A recent study in Canada revealed that children don’t receive enough omega-3 EPA and DHA in their diets.
Researchers of the University of Guelph in Ontario found that the average daily intake of omega-3 EPA and DHA was only 31.5 mg. The same group was children ages 4-8. However, the recommended intake is 90 mg per day. The study indicated that 78 percent of the children were far below the recommended level.

Omega-3’s are important for neurological benefits and cognitive function. It may help improve behavior, learning disorders, and hyperactivity disorders.
How can you get your child the recommended dosage?
The best sources for …read more

The causes of Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Disorder are not entirely known because the disorder is neurological and so very diverse. It was first recognized 40 years ago by A Jean Ayres, Ph.D., OTR.

Sensory Integration Disorder is a neurological disorder that results from the brain’s inability to integrate information received from the body’s sensory systems. Those particular systems are responsible for sight, sounds, taste, temperature, pain, position, and movement. The brain takes information it receives, analyzes the information, and tells the body how to react to the information.
When a child has sensory integration the brain misinterprets the information it receives and …read more

At first the idea of “drugging” my child really scared me especially when cases like the one Dateline covered Monday Night.
Clonidine is a drug typically used to treat hypertension in adults but it has been found to effectively treat ADHD, tourettes, and even sleep disorders in children. Children with Fragile X Syndrome have been successfully treated with Clonidine and with Clonidine and CNS stimulants like Methylphenidate, or Ritalin. Because medication can be important in the treatment of behavior disorders we made the best decision we could…but it was hard.
When I realized that we had no other choice because of the …read more

My new son, age 13 months has had some trouble adapting to night time sleep, which is quite normal for an “older child” adoption. However, we can not figure out the reason.
We know that he is teething some and we have tried Infant Tylenol with some success. We also know that he is having some congestion but don’t think that it is anything that is too bad, as his pediatrician stated it was just a viral infection.
Reasons for his night wakings?

Separation …read more

The eight infants born to a Southern California woman officially turned one week old today, becoming the country’s longest living octuplets.
The babies are officially doing well. However, there is some speculation regarding the birth mother, as she is s single, 33-year-old named Nadya Suleman who already has six children…all of whom have been conceived via in vitro fertilization.
But, is this a marketing, money making strategy for her or is this simply because she is addicted to having children? And, is she seriously going to be able to care for eight babies as well as the six she already has?
I have …read more

Not many doctors, especially pediatricians, will recognize this disorder. In fact, most will think you are a crackpot for asking about it or asking to test your child for it. They don’t recognize Pyroluria because its the disorder that PROVED that certain mental disorders are caused by a biochemical imbalance and therefore can only be cured with bio-chemicals, also known as vitamins and minerals.
Pyroluria is a genetic condition that results in an abnormality in hemoglobin synthesis. Huh?
Pyroluria was initially described by Abram Hoffer, a pioneer in orthomolecular medicine and psychiatry. He found that kryptopyrroles, a by-product of hemoglobin, bind …read more

I am not a doctor, nor am I any sort of medical professional, but it is my personal opinion that many children are mislabeled as ADD, ADHD, and even Autism. Yes, Autism.
I have always very clearly stated that AJ has never had a diagnosis of Autism but that we believe that he may be on the spectrum because of his symptoms. However, he may very well simply be a sensory seeking/avoidant child or a child affected by Institutional Autism. Or, he may be a child affected by heavy metals and environmental toxins.

Salicylates are chemicals found in plants but are also found in foods, medications, and cosmetics. Salicylates, when intolerable, can cause immediate effects such as headaches, nasal congestion, flushed cheeks, rashes, stomach pain, and trouble breathing.
But, for some children, like AJ, salicylates have a different reaction. AJ reacts by getting hyper, by stimming, and making odd noises. The problem is that he just can not control it.

Last year I did a lot of research on diet and behaviors because I felt that a lot of his behaviors were related to diet. I was not this type of person before we …read more

I was talking to several moms in our special needs group the other day describing what services we were getting from our school and from outside services. We are getting nothing, BTW.
In school AJ gets Speech and Occupational Therapy because he has communication processing disorders, both verbal and non verbal and he has Sensory Processing Disorder. However, we recently had an evaluation completed with a neuro-psychologist who indicates that AJ also has visual processing disorders, auditory processing disorders, and ADHD mixed type.
Now, back when AJ was 2 we had an Early Intervention coordinator do an evaluation on him as well. …read more

When Early Intervention works correctly it is suppose to work (and believe me, I have seen it work…just not for us). I think that our Early Intervention Coordinator thought that because AJ had been in an orphanage that he would just “snap” out of it, that he would grow into a little boy like he was supposed to.
Unfortunately, that has not been our case.
He has, for the best part, worked himself out of his Post Traumatic Stress and his Institutional Autism but he still struggles every day with SPD, auditory, visual, and communication disorders, many of these things that …read more