending time, anywhere, is important. Check in regularly with your kids.
Are you looking for practical, how-to solutions to life’s personal challenges? Best selling New York Times author and world-renowned ADHD expert, Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell offers groundbreaking advice on how to:
Survive in an ultra-competitive, ultra fast, attention deficit society while remaining sane
Raise happy children
Manage worry
Forgive
Bring the best out of your employees
Get the most out of life with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
A graduate of Harvard College and Tulane School of Medicine, Dr. Hallowell is a child and adult psychiatrist and the founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Boston MetroWest, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle. He was a member of the faculty of the Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 2004 until he retired to devote his full professional attention to his clinical practice, lectures, and the writing of books.
From corporate audiences to parent-teacher workshops and national television shows, people who listen to Dr. Hallowell come away stimulated, inspired and empowered to change their lives. He is a charismatic speaker, combining the knowledge of a Harvard instructor with his incredible understanding of ADHD, human nature and the struggles we face in this crazy/busy world.
Dr. Hallowell is considered to be one of the foremost experts on the topic of ADHD. He is the co-author, with Dr. John Ratey, of Driven to Distraction, and Answers to Distraction, which have sold more than a million copies. In 2005, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey released their much-awaited third book on ADHD, Delivered from Distraction. “Delivered” provides updated information on the treatment of ADHD and more on adult ADHD.
Dr. Hallowell’s most recent book, Driven to Distraction at Work: How to Focus and Be More Productive was published 2015. In Driven to Distraction at Work, Dr. Hallowell identified the underlying reasons why people lose their ability to focus at work. He explains why commonly offered solutions like “learn to manage your time better” or “make a to-do list” don’t work because they ignore he deeper issues that are the true cases of mental distraction.
He is also the host of “Distraction” a weekly podcast series created to explore how we are driven to distraction and offers coping strategies to turn modern problems into new-found strengths.
In Dr. Hallowell’s book SHINE: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People he draws on brain science, performance research, and his own experience helping people maximize their potential to present a proven process for getting the best from your people. He introduces the 5 steps in the Cycle of Excellence: Select, Connect, Play, Grapple and Grow, and Shine. He shows how each step is critical in its own right and translates into actions a manager or worker can do and do now to propel their people to excellence.
In Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Interruption, Dr. Hallowell teams up with his wife, Sue George Hallowell, a couples’ therapist, to explain the subtle but dangerous toll today’s overstretched, under nurtured lifestyle takes on our most intimate relationship. The good news is that there are straightforward and effective ways to maneuver your marriage out of the destructive roadblocks created by the avalanche of busy living.
Dr. Hallowell’s book with Dr. Peter Jensen, SUPERPARENTING FOR ADD: An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child, was published in December, 2008. With decades of experience working with ADD children, Dr. Hallowell understands how easily the gifts of this condition are lost on a child amid negative comments from doctors, teachers, and even loving but frustrated parents. He has long argued that ADD is too often misunderstood, mistreated, and mislabeled as a “disability.”
Dr. Hallowell observes that people who do not have ADHD still often show many of its symptoms due to lives that are so busy that they overload their brains. He explores this phenomenon in his book, CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap!In this book, Dr. Hallowell shows how the hectic pace of modern life has led our society to suffer from broader, culturally induced ADD. His insight into how to unsnarl frenzied lives and take charge of how we really want to be living provides true inspiration to us all.
What do you get when you mix kids of all ages with a celebrity chef and give them a mission to cook for people in need? A unique and eye-opening volunteer experience for the whole family.
To my considerable delight, eight-year-old Alister is making dessert. Yes, my youngest son is peeling pears—brow slightly furrowed, tongue poking out of his lips in concentration. Once peeled and cored, the pears will be poached and served with a citrus-infused panna cotta. Pretty fancy for a kid in Grade 3, right?
