Posts tagged ‘Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari’
Return of School Problems for ADHD Children?
I was speaking with the mother of several school age children recently (one with ADHD), and she gave voice to a feeling I suspect many mothers have. “The kids are back in school, Thank God; I love my kids-but I need a little time at home alone to regroup…….. The kids are back in school. Oh my God! We’re going to start having all those school struggles with Alex again!” Does this sound familiar?
Many parents may have felt optimistic that with summer school, some tutoring, or because it’s a new year and the child is older, that this year would be an entirely new experience. Unfortunately, for most kids with ADHD, this is not the case. Individuals with ADHD have a unique handicap. It is a neurological disorder that, if untreated, will usually persist throughout life, typically creating significant difficulties in school, the workplace, and in relationships.
The classroom environment- with its particular emphasis on organization, schedules, and assignments, long periods of desk work, and emphasis on writing and math- are usually places where children with ADHD have significant difficulty. Furthermore, they take longer to complete in-class and homework assignments. They can quickly become overwhelmed, rebellious, and discouraged, and can “turn off” to the idea of learning.
Some children with ADHD also have behavior difficulties and/or may become isolated, or have difficulty forming friendships. These problems, combined with the aforementioned performance difficulties, often add up to the child developing a self-image of being “not to smart” (tragically incorrect, most people with ADHD have a higher than average intelligence), and/or being a “trouble-maker”. Unfortunately, as we all tend to live out our self-images, the longer this is allowed to exist, the stronger and greater the problems become. It is therefore critical to correct this situation immediately.
Solution:
The solution to this problem is to correct the disorder.Many parents, unfortunately, deny the existence of the disorder, or choose to not get help for their child because they fear the side effects, and rigors of medication (life-long treatment).There is, however, an alternative to this scenario.Neurofeedback is a highly effective, drug free, safe, non-invasive and painless procedure in which the student learns to correct the problem.Once training is complete, no further treatment is necessary.
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comAD/HD and Serious Behavior Problems
There are three types of AD/HD (ADD), primarily Inattentive, Hyperactive-Impulsive, and Combined. In individuals with Hyperactive-Impulsive and the Combined forms, anti-social behavior is, unfortunately, common. Approximately 60% of these individuals maybe oppositional or defiant, many end up in trouble with the law.
These difficulties are rooted in the neurological imbalances, which cause AD/HD (which in most cases can be corrected through neurological retraining, without the use of drugs). The results of these imbalances are that these individuals tend to typically be less content and peaceful, impulsively act-out, and crave the stimulation of anti-social behaviors. Furthermore, the impulsivity causes these activities to be less carefully planned, and they are more easily caught.
Teenagers with these forms of the disorder average two arrests by the age of 18. Approximately 20% of these teenagers will be arrested for a felony, compared to only 3% of teens without the disorder. Recent data shows that as many as 50% of all teens in juvenile facilities have AD/HD, but were untreated for it, and a full 70% of men in prisons in California have AD/HD and were untreated for it as children.
Teens with these types of the disorder have 400% more traffic tickets related to speeding, than teenagers without it. Twice as many of these teenagers will run away from home (with the added increased likelihood of further bad choices, once away from home) than teens without the disorder. Arson is also often associated with AD/HD, teenagers with untreated AD/HD are three times more likely to be arrested for arson than those without the disorder.
Teenagers untreated as children for AD/HD are ten times more likely to get pregnant, or to cause a pregnancy, than those without AD/HD. Teens untreated for this disorder are
also 400% more likely to contract a sexually transmitted than teens without AD/HD.
Often AD/HD students will have difficulty with certain interactions on a regular basis: difficulty in taking turns, misinterpreting others’ remarks as overly hostile, personalizing others’ remarks actions excessively, and misreading social cues.
Correcting the Disorder
In addition to the above-mentioned problems, there are a host of other difficulties associated with AD/HD. Tragically this disorder often goes undetected, or when detected, untreated, due to parents’ fear of the unwanted significant side effects of medication, which they may think are their only treatment option.
As we mentioned earlier, the neurological imbalances, which cause all forms of this disorder, can be retrained, alleviating the condition. Neurofeedback is a drug free, safe, non-invasive and painless procedure in which the patient learns to retrain these processes. Once training is completed, no further treatment is necessary.
