Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & Behavior Challenges
Whether your child has been diagnosed with ADHD or not, Flourish Bound Integrative Health can help address your child’s ADHD symptoms. Because ADHD can present in a variety of ways and look differently for each child, it’s important to find the root cause of those symptoms for each child.
Our job is to help find the root cause of ADHD symptoms for each individual child and help you as a family address those symptoms naturally. But before we dive into that, let’s look a little more at what ADHD is, and potential symptoms…
The National Institute of Mental Health defines ADHD as “an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. People with ADHD experience the following symptoms:
Inattention: difficulty staying on task, sustaining focus, and staying organized, and these problems are not due to defiance or lack of comprehension. This is so important to remember!
Hyperactivity: moving about constantly, including in situations when it is not appropriate, or excessively fidgets, taps, or talks. In adults, hyperactivity may mean extreme restlessness or talking too much.
Impulsivity: acting without thinking or having difficulty with self-control. Impulsivity could also include a desire for immediate rewards or the inability to delay gratification. An impulsive person may interrupt others or make important decisions without considering long-term consequences.”
As I mention above, ADHD can present in a variety of ways and can be different for each child. Symptoms of ADHD can significantly alter your family and child’s social, emotional, professional, and personal lives. It can be hard for a parent to relate to a child with ADHD when they have not experienced similar symptoms or do not have ADHD themselves. For that reason, it is so important to seek guidance and help from trained medical professionals to understand what your child is going through so that you can empathize with how their body and brain feel.
ADHD not only affects the child, but it also affects their relationships with siblings, parents, extended family members, teachers, coaches, and friendships. If your child experiences hyperactivity and impulsivity, it can disrupt the day-to-day schedule of your home life such as mealtimes and bedtime. It can also affect your child’s school life and their ability to function throughout the day. Not only do symptoms of ADHD affect your home life, it can significantly impact social life. Many families experience social isolation and avoidance of social situations when a family member has ADHD or behavior challenges.
With all of that said, there is hope. Since each child experiences different symptoms, we focus on finding the root cause for each individual child. It is also important to know that you do not need to have an ADHD diagnosis to take a functional and integrative approach when dealing with similar behaviors at home or at school. Many behaviors like those listed for ADHD can be improved through adequate nutrition, behavior and lifestyle modifications, and targeted supplement therapy.
Through a variety of evidence-based functional medicine and integrative approaches, ADHD and similar behavior-related symptoms can be minimized through nutrition, lifestyle, movement and exercise, psycho-and behavior therapy, mind-body modalities and more! There are so many ways to get your child with ADHD back to living their best and balanced life!
References: “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2021, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd. Last revised September 2021.