Cooking with kids
Nearby, Alister’s 12-year-old brother, Cameron, is chopping onions. His eyes are stinging, but with Chef Carl Heinrich nearby, Top Chef Canada winner and co-owner of the popular restaurant Richmond Station—and Bolognese sauce for 50 to prepare—there’s no way he’s going to throw in the towel. Or the chef’s knife.
The boys and I are at the Massey Centre in East York with Kids Cook to Care (KCTC), a unique nonprofit that gives child volunteers a chance to cook for people in high-need communities, acquiring practical kitchen skills with some knowledge of different ethnic cuisines mixed in. Tonight they’re working alongside eight other kids ages six to 16 to make an Italian meal for the young expectant and new moms who live at the centre.
The birth of a unique program
KCTC was founded in 2009 by Toronto moms Jill Lewis and Julie Levin. “There was a lack of authentic volunteer activities for kids—little kids—to do in Toronto. So I thought, why not put them in a kitchen, hook them up with a celebrity chef, and let magic happen?”
“We used to live in New York, and when we were there we volunteered at a shelter on the upper west side,” says Lewis. “When we moved here, I promised the kids we would cook and care in Toronto, but no one would let us into their homeless shelters or soup kitchens. It was adult-only or ages 10 and up. So with a girlfriend we decided, ‘Let’s do something, and see if we can make a difference.’”
The importance of volunteering
When Lewis approached me about KCTC, I jumped at the opportunity to participate with my two sons. As with so many well-meaning but busy families, I’d wanted for some time to find a hands-on volunteer opportunity that would allow them to make a difference while getting face-to-face with those who have less. But I never managed to research how to make that happen. Our contributions to good causes had become mostly about making monetary donations to charities, something that can be pretty invisible to kids.
Even better, the opportunity totally fit with my nature, which is to demonstrate affection and concern for others through food. Like the legions of casserole-bearing women before me, I’m all about the food love—in times of crisis (such as sickness or grief) or in times of joy (such as the arrival of a new baby). And in between, there’s the everyday business of sustaining my family with—at least on good weeks—wholesome food.
Heinrich says KCTC holds a lot of meaning for him. “I very much relate to the program, to the kids cooking and especially to the Massey centre. My mother had me when she was 19 years old and I was her second kid. We went through probably more difficult times than most growing up.” His education as a cook began when he was in his early teens and his mom, then in her late twenties, was working full-time and juggling her duties as a single mother of three.
“My oldest sister and I started cooking one meal a week. That’s why I choose this meal because the sauce was one of my first meals cooking for my family. I’d come home from school, open the cans, brown the beef, have a sauce ready, boil some water, and my mom would come home and tell me when the noodles were done. That started, not necessarily the career, but the passion for food. We never ate out at restaurants and we never had expensive ingredients. It was ground beef and frozen chicken breasts, but we ate well on a budget.”
Capable and confident kids
Just as the leftovers from Heinrich’s first batches of spaghetti sauce would be turned into lasagna and then chili later in the week when he was growing up, the kids at KCTC chop enough onions and mushrooms, and—with a little help from some moms who handled stirring over the hot industrial stoves—make enough sauce to leave a giant pot of leftovers for the young women.
Next, the little hands roll balls of pasta dough into long snakes, older kids slice them into pieces, and everyone’s thumbs are put to use shaping the pasta. The kids then fly into action when Heinrich says the meal cannot be served until the kitchen is clean. The other moms and I look at each other. If only we could command such efficiency!
The kids then form an assembly line to plate the pasta, sauce, salad, and garlic bread, and the youngest volunteer—six-year-old Grace—proudly helps ferry the plates from the counter to the residents, many of whom are cradling babies in their arms.
To get to the Massey Centre on time that day, I’d pulled the kids out of school an hour early, a decision that was easy to make given the richness of the experience. When all the guests were served, the kids joined the residents at the tables with the plates of pasta they’d been so eager to taste while working in the kitchen. My boys sat next to a young woman who didn’t yet have a babe in arms. “Stay in school, kids. And don’t cut class either. It’s a bad path to go down.”
There was never any doubt, really, but I couldn’t help feeling that this one moment alone made it well worth having the kids miss last period of school that day.
