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Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center |
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Helping Children, Teens and Adults Succeed in the 21st Century |
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ADHD and the Autonomic Nervous System |
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Many of the symptoms of ADD, ADHD and other sensory processing disorders are the result of an above average or “abnormal” stress response. While this above average response may actually help the individual perform in certain situations, i.e., sports, video games, etc., we also know from experience that the mental and emotional characteristics of the stress response are detrimental to the learning process and are of little or no benefit to the student in a typical classroom environment.
The question is, can the ADHD child be taught to manage his stress response? Very often the answer is yes. Switching back and forth between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is an absolutely natural phenomena.
It’s so natural that we typically don’t give it a second thought. And for most children and adults, the ANS response is, for the most part, correlated to appropriate activities and situations.
The problem for many children, teens and adults with ADHD and other sensory-based learning challenges is that, for whatever reason, they are ‘sympathetic dominant’, that is they seem to spend most of their waking hours operating out of their sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. They are simply not aware that this system is for their benefit and with some basic coaching they can learn to manage (turn on and off) their stress response.
Unfortunately, many parents have been convinced by their child’s teacher or Doctor that medication is the only strategy for mitigating the negative effects of the stress response.
Extensive research has shown that medication can have a positive effect on many children with ADHD. However, medication is rarely a cure-all for learning challenges and as parents we must weigh the cost of life-long-medication, possible weight loss, sleep disruption, mood changes and other side effects against the immediate benefits offered by the drugs.
An important thing to note at this time is that medication is usually a partial fix at best. Medication can not and will not change the fundamental learning style of a child or magically provide him with the various skills needed to succeed socially or academically.
The good news for parents wrestling with the question of medication is that there is typically no conflict between taking medication and receiving the types of coaching offered at the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center. As long as a child is alert and aware during his coaching, he can still receive the benefits from coaching at the NLC.
As an aside, there are no known side effects from learning to use new strategies for processing information or from learning to monitor and control your own stress response. There are, however, long-term benefits to these mental disciplines and many parents report that for some children medication becomes unnecessary after this type of training.
In short, will a visual-spatial thinker or an ADHD child feel that sitting quietly in a classroom listening to a teacher prattle on about this and that is his or her favorite thing to do? Probably not. However, with a bit of understanding and some appropriate coaching can a visual-spatial thinker or ADHD child acquire the skills and strategies to succeed and even thrive in that same classroom environment? The answer at the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center is, “Absolutely, yes.”
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Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center Call or write today to speak with an NLC Learning Specialist near you
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Phone: (916) 358-5803 |
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All Copyrights Reserved. Gerald Hughes. 2009. |
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For a career Helping children, teens and adults overcome the effects of ADHD and other learning challenges. |