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.com“Running Out of Gas” in School
About this time of year (if it hasn’t happened already), children with ADHD (ADD) begin to “run out of gas” at school. They are past the high point of Christmas, summer seems a long way off, and they’ve been working at school for over six months. After all, they’re kids. Often, they start to struggle and misbehave, and grades can decline.
This dilemma can become catastrophic for students with ADHD. They have been “running” much harder to keep up than their classmates have, and consequently are much more worn out than they are. An additional problem is the “foundation problem”, which refers to the tiered or sequential nature of education. As children move throughout the course of the school year, and progress from year to year, new concepts and understandings are built on the foundations of the previous ones. ADD often causes children to miss some of the key concepts of subjects. Then, when the teacher moves on to the next concept or set of facts, the child struggles with comprehening the new ideas because they are based on the previous ones, which they didn’t fully understand in the first place. This problem is of cumulative nature, and as school progresses, the lack of understanding increases and becomes overwhelming. Also increasing are the frustration, loss of confidence, and motivation… equally powerful in sabotaging the child’s success at school.
What makes matters worse are that these school programs may influence other areas of life, such as friendships and family life. Furthermore, the parents working with the child becomes exhausted too. This causes further “snow-balling” problems for the child and other members of the family!
The final piece of this dilemma is that at certain times in the education process, the teaching style, responsibility required of the student, or level of thinking required, take a big step up in difficulty. This may occur at fairly standard intervals, such as first, third, and sixth grade, middle school, high school, and college. But, with the increasing diversity in school programs and curriculum, it’s hard to know when these transitions will occur. This is often “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” for children with ADD.
Solution:
The solution is to correct the disorder. Unfortunately, many parents deny the existence of the disorder, or choose to not get help for their child because they fear the side effects and/or rigors of medication. There is, however, an alternative. Neurofeedback is a highly effective, drug-free, safe, non-invasive, and painless procedure in which the student learns to correct the problem. Once training is complete, no further treatment is necessary.
Children With ADD Often Suffer Rejection – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
The development and maintenance of healthy peer relationships is critical for the normal development of a child. The nature of peer relationships in children has been shown to be a critical element of a child’s psychological health, and an important predictor of positive adult adjustment and behavior. Difficulty in finding friends leads to feelings of low self-esteem and these feelings usually continue into adulthood. Children with poor socials skills are at risk for delinquency, poor academic achievement, and school drop out.
Approximately 70% of children with ADD (AD/HD) suffer from peer rejection; they are less likely to be chosen as best friends, activity and sports partners, or seat mates. What’s worse is that as these children grow older, the social problems seem to get worse. Their inappropriate behavior leads to further social rejection and heightens their inability to relate to others appropriately. Long term these children are more likely to have difficulty finding and maintaining successful careers. As social aptitude can make or break careers and relationships in the adult world, this is not surprising.
Causes of Rejection
There are several types of ADD symptoms (the symptoms of ADD vary between children), let’s take a look at how these can cause rejection.
Inattention Children who have difficulty sustaining attention become bored more easily than other children. As a result, they are more likely to become disruptive in the classroom, which can generate negative responses from the teacher and their peers. ADD children have difficulty in modulating their behavior as social situations change. Their inattention makes it likely that they will miss subtle interpersonal cues, such as tone of voice and facial expression, and therefore react inappropriately. Furthermore, they have apparent social-cognitive deficits that limit their ability to encode and recall rules of social conduct. Many children with ADD are aware that they are socially inept, are therefore anxious or fearful about peer relations, and withdraw from peer interactions. This only worsens the problem.
Hyperactivity-Impulsivity Children who are hyperactive, impulsive and/or aggressive are involved in more interrupting and fighting. They are more intense than others, and are more likely to yell, run around, and talk excessively or inappropriately (hyperactivity-impulsivity tends to be verbal in girls). They also tend to dominate play, engage in off-task behaviors, and in more teasing and physical jostling of peers. These behaviors set up a process of rejection. As other children with similar difficulties often find themselves rejected too, they often associate with each other, and this leads to further problems.