ADHD money management is a paradox. The first thing financial experts say is never let anyone else have control of your money. The next thing they say is that you need to follow a strict budget, avoid impulsive spending and save for the future.
As an adult with ADHD, you know that is a recipe for disaster. After all, they are asking you to:
pay attention to the details of a budget,
consistently micro-manage your finances to get out of debt,
eliminate impulsivity in your spending,
planfor the future,
organize all your bills and receipts,
and so on…
It flies in the face of the very challenges ADHD adults face. Just think about how most ADHD adults see money management.
Budgets are so boring! Most people don’t use them, let alone ADHD-ers. Getting out of debt is the slow drip of water torture, unless you’re planning on winning the lottery! (Not an effective plan, by the way.) Eliminating impulsivity in something that’s as much fun as spending money? Forget it! Oh, and plan for the future? When there is only “now” and “not now,” you’re not going to put money you could spend NOW for sometime that is NOT NOW! Sound familiar?
Harv Ecker, the well-known author of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,” and a popular speaker on the subject of personal finances tells people that if you count on getting rich enough to have someone else take care of your money, you won’t make it. He explains that you won’t get rich if you don’t learn to manage your money, and you won’t stay rich if you let someone else take control of your money.
For adults with ADHD money management is so difficult that many (I’d even guess most) ADHDers never learn how to do it effectively. Studies show that on average ADHDers earn $10,000 less per year than non-ADHD-ers, and if you have trouble earning it, you’ll also having trouble keeping it. It doesn’t have to be that way though.
There are many ADHD-ers at the top of their game who excel in their careers, earning far above the average person with a comparable background. They’ve learned to work with their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Your challenge is to become one of them, and it is possible, but it won’t happen by itself.
Where can you learn ADHD strategies for money management? Personal financial management is rarely taught in schools, so unless you’ve sought out extra education, you’re following the only financial model you’ve seen. You manage your money just like your parents. If your parents are excellent financial managers, if they are wealthy and are living the life style you dream of living in the future, good for you. However, if your parents aren’t living the life you want, it’s time to change your approach.
You can learn personal money management through books, seminars and classes. Unfortunately, even when they teach personal money management, nothing is said about ADHD money management, and without specific ADHD strategies, you might never get out of debt let alone build your savings. In traditional approaches, the first step to getting a handle on your finances is to “prepare a budget,” and as you know, those words will make almost any ADHD adult shudder in fear.
While you can’t learn all about ADHD money management in one article, to get your financial affairs in order, apply these three ADHD strategies. The three keys to ADHD money management are:
Pay yourself first. You must save for the future. At some point, your income may be interrupted. You may need or want to stop working, and if you have no source of income, you’ll need to survive on what you’ve saved for a rainy day. Your first priority must be to save up for that umbrella! If anyone counsels you to pay all your bills and put the rest into savings, run away! You already know there’s never any left to go into savings.
Make everything automatic. While you don’t want to delegate responsibility for your personal finances, you can make the decisions about your ADHD money management strategies and then set up systems to operate according to your wishes. When you drive a car, you decide to speed up and step on the gas. The car responds to your bidding, but it doesn’t demand that you get out and push it yourself. When you automate your payments, with Internet banking and other systems, you set the strategy so you’re not giving up control, but the system compensates for your ADHD challenges. You’ll save on late fees and interest charges by never forgetting a payment, and you’ll protect your credit rating too.
Use what’s left over for whatever you want. If you’re saving for the future and paying all your bills, any money that’s left is yours to play with! It’s now safe to be impulsive if you want. Even if you spend every penny left over, your financial success strategy is still executing perfectly. You can spend it all, or save for a big purchase like a dream vacation.
There are also excellent ADHD strategies you can put in place for special money management issues such as getting out of debt or buying a home. If money management is presenting a special challenge for you, you may want to consider ADHD coaching to ensure you’re working with someone who can help you set up systems that will meet your special ADHD needs. ADHD Money Management programs become available from time to time as teleclass format or can be combined with one-on-one coaching.
