The first issue to deal with is the occurrence of ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). There are numerous children given this diagnosis in our society. One study showed that 1 in 20 children in North America are diagnosed with ADHD while one in 2000 in Great Britain. Are our kids worse than kids in Great Britain? I don’t think so. The European tendency is to give more weight to social causes and a reluctance to rely on medication.
The International Narcotics Control Board found numerous regions in North America where up to 20% of all students were diagnosed with ADHD and were on Ritalin or other psychotropic drugs. They also documented that 80% of these were in boys.
A study done at McGill University showed that 75% of the children diagnosed with ADHD were tested by laypeople and not by health care professionals. These laypeople informed the doctors of the diagnosis and asked that the children be placed on Ritalin or other psychotropic drugs. This in itself should be alarming.
How many children right now are on these drugs in our community needlessly? How many are potentially in harm’s way? How many of the kids are normal-developing children that parents and teachers just cannot keep up with? Are we drugging these children because we can’t move at their pace? Are we simply slowing down their brains with drugs, just so we can keep up?
Many children have food or environmental allergies that parents are not aware of. Apart from the changed behaviour, there are other common symptoms associated with ADHD; sinus congestion, headaches, asthma, frequent colds, constipation, etc. Referral for testing needs to be a part of care for these children.
These children usually have had some type of early life trauma to their spine that has created subluxations. These subluxations block off nerve supply from the brain to the body and decrease vital communication for proper body function and activity. All children, especially those diagnosed with ADHD, need to have a spinal exam to determine their level of nerve function.