Lately, I have had a number of people ask me how I treat children who have ADHD. My response is that I don’t have a specific protocol for treatments. It depends on the laboratory test results and what I find through my examinations. Below is a general look into where I start. From here the path spreads out in many directions depending on the child’s needs.

Food allergy/sensitivity testing. I check for four kinds of allergies to foods. What this means is that the child could have anallergy/sensitivity to a food such as wheat in one or all four categories, and this goes for all foods. The testing I use is for IgE (immediate sensitivity), SIgA (digestive sensitivity), IgG (delayed sensitivity) and IgA (delayed sensitivity). I use Applied Kinesiology for the IgE and sometimes the SIgA. I also use a stool and saliva test by Diagnostechs for the SIgA. I use a finger prick test for the IgG and IgA from US Biotek. Working around these can be overwhelming and frustrating, so I provide tips and tricks to the families to make the transition as easy as possible. The house usually becomes an allergen free home rather than just one child’s diet. It won’t hurt your entire family to follow an allergen free diet, and other members of the family might notice health improvements of their own.

Along with food sensitivities/allergies some kids can be very reactive to other “ingredients” in foods (coloring, MSG, Glutamate, etc.) so I recommend staying away from as many processed foods as possible and reading the label of everything before it goes in the grocery cart. 

Digestive health is a huge factor. The stool and saliva test from Diagnostechs identifies yeast, bacteria and parasites that the patient might be carrying, and many patients are surprised by what they are carrying. It also tells me how well they are producing enzymes, how their immune system within the digestive system is working (70-80% of the entire body’s immune system is in the digestive system) and a few other things. From here I start supplementation to build up the immune system and then start attacking whatever bugs were found. This is where supplementation gets specific for the problems identified in the lab tests.

After that is done we look at detoxification problems or exposures to toxins. If they need help detoxing there are some supplements (amino acids like glutathione, glycine, cysteine, glutamine, and taurine along with buffered vitamin C) that can help. If they seem to have a chronic exposure (foods, chemicals, metals, etc.) then we try to figure out how to eliminate the exposure (fillings in teeth, contaminated drinking water, etc.).

While doing all of the above nutritional interventions, as a chiropractor I use chiropractic and cranial/sacral adjusting along with a few special techniques within Applied Kinesiology, Injury Recall and Retained Neonatal Reflex Integration.  

Some other key factors with ADHD are methylation and acetylation. These are processes within our body that help keep the nervous system and genetic expression working properly and they are also detox pathways. A good source of methyl groups are B12 (methylcobalamin) and folate (5-MTHF). NAC (N-acetyl Cysteine) will provide both the acetyl group and Cysteine for detox.  

For brain health, I use DHA in very high doses. DHA is to the brain what protein is to muscles.

I also may supplement with vitamin D. Up here in the Northland almost everyone is deficient, and some are severely deficient, to find out your levels you can get a simple blood test.

Then I look into neurotransmitters and hormones to see if there is an imbalance. Typically after doing the above, other things start to fall into place.

I recommend brain exercises such as Interactive Metronome training and cross-crawl when necessary.  

My approach is to look at each child individually. I typically start at digestion (this includes food sensitivities) because if bad food is going in, bad responses to those foods will come out. Bad food can mean processed food, or it can mean “healthy foods” that have become sensitivities for the child. Also, if the digestive system is not digesting and absorbing efficiently because of bugs or other problems, then even the best diet isn’t going to provide nutrients because the system can’t retrieve it from the food. Most kids that I have seen with ADHD have some kind of digestive problem.

As you can see, after working with digestion and food sensitivities the treatments get more specific and detailed as far as nutrition, adjusting, exercises, etc. There is a test by NeuroHealth that is very helpful in identifying the specific nutrients that are needed at this point.

Many of these treatments are done in conjunction with each other. Every visit we will examine the child to identify any adjusting (chiropractic, cranial/sacral, reflex integration, or Injury recall) that is indicated. We will modify supplements and add exercises when necessary.

Much of the success of patients is attributed by their attention to home care. While I may see the patient once or twice a month, they are in control of what they eat, how they take their supplements and if they are doing their exercises. The better they do at home, the faster they see results.

If you have more questions about ADHD and natural treatments, contact me and I will do my best to answer them.