While traditional approaches to managing personal finances may give you a headache, once you get an ADHD money management strategy established and the systems set up to make sure it’s executed as planned, things get really interesting. You see, once you stop concentrating on mundane tasks like paying bills, you can turn your attention to earning money. ADHD-ers actually have a good chance of outperforming the general population in terms of personal prosperity. Once you focus your energies on getting the most out of your strengths. Typically, an ADHD-er who chooses a career that plays to his or her strengths will excel far beyond the average person.
If you’d like to receive more details about ADHD money management and how you can improve your life by putting the right ADHD strategies into play, than can fit in this article, just complete this simple form. You’ll receive your first email immediately and you can get started on improving your financial future today.
Linda Walker, PCC, B. Admin., is a certified ADHD Coach who helps adults with ADHD overcome the special challenges of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) they encounter at home and in the workplace. She is the creator of The Maximum Productivity Makeover for Creative Geniuses, a training program for adults with ADHD and the author of With Time to Spare.
"Think of exercise as medication,” says John Ratey, M.D., an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “For a very small handful of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD ADD), it may actually be a replacement for stimulants, but, for most, it’s complementary — something they should absolutely do, along with taking meds, to help increase attention and improve mood.”
While most of us focus on exercise as a way to trim our waistlines, the better news is that routine physical activity firms up the brain -- making it a simple, alternative ADHD treatment. “Exercise turns on the attention system, the so-called executive functions — sequencing, working memory, prioritizing, inhibiting, and sustaining attention,” says Ratey, author of the forthcoming Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Little, Brown). “On a practical level, it causes kids to be less impulsive, which makes them more primed to learn.”
The latest news about exercise is that it helps kids push through past failures and attack things they didn’t succeed at before. “The refrain of many ADHD kids is, ‘No matter what I do, I’m going to fail,’” says Ratey. “Rat studies show that exercise reduces learned helplessness. In fact, if you’re aerobically fit, the less likely you are to learn helplessness.”
So how, exactly, does exercise deliver these benefits to the ADHD brain? When you walk, run, or do a set of jumping jacks or pushups, your brain releases several important chemicals.
Endorphins, for one, hormone-like compounds that regulate mood, pleasure, and pain. That same burst of activity also elevates the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels. These brain chemicals affect focus and attention, which are in short supply in those with ADHD. “When you increase dopamine levels, you increase the attention system’s ability to be regular and consistent, which has many good effects,” explains Ratey, like reducing the craving for new stimuli and increasing alertness.
You don’t have to be a marathoner, or even a runner, to derive benefits from exercise. Walking for 30 minutes, four times a week, will do the trick. “Get your child involved in something that he finds fun, so he will stick with it,” suggests Ratey. Team activities or exercise with a social component are especially beneficial.
Studies have also found that tae kwon do, ballet, and gymnastics, in which you have to pay close attention to body movements, tax the attention system. “A very good thing for kids and adolescents with ADHD,” says Ratey.
More schools are including exercise in their curricula to help kids do better in the classroom. A school in Colorado starts off students’ days with 20 minutes of aerobic exercise to increase alertness. If they act up in class, they aren’t given time-outs but time-ins — 10 minutes of activity on a stationary bike or an elliptical trainer. “The result is that kids realize they can regulate their mood and attention through exercise,” says Ratey. “That’s empowering.”
This article is excerpted from a Special Report: Beyond Meds, about five popular complementary approaches for ADHD, which appeared in the December/January 2008 issue of ADDitude.
Can some food additives or nutrients affect symptoms? The jury is still out.
Diet alone probably isn't the driving force behind the multiple behavioral and cognitive symptoms that plague children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But several studies have renewed interest in whether certain foods and additives might affect particular symptoms in a subset of children with ADHD.
All of the qualifiers in the previous sentence are intentional. Traditional research finds no support for radical diets like the Feingold diet — which eliminates nearly all processed foods as well as many fruits and vegetables — for the majority of children with ADHD. And there is no easy way to identify the few children who might benefit from diets that prohibit particular foods.