Conclusion
Helping children with ADD build close beneficial peer relationships is an important goal that is often overlooked. You as a parent have the ability to help your child accomplish this important social goal. However, many parents, often as a result of a fear of the unwanted side-effects and dependencies of drugs, choose to do nothing. There is, fortunately, an alternative to this scenario. Neurofeedback is a non-drug, painless, side-effect free procedure in which the child learns to retrain the attention mechanisms of the brain, alleviating the condition. Once treatment is complete, no further training is necessary.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comEarly Treatment of ADD Arrests Worsening of Learning and Behavior Problems – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
The degree of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) present in a person, unless treated, usually remains relatively stable throughout their lives. However, to most people, the disorder appears to get worse as the years go by, especially while in school or advancing in a career. The reason for this lies in three important factors.
First, as each advancing school year increases in the intellectual and behavioral demands it makes on the student, the attention and /or behavior problems caused by this disorder become more and more apparent.
Secondly, each school year builds on the foundation of the preceding years. If a child’s attention and/or behavioral problems interfere with the learning of this foundational material, it becomes increasingly difficult, each year, to master the required material. Tutoring may help, however, that learning is also hampered by this disorder, and it is often a catch-up effort that never quite manages to sufficiently fill the gap.
Finally, and in some ways most importantly, is the matter of self-image. The child who suffers under these deficits usually forms a self-image of being “not too smart” (the opposite is true, most children with ADD have a higher than average intelligence) and/or a “trouble-maker”. Children (as well as adults) have a tendency to “act out” or to fulfill their self-image. The longer they live under that self-image the stronger it becomes, and performance and behavior often deteriorate accordingly.
These same factors usually apply to job and carrier advancement, and come to bear significantly in forming and maintaining adult relationships as well.
Since all of these elements can make the problem worse with each passing year, if your child, or a child you know has or is suspected of having ADD the sooner they are evaluated and/or treated the better.
One method of treatment is neurofeedback, an effective, drug free, painless procedure in which the child learns to re-train the attention mechanisms of their brain, alleviating the condition. Once training is completed, no further treatment is necessary.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comNotes Sent Home From The Teacher – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
It is rarely good news when your child’s teacher sends home a note for the parents. As you reluctantly open this note (often not the first from this teacher), a number of thoughts run through your mind (usually of the “oh no, not again” variety).
There are a number of ways to respond to this note. Unfortunately common, but unproductive are to become angry at the child, ignore the note, or blame the teacher (possibly, but not the most likely cause). There are, fortunately, a number of very good, productive ways to respond.
- Calmly share the note with your child, get their input.
- Thank the teacher (some will not take the time to tell parents until it’s too late), clarify the problem, tell them of your efforts, and get their advice.
- Share this information with your child.
- If unsure of child’s motivation, provide consistent, immediate, significant rewards for improvements verified by the teacher (rewards are 8 times more effective than punishments, and there is no anger or resentment).
If these efforts are unsuccessful, consider that the problems are due to a deeper cause.
First check to see if your child understands what is being taught. If not, consider vision and hearing problems, and or tutoring. Consider emotional problems at home or school. If these conditions do not seem to be present, the problem may be Attention Deficit Disorder (often referred to by schools as a “Learning Disorder”).
Some of the comments, which may be present in a teacher’s notes to parents or progress reports, which may indicate ADD, are:
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Trouble paying attention
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Blurts out answers
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Loses school supplies
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Impatient
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Trouble finishing classwork
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Always on the go
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Forgets to turn in homework
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Talks too much and has difficulty playing quietly
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Doesn’t listen
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Fidgets or squirms
There are two effective forms of treatment for this disorder, medication and neurofeedback. Medication is often effective, however, there are frequently unwanted side effects and this treatment is usually life-long. Neurofeedback is an effective alternative to medication.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comADD: Common in Girls Too Often overlooked by teachers and parents – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
The stereotype most of us have of ADD (or ADHD) is a boy, running around the classroom (or the house), disrupting the class, as well as his own learning. As with most stereotypes, this image does more harm than good, and in fact, causes more than half of the cases of ADD to be missed. There are three sub types of ADD; inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and the combined form.
