Using Clinical Hypnotherapy To Help With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) is a recognised disorder typically first diagnosed in children but sometimes not until well into adulthood. Although some experts disagree on the exact symptoms of ADHD, people with the disorder typically have trouble concentrating on any one thing for any length of time and also periodically burst out with impulsive behaviour.
How Does ADHD Show Up?
The cause of ADHD is unknown, but the behaviours are quite noticeable. In addition to trouble concentrating and impulsive actions, a person with ADHD is typically hyperactive, disorganised, and often fidgets or squirms when trying to sit still. A person whose symptoms are mostly centred on concentration, however, is usually classified as having ADD. Parents may notice their child has many of these symptoms early on, but it may not be diagnosed until the child reaches school and the behaviours start to disrupt the classroom. In some school districts there are many resources available to help with ADHD/ADD, including special classes and programs for children and parents. Regardless of how much help is available in your community, there are some things you can do to help improve your child’s behaviours and thought processes.
Treatment Begins At Home
Treatment of ADHD/ADD begins at home with you, the parent. Your child will do best when you are firm and consistent with expectations, and there is a structured schedule for each day. This is important because structure and consistent expectations give your child the boundaries needed to help control their behaviours.
Diet and nutrition are also important factors in helping with ADHD/ADD. We have found removing refined sugar, caffeine, and artificial colours and flavours from the diet is very helpful. It is so helpful, in fact, that it’s a good idea to remove these items from your child’s diet right away, even before you come in for his or her first appointment with the practitioner.
Now, while it’s easy to give this advice it is often extremely difficult to put it into action. Parenting is never easy, and it is even more difficult when you have the extra challenge of a child with ADHD. That’s why we offer NLP and Hypnotherapy treatment for children and parents alike, helping everyone involved learn how to handle living with the disorder. If your child is very young, we also highly recommended reading “Toddler Taming” and “Beyond Toddlerdom”, both written by Dr. Christopher Green.
How Can NLP And Hypnotherapy Help With ADHD/ADD?
NLP and Hypnotherapy can help with ADHD/ADD by helping the adult or child learn how to re-learn their behaviours. Most schools consider ADHD/ADD to be a learning difficulty, but we prefer to approach it as a teaching difficulty. Why? Because when you view a child’s behaviours as learned rather than “built in” you can also view changing those behaviours a matter of teaching new ones.
It starts with noticing when and how your child is able to concentrate fully. Does he get involved in video or computer games? Does she spend long periods of time drawing or colouring pictures? Once we have identified when it occurs we can focus on teaching your child to apply that same skill to other situations. It’s like taking a resource that is limited at first, and expanding it to make it available in larger quantities.
How Long Will Treatment Take?
The length of treatment depends almost entirely on how well the family is able to organise life at home and make changes to the child’s diet and nutrition. The more you are able to make the necessary changes, the faster NLP and Hypnotherapy treatments will begin to make a difference, sometimes in as few as two or three one-hour sessions.