Yet parents — and some researchers — wonder if more modest dietary changes could supplement standard multimodal treatment that includes behavioral therapy and other evidence-based psychotherapies, school support, medication, and parent education. Here's a brief review of the evidence on the dietary interventions that have received the most mainstream attention.
Artificial colorings and additives
Since the 1970s, researchers have investigated whether the synthetic dyes, flavors, and preservatives found in many commercially prepared and "junk" foods might contribute to hyperactivity or other symptoms of ADHD. Many of the studies are small or flawed, and there is no consensus about how such additives might contribute to ADHD symptoms in children.
Interest in the topic of additives has been reignited by a well-designed study in Britain, not least because its results convinced the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (roughly equivalent to the FDA) to urge food manufacturers to remove six artificial coloring agents from food marketed to children in Britain.
The researchers designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to test the effects of the preservative sodium benzoate and six artificial food colorings on hyperactivity in 153 preschoolers (who were 3 years old) and 144 elementary students (who were 8 or 9 years old). The researchers intentionally conducted the study in a community sample of healthy children, rather than restricting it to those diagnosed with ADHD. But they did ask teachers to fill out a questionnaire to assess hyperactivity for the children at the start of the study, to provide some baseline measures.
For six weeks, the children consumed foods and drinks free of sodium benzoate and the six coloring agents. At weeks 2, 4, and 6, the children consumed plain juice (placebo) or juice containing one of two additive mixes every day for a week.
Mix A contained the preservative plus the colorings sunset yellow, carmoisine, tartrazine, and ponceau 4R; mix B contained the preservative plus sunset yellow, carmoisine, quinoline yellow, and allura red AC.
The drinks had the same flavor and color from one week to the next, but contained different amounts of the added mix. For the older children, the daily amount of additives in mix A equaled the amount of food coloring found in two bags of candy, while the daily amount in mix B was equivalent to four bags of candy.
The researchers asked parents and teachers to assess the children's behavior using standard clinical instruments, and also asked independent reviewers to observe the children at school. The older children were also assessed with the Conners' Continuous Performance Test II, which uses visual cues to assess attention and hyperactivity.
The investigators found a mild but significant increase in hyperactivity in both age groups of children — across the board, regardless of baseline hyperactivity levels — during the weeks when they consumed drinks containing artificial colors. This replicated findings of an earlier study they did in 3-year-old children. Using a complex calculation of "effect size," the investigators estimated that the additives might explain about 10% of the behavioral difference between a child with ADHD and one without the disorder.
This was similar to the effect size reported in an earlier meta-analysis conducted by researchers at Columbia University and Harvard University. Their analysis of 15 trials evaluating the impact of artificial food coloring suggests that removing these agents from the diets of children with ADHD would be about one-third to one-half as effective as treatment with methylphenidate (Ritalin).
But like the authors of the British study, the authors of the meta-analysis cautioned that only a minority of children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of artificial additives. They also pointed out that determining which children are susceptible is difficult, though not impossible. Although some experts have recommended testing children with ADHD for food reactions, there is no test for additives.
Parents could try eliminating the major sources of artificial colors and additives — candy, junk food, brightly-colored cereals, fruit drinks, and soda — from their child's diet for a few weeks, to see if symptoms improve. One practical challenge to keep in mind, however, is that studies of sugar elimination have shown that parents may wrongly assume that changes in their child's behavior reflect consumption of a "problem" food.