The stereotype referred to above obviously does not include the quietly underachieving, underestimated (inattentive type) boy with ADD. What is even more of a problem is it leaves out girls entirely.
For years, it was believed that only boys suffered from ADD. However, a growing body of research -and a greater awareness on the part of parents, teachers and doctors – is finding that ADD is quite common among girls too.
Part of this shift in recognizing this disorder in girls is societal, and part is due to a growing appreciation of symptom manifestation differences. As our society has become more equal (less sexist) in terms of expectations for both boys and girls, under achievement in girls is, thankfully, becoming less acceptable. We now know that, individual differences aside, boys and girls possess equal capabilities for learning and performance in most categories. Therefore, the inattentive (unfortunately, sometimes referred to as “scatterbrained” or “flighty”) girl deserves just as much attention and help as her male counterpart, regardless of the subject matter.
The second part of the problem is symptom manifestation differences. Girls tend (not always) to manifest hyperactivity-impulsivity verbally. Excessive and inappropriate talking is often the female equivalent to a boy’s more physical hyperactivity-impulsivity. A secondary symptom of ADD can sometimes be depression. Girls with ADD can have a hard time reading social clues (boys too). They can be disliked because they are socially aggressive and disruptive. Inattentive girls become socially isolated. Girls tend to internalize performance, behavior, and social problems more readily than boys. Therefore, these problems easily become things that are “wrong” with them, and this often results in depression. Many girls with ADD are misdiagnosed with depression, and to make matters worse, the ADD goes untreated.
These unequal and unfair social misconceptions, and symptom differences tend to, unfortunately, cause under diagnosis among girls still today. However, the problem is being corrected as more parents and professionals shed the misleading stereotypes and evaluate the difficulties these girls are having. An equal opportunity for all the help we can give them is what they truly deserve.
One such method of treatment is neurofeedback, an effective, drug free, painless procedure in which the patient learns to retrain the attention mechanisms of the brain, alleviating the condition. Once training is completed, no further treatment is necessary.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comLightening the Load for Mothers of Attention Deficit Children – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
Mothers (and fathers too) of children with ADD often carry a very heavy load. There are actually three loads involved here, let’s take a look at them.
First, there is the load she places on herself. Most mothers love their children so much, and the problem of ADD seems so unfair and hopeless, that in despair they often turn to blaming themselves (it is sad to think that this is often what their children do too). This can create a heavy sense of guilt, which is not only painful and counterproductive, it is also totally unwarranted. ADD is a neurological disorder, and is in no way caused by any aspect of parenting. Let’s lift that weight of their backs right now.
Second, is the misplaced burden of trying to correct or cope with the problem of ADD itself. Unless they are trained professionals in this field, there is no way they have the adequate abilities to handle this problem. This should only be placed in the hands of these professionals, although mom’s are often told to “handle it”. Let’s lift that burden right now too!
Finally, there is the significant, normal load of being a good mother. And that’s a load that most moms would gladly carry. Let’s leave that one right there in their very capable and loving hands.
The problem often gets so out of hand because it becomes compounded easily. The child’s home behavior may (depending on type of ADD) include, not listening, messiness, fighting, hyperactivity, endless homework, depression, anger, and frustration. At school, inattention, poor performance, uncompleted class work and/or behavior problems often result in pressure being directed at the parents, extra work being sent home, and low self-esteem in the child. This further increases family tension and the problem can tend to build on itself.
For most parents who see the problem (or those who resist seeing for fear of what they think are the consequences), there is the roadblock of an undesired medication solution.
However, this need not be the case. Attention Deficit Disorder’s symptoms (inattention, and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity, or a combination) are neurological in basis, and can be corrected through a type of neurological re-training. Neurofeedback is an effective, drug-free, painless procedure in which the child learns to re-train the attention mechanisms of the brain, alleviating the condition. Once training is completed, no further treatment is necessary
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.com
High I.Q. Typical in Children with ADD – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
Persons with ADD typically have a higher than average intelligence level. Although the many guises of this disorder, along with possibly poor performance and/or behavior, may make it sometimes difficult to recognize, individuals with ADD (both children and adults) tend to be some of the brightest members of our society.
