Press Release:
Dallas Five-Year-Old with ADD Finds Relief with Integrated Treatment ProgramADD Health and Wellness Center’s customized treatment program focused on the full range of medical and non-medical options
DALLAS, TX, May 10, 2007 – Five-year old Shelby couldn’t pay attention. She didn’t listen and always had that glazed-over look. Her parents worried she suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADD), just like her dad, and would need medication to help control the condition. They wanted to find alternative treatment options but had no idea where to turn.
A common condition in the U.S., ADD/ADHD is estimated to affect up to 7 percent of U.S. school children, or around 4 million. ADD has a strong genetic link so parents and children often share the condition. It’s estimated that 8 million adults have ADD, but only 25 percent know it. Many struggle to find the right treatment options.
“ADD is almost as inheritable as height,” said Theresa Cerulli, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for the national ADD Health and Wellness Centers. “In families, if a child has ADD there’s almost always a parent with the condition.” Adults and children with ADD can be forgetful, fidgety, distracted and have difficulty following through on instructions.
Drugs are the single-most common treatment for ADD/ADHD and related conditions in this country. Shelby’s parents Annette and Eric Miguez were familiar with the medical treatment options, but they wanted to know about other treatment choices for Shelby, including effective alternative therapies.
Based on a friend’s suggestion, they visited the ADD Health and Wellness Center in Dallas. The Center is a unique, one-stop care facility where medical treatment, testing and counseling for ADD and related conditions are integrated. At the Center, treatment tools include nutritional counseling, psychologists and social workers offering individual and group therapy, education and coaching as well as medical treatment.
After an initial evaluation and assessment, the Miguezes worked with Dr. Karen Friedman, a psychologist at the ADD Health and Wellness Centers, to create a customized treatment program for Shelby focusing on behavior modification. Through non-pharmaceutical treatments like coaching, counseling and nutrition therapy, an effective integrated program was created for their daughter.
The Miguezes quickly learned how to manage and modify Shelby’s behavior with positive reinforcement using a powerful technique called the “token system.” When Shelby achieved specific goals in her program, she received pink chips. The chips were special because her mother made them for her.
“The token system is an effective technique because it focuses on positive reinforcement and well-defined goals,” said Dr. Friedman. “It’s like giving a child with poor eyesight the glasses she needs to see. ADD/ADHD children need something external to help modulate their behavior.”
The ADD Health and Wellness Centers’ treatment programs generally involve the entire family, which doctors, therapists and counselors have found to be most effective. In Shelby’s case, Dr. Friedman worked directly with her parents to create the program and coach them on administering Shelby’s treatment in the comfort of their home. After the initial assessment Shelby never visited the Center.
Shelby and her parents noticed an immediate change when a few simple changes were made to her diet and daily activities. For breakfast, protein replaced sugars and processed foods. And Shelby’s day was structured around a programmed schedule so she knew what to expect and could remain comfortably focused.
“It’s amazing to the see the turnaround in Shelby,” said Annette. “It’s like night and day. She is much more focused. Her teachers immediately noticed an improvement, as did her Tae Kwon Do coaches. By focusing our time and energy on this treatment program, we’ve made huge progress.”
Other important treatment components available at ADD Health and Wellness Centers include:
- Neuropsychological evaluations and diagnostic clarifications
- Education and counseling
- Behavioral and cognitive treatment for ADD and other co-existing conditions
- Academic tutoring and placement specialists
- Coaching services
- Support groups
- Social skills groups
- Skills-based group treatment
- Intensive workshops
- Medication therapies
- Complementary and alternative non-medication therapies
- Nutritional counseling and supplementation
For more information, visit www.ADDhealthandwellness.com.
This press release contains some extremely good news for many parents who have been forced by school professionals to medicate their child so that the child could remain in school. The Integrated Treatment Program is a holistic treatment for the child with ADD or ADHD. Using nutritional changes, behavioral adaptations, time scheduling, and a token system, remarkable changes have been seen by many parents.
It is estimated that four to six percent of the population in the USA have ADHD. ADHD is one diagnosis applied to children and adults who display certain behaviors over a period of time. The most common features include inability to remain on task, poor impulse control and extreme hyperactivity. These behaviors must appear before age seven, continue for six months, and create a true handicap in at least two areas of the child's life, such as school, home or social settings.
ADHD does not go away as the child ages, and is not limited to children. More than one-half of children with ADHD will grow into adults that have significant problems with ADHD symptoms and behaviors, which may impact their family lives, employment and ability to socialize.
For millions of Americans, life just became a little easier to handle. For the rest of us, we will be blessed with the contribution these individuals with ADHD make to society.
Individuals with ADHD:
- Ansel Adams (1902-1984) — Photographer
- Alexander Graham Bell — (1862-1939) — Inventor
- Hans Christian Anderson — (1805-1875) — Author
- Beethoven — (1770-1827) — Composer
- George Burns — (1896-1996) — Actor
- Admiral Richard Byrd — (1888-1957) — Aviator
- Agatha Christie — (1890-1976) — Author
- Winston Churchill — (1874-1965) — Statesman (Failed the sixth grade)
- Bill Cosby — (1937-present) — Actor
- Leonardo da Vinci — (1452-1519) — Inventor, Artist
- Walt Disney — (1901-1971) — Creative
- Thomas Edison — (1847-1931) — Inventor
- Albert Einstein — (1879-1955) — Physicist
- Dwight D. Eisenhower — (1890-1969) — U. S. President, Military General
- Michael Faraday — (1791-1867) — British Physicist, Chemist
- Malcolm Forbes — (1919-1990) — Forbes Magazine Founder & Publisher
- Henry Ford — (1863-1947) — Automobile Innovator
- Benjamin Franklin — (1706 - 1790) — Politician, Elder Statesman
- Galileo (Galilei) — (1564-1642) — Mathematician, Astronomer
- Georg Frideric Handel — (1685-1759) — Composer
- John F. Kennedy — (1917-1963) — U. S. President
- Meriwether Lewis — (1774 -1809) — Explorer
- Abraham Lincoln — (1809-1865) — U.S. President
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — (1756-1791) — Composer
- Sir Issac Newton —(1642-1727) — Scientist, Mathematician
- Louis Pasteur — (1822-1895) — Scientist
- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt — (1844-1962) — First Lady
- George Bernard Shaw — (1856-1950)—Author
- Socrates — (469-399 B.C.) — Philosopher
- Steven Spielberg — (1946-present) — Filmmaker
- Henry David Thoreau — (1817-1862) — Author
- Leo Tolstoy — (1828-1910) — Russian Author
- Jules Verne — (1828-1905) — Author
- Woodrow Wilson — (1856-1924) — U. S. President
- Frank Lloyd Wright — (1867-1959) — Architect
- Orville Wright — (1871-1948) — Airplane Developer
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