In one frequently cited study about sugar, researchers recruited 35 mother-and-son pairs. All the mothers believed their sons — then ages 5 to 7 — were sugar-sensitive. The researchers told the mothers their sons would be randomly assigned to an experimental group that received a high dose of sugar or to a control group that received aspartame. In reality, all the boys received aspartame. The mothers who thought their sons ingested a large amount of sugar reported that their child's behavior was significantly more hyperactive afterward. The researchers concluded that parental expectation may color perception when it comes to food-related behaviors.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Essential fatty acids fuel basic cell functioning, improve overall immunity, and enhance heart health. By definition, the body cannot make essential fatty acids, so these nutrients must be consumed in the diet. One group, the omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA], docosahexaenoic acid [DHA], and alpha-linolenic acid [ALA]), is obtained from salmon, tuna, and other cold-water fish, as well as from some seeds and oils. The other group, the omega-6 fatty acids (especially linoleic acid), is obtained primarily from vegetable oils.
While a balance of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids is best for overall health, the typical American diet contains too few omega-3s, often in a one-to-10 ratio or lower with omega-6 fats. Researchers have explored whether a deficiency of omega-3 fats might contribute to symptoms of ADHD because these fatty acids perform a number of functions in the brain, such as affecting transmission of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin and helping brain cells to communicate. ADHD and an omega-3 deficiency also share two symptoms: excess thirst and increased need to urinate. Some evidence suggests that children with ADHD may have low levels of essential fatty acids.
Only a few randomized controlled studies have evaluated omega-3 supplements for children with ADHD. A review by the American Psychiatric Association's Omega-3 Fatty Acids Subcommittee included two placebo-controlled studies that found DHA supplements alone were ineffective at alleviating symptoms of ADHD, and another three that concluded combining omega-3 and omega-6 supplements might help. But because of the way the studies were designed, it was difficult to determine the specific benefit of omega-3 supplements.
Although other studies have been published since the APA review, none have resolved the question of whether omega-3 or omega-6 supplements might help children with ADHD. Several clinical trials are under way and may provide such answers in the future.
In the meantime, the recommendations of the APA subcommittee are a helpful guide: encourage children with ADHD to consume levels of omega-3 fatty acids recommended as part of a healthy diet. For children, that means consuming up to 12 ounces (two average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are low in mercury, such as shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, and pollack, along with daily plant sources of unsaturated fats.
Micronutrients
Deficiencies of particular vitamins or minerals — such as zinc, iron, magnesium, and vitamin B6 — have been documented in children with ADHD. But the results of trials testing whether supplementation with vitamins or minerals alleviates ADHD symptoms have been inconsistent.
Although vitamin or mineral supplements may help children diagnosed with particular deficiencies, there is no evidence that they are helpful for all children with ADHD. Furthermore, megadoses of vitamins, which can be toxic, must be avoided.
What's a parent to do?
A diet or dietary supplement that eases the symptoms of ADHD would be a boon for anyone living with this disruptive disorder. So far, though, the evidence provides only limited support for restrictive diets, avoiding preservatives or artificial food colorings, consuming more omega-3 fats, or taking specific vitamins or minerals.
For now, the consensus on a sensible approach to nutrition for children with ADHD is the same recommended for all children: eat a diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthful unsaturated fats, and good sources of protein; go easy on unhealthy saturated and trans fats, rapidly digested carbohydrates, and fast food; and balance healthy eating with plenty of physical activity.
A healthful diet may reduce symptoms of ADHD by reducing exposure to artificial colors and additives and improving intake of omega-3 fats and micronutrients. But it certainly willimprove overall health and nutrition, and set the stage for a lifetime of good health.
Freeman MP, et al. "Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Evidence Basis for Treatment and Future Research in Psychiatry," Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Dec. 2006): Vol. 67, No. 12, pp. 1954–67.
McCann D, et al. "Food Additives and Hyperactive Behaviour in 3-Year-Old and 8/9-Year-Old Children in the Community: A Randomised, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial,"Lancet (Nov. 3, 2007): Vol. 370, No. 9598, pp. 1560–67.
Schab DW, et al. "Do Artificial Food Colors Promote Hyperactivity in Children with Hyperactive Syndromes? A Meta-Analysis of Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials," Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (Dec. 2004): Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 423–34.
Weber W, et al. "Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapies for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism," Pediatric Clinics of North America (Dec. 2007): Vol. 54, No. 6: pp. 983–1006.
