Children’s Conditions Including Behaviour Disorders
Treatments for Children's Conditions including Behaviour Disorders
Conventional treatments for autism are based on behavioural techniques
and intensive treatments such as ‘portering’. Many parents
feel relatively unsupported as a lot of these techniques are under funded
and they often have to find and pay for these treatments themselves.
ADHD relies very heavily on drug treatments involving the use of powerful
stimulatory drugs such as methylphenidate (‘Ritalin’). Interestingly
these actually work homeopathically as they use the concept of ‘treating
like with like’. The drugs have significant side effects and many
people are concerned about this and the fact that the drugs need to be
taken for a long time.
Alternative approaches involve identifying foods which may mean using
an elimination diet and, after the initial ‘washout’ period,
introducing foods one at a time and observing the reaction (if any).
This is a laborious and difficult procedure for both the child and the
parents.
A more practical approach is to use food testing, either with an intradermal
technique, or one of the variety of testing methods used by complementary
therapists. These methods are reasonably effective in practice
and can often help to identify the key foods to be eliminated in order
to improve symptoms. It appears that the avoidance of trigger
foods will clear hyperactive symptoms in approximately two thirds of
cases. This dietary approach is very safe. In dairy intolerance, a diet
high in green vegetables, nuts and soya milk with added calcium may also
be necessary. Diets will begin to show behavioural changes within
2 to 3 months and should not be used, particularly in children, without
proper medical and nutritional supervision.
Hyperactive children have been shown to be zinc deficient and zinc is
lost following consumption of foods to which they are intolerant, particularly
sugar, cola drinks and chocolate. Hyperactive children are more likely
to have low birth weight children and are more likely to be zinc deficient,
which, in turn, leads to growth retardation.
Food colouring tartrazine reduces serum zinc. Zinc supplements should
be taken at night and absorption is increased by the addition of B vitamins.
Evening primrose oil can also improve hyperactive behaviour; this is
particularly important in allergic children. Chromium supplements which
help to activate insulin can also help in some cases.
Complex homeopathy, which involves the use of mixtures of herbal and
low potency homeopathic preparations, can be targeted to help specific
organs, particularly the pancreas which can be very effective.
Classical homeopathy, using single remedies is also useful in of children.
One more approach is enzyme-potentiated desensitisation. This involves
mixtures of small quantities of food antigens mixed with an immune-modifying
enzyme, beta-glucuronidase. This is given by intradermal injection at
two-monthly intervals. This can enable hyperactive children to tolerate
moderate amounts of foods to which they were previously sensitive.
There are, therefore, a number of complementary techniques available,
which may produce real benefit and have no major reported adverse reactions.
