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   Parents Education Network

Drug-Free Solutions for ADD- www.drugfreeadd.com; attention & Achievement Center

  • 16-Mar-09 14:34
    Message # 128822
    anonymous

    My name is Hussein and I took my daughter to this center last week. I met with the president Mr. Ali Hashemian, PH.D., COHC. The initial visit was for assessment analysis for mental concentration and test for Auditory processing disorder. the treatment seems to be expensive and the advertising promises improvements and drug free by training the brain instead of drugs which is temporary. I do not know whether to believe this or not. we have been through many services that promises significant improvements and we end up with none or medicore that does not last for very long. My questions to the group, have any of you tried this service before? what was your experience like? did you child (teenager) benefit from it? Is it possible to talk to you if you do not mind. I have spent lots of money on my daughter who is a teen ager with little to improvments. However, each service that I had used in the past tested my daughter and showed me the results compared to her initial results showing the gains that she had accomplished. But when it comes to school work and concentration, she still the same. I sincerely would appreciate it very much if someone can advise me if he/she had used this service and what was the result of that experence.

     

    Thank you very much.

     

    Hussein - 510-427-9567

  • 19-Mar-09 21:10
    Reply # 130319 on 128822
    I feel the frustration and desperation that went into your post. However, the one thing that came to my mind is that if over the years nothing has helped long term, perhaps the basic diagnosis of what is going on is incorrect.

    I have heard the radio ads for the company you are talking about. I get very skepitcal whenever someone comes out and says, "We know the truth and we have a cure that no one else in the free world has discovered."

    It has been my experience that when it comes to a treatment plan, a lot of the plans seem to hinge on what the "expert" is trying to sell, whether it is physical or "mental". In VERY GENERAL terms a surgeon wants to use a knife and an occupational therapist will urge you to do everything you can without "going under the knife". If my business hinges on your child not taking drugs, I am not going to be open to alternative plans. If I am a drug company, I think that you need to take pill for whatever ails you.

    One thing I like about PEN is that they do not take an official stand on medication. They recognize that there is no one truth when is comes to dealing with learning disabilities.

    A couple of years ago, PEN had Dr. Robert Verhoogen, a Developmental Pediatrician speak about ADHD treatment and the like. His approach was very balanced and while he had his personal biases, he was very clear that there was no one truth when it came to treating learning disabilities.

    My suggestion would be to have your child tested again by a independent party that has no knowledge of what diagnosis have been offered up to this point and has nothing to sell other that the diagnosis.

    Good luck.

  • 18-Apr-09 22:56
    Reply # 151496 on 128822

    I agree with Mike about all that he said: my own skepticism when I hear drug-free promises given on the radio, the need for a neuropsychological assessment by someone who will only do the assessment and send you to others for treatments so that you will have a good diagnostic map, the importance of looking at other possible causes when you are not seeing improvements at school and home.

    Have you read the National Institute of Mental Health's MTA Study on AD/HD?  It was an extended study of the disorder which validated it as a legitimate medical condition and showed that usually a combination of medication by a well-trained in AD/HD psychiatrist, and behavioral intervention in school and at home made the most impact on the child's functioning.  You can find info on the study at www.chadd.org.

    75% of children with AD/HD (any of the types, including inattentive type) have other co-occuring neurobiological conditions.  This is one reason why a good neuropsychological assessment with someone who really understands attentional issues is so important.  Sometimes there is more than one stream feeding the river of inattention at school and home.  Those other streams can include auditory processing disorder, depression & anxiety, sensory issues, executive functioning disorder (0rganizational &/or working memory challenges), and many others. 

    One area often overlooked as a potential problem in attentional issues are sleep disorders.  By anecdotal evidence, many children with attentional issues also happen to have a variety of sleep disorders.  UC Berkeley Graduate Psychology program has been conducting research specifically on the co-occurrence of AD/HD and sleep disorders.  I believe Stephen Hinshaw still heads up that department.  He also was one of the key researchers in the NIMH MTA Study I mentioned.  A good sleep study can either show what's going awry in your child's brain getting the needed cycles of sleep to support learning and memory or rule out a sleep disorder.

    E.g., sleep apnea causes symptoms that mimic AD/HD: inattentiveness, careless mistakes, executive functioning issues, listlessness OR hyperactivity.  And some children and adults have BOTH.

    While there is great promise in neurofeedback for improving brain efficiency (and working memory in particular with AD/HD), the only program that I am aware that has current research evidence is CogMed out of Sweden.  Several universities here in the US were going to be doing independent research on this program, Stanford being one.

    Good luck in your search for answers.  Be sure to look at the evidence, research-based evidence, that supports any program's claims.

    www.chaddnorcal.org has a list of speakers meetings and parent support groups for attentional issues around the bay area, including the east bay.

     

    Holly Seerley, MFT, CHADD Volunteer, Parent

    Mill Valley: 415-383-6656

  • 21-Apr-09 12:22
    Reply # 153592 on 151496
    anonymous

    Wow! Holly, I really appreciate your comments! Thank you for taking the time to provide such valuable information and rich perspective.

 

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