You may have noticed how children with ADD seem to hear everything that goes on around them, even though they’re not paying attention to it. They may exhibit intricate play-imagination, be great at video or computer games, have an excellent memory, or are adept in design or artistic skills. These are all signs of high intelligence, and if you’ve ever wondered about this, you’re instincts were right.
ADD is characterized by an inability to pay attention, and thus attention is widely spread out and stimulated by many different things. This high degree of stimulation is the very thing that creates intelligence in infants. While this difficulty in paying attention is not desirable as a person grows older and needs to focus and control themselves, it does usually tend to make that individual very intelligent.
Therefore, what you have is a very intelligent individual who is unable to express it, resulting in poor performance (grades) and/or behavior. This causes three problems: a child who is wasting his or her potential; a society, which through its rejection of poorly performing individuals, is “throwing away” some of its most valuable assets; and finally, and most importantly in my opinion, a hurting child (appearances often to the contrary) with an inaccurately low self-image (self-esteem), who does not feel good about themselves, and is likely to turn away from those activities which cause them to feel bad (learning and/or getting along with others).
Can we stop this from happening? The answer is more often than not (85-90%) yes, with the proper intervention. Does it matter when this intervention is done? Yes, the sooner the disorder is corrected, the less learning is lost and the less damage there is to self-esteem. Do we need drugs to do this? No, in most cases the brain is capable of correcting the problem with the proper treatment. Neurofeedback is a drug free, painless procedure in which the child learns to re-train the attention mechanisms of the brain, alleviating the condition. Once the training completed, no further treatment is necessary.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.comChildren and ADD – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
Children – We were all children at one time, and in our Father’s eyes, we are still. The children we meet, know, and care for are not only lovingly placed in our hands to provide for and shepard, they are also our little brothers and sisters, and as such they deserve special respect and protection.
The seeds of greatness (of one form or another) are present in all children, and if cared for properly will grow into fruition. The world, however, is a harsh place and if a child’s abilities or behaviors don’t fit certain patterns they are often rejected, devalued, and treated poorly. In short, they are taught that they are not worthwhile. In their innocence, they can readily accept this as true. This often leads to their; giving up on themselves, losing the opportunity to achieve their actual potential, failure to love themselves, and becoming further the problems some people think they are. Perhaps the greatest tragedy in this is that in losing their own self-love, they lose the ability to truly love others, which is what we were sent here to do.
One situation, which causes this dilemma, is Attention Deficit Disorder. This is a much talked about disorder, with some controversy as to both approach and treatment. ADD is both under- and over-diagnosed. Under diagnosis is a problem in that it misses the well- mannered, inattentive child who is quietly underachieving. Over-diagnosis is a problem in that it neglects other potential causes of these symptoms, parenting and/or emotional issues, for example.
What is needed is an objective neurological determination to see if the disorder is truly present (EEG analysis is one method), and if possible treating the problem, in order to avoid the type of damage caused to the child we referred to previously. Needless to say as early treatment as possible will minimize these effects.
Another obstacle to avoiding this dilemma is the problem of medication. Many parents deny even the possibility of the disorder or reject treatment because the “labeling” of children on medication, possible side-effects (loss of appetite, mood and affect changes etc.), and the rigors of medication (life-long medicating) are frightening. There is also the serious issue of learning to depend on a substance, to be liked or to achieve.
There is, however, an alternative to this scenario. With accurate screening for the disorder (neurologically) and a non-medication treatment which allows the child to themselves retrain the underlying neurological imbalances, many of these pitfalls can be avoided. There is the added benefit that the child learns that they can help themselves, with a corresponding increase in self-worth, actually turning a negative (low self-image) into a positive (not to mention learning self-reliance versus dependency). Neurofeedback is one such method of screening and treatment. Once treatment is completed, no further sessions are necessary.
For this and other disorders, in order to protect our children, help them reach their potential, and preserve their sense of true God given self-worth, we need to know the “playing field”, and what we can do about it to act as the best shepard we can be.
To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:
Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback 1075 Yorba Place Suite 105 Placentia, CA 92870 714.990.6536 Website: www.ocbiofeedback.com
