Using diagnostic criteria analysis to determine the number of projected cases of ADHD, you get a figure of around 4% of school-age children potentially having ADHD.
Yet a study published a few years ago in the American Journal of Public Health found an ADHD rate of 63% in just one school district in southeastern Virginia when the data was analyzed. This would seem to indicate that the medical profession’s ability to accurately diagnose a child with ADHD is quite limited.
This misdiagnosis and mislabeling is resulting in way too many children being put on Ritalin, to the extent that one in five fifth grade Caucasian boys are taking Ritalin.
If your child is diagnosed with ADHD, one alternative to giving your child Ritalin is to use Brain Gym® movement and exercises. You may find them to be the way back to normalcy for your kid. To find a Brain Gym (BG) Consultant in your area, go to BrainGym.org. To explore some of the Brain Gym Books, you can see my recommendations here at: Brain Gym - Children.
Another thing that I have found effective is using Steven Halpern’s music CD Connections and his subliminal CD Accelerating Learning.
Over the years, I’ve recommended to a number of parents that they play Connections (or Comfort Zone) an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening in the child’s environment. The child doesn’t have to stop whatever they are doing to listen to it; the CD just has to be playing in the environment.
When the child needs to study, have the child play Halpern’s Accelerating Learning CD. I’ve had at least a half dozen parents who have followed this recommendation share with me that their child, who had behavior problems in school, was behaving normally in school within a week of following these recommendations.
If you’d like to experiment with the Halpern music with your child, you can take advantage of my 60-day money-back guarantee to prove to yourself that what I am saying is true. If not, you can simply return the CDs for a refund. Review Music CDs