The following are my tips. Some I found worked with my own child, others I was given by mothers, and some I learned through research. They many not all work for your child. Allow at least two weeks before deciding if the treatment works.

1.Contact the Feingold Assn. (Tel: 800-321-FAUS) for information on their program of eliminating salicylates from your child’s diet. Salicylates are found in oranges, apples, tomatoes, etc. Do not use any foods containing food colorings designated with numbers (i.e. Red 3). A good book is Jane Hersey’s Why Can’t My Child Behave?, Pear Tree Press. see Feingold Assn. elimination diet.  Note PowerVites and Maple Melts follow Feingold Assn. guidelines for multi-vitamin products.

2.  Other possible food allergies: dairy products, wheat and carbohydrates, corn syrup, etc., processed foods (try whenever possible to buy fresh vegetables and fruits.) Try testing your child for allergic reactions using kinesthesia. Have the child hold out their arm and resist your pressure to push it down. This is to judge what is normal. Next place the item being tested next to the body halfway between the heart and belly button. Does the arm still withstand the pressure with the product there or has it become weak thus revealing an allergy? Some chiropractors and health care practitioners use this method.

3.  One detoxification method is to take 9 parts of distilled water (water without any chemicals) and 1 part fresh lemon juice. Give 4 oz. of this mixture to your child every 4 hours during the day.

4.  A blend of omega essential oils (omega 3 and omega 6): also Salmon oil. These come in capsules, which can be opened and put in a beverage if your child can not swallow the capsule. See omega oils and the brain and our Signal369 for a proportional blend.

5.  Pepsin is an enzyme that can be purchased in any drug store without prescription. According to Sharry Edwards, a bio acoustic therapist (Tel: 740-698-9119), Pepsin has the same frequency as Ritalin, but without the side effects.  Bio Acoustic therapists have worked with children to normalize frequencies that are stressed in the body, with some interesting results. 

6. Try an anti-histamine or a product such as Sudefed or Mediquell. Your child may have an inner ear problem.

7.  A French doctor, Dr. Alfred Tomatis discovered learning disabilities stem from impaired listening. He treated autism, dyslexia, ADD, and stuttering with sounds recorded from the womb during middle ear development. These tapes (different sounds for each ear) are then played for the child using earphones. The treatment is expensive but has helped many (not all). Steele & Steele (Saskatoon, Canada) puts out a less expensive version of the tapes which can be done at home (Tel: 306-931-2522) –note: use an AIWA tape player. Cognitive Concepts, Inc. also has audiovisual tapes called Earobics (Tel: 888-328-8199, www.cogcon.com). A good book is Patricia Joudreay’s Sound Therapy for the Walkman.

8.  Behavior modification. Try offering stickers for completing tasks like brushing teeth, taking a bath, picking up clothes, etc. Have the child choose the reward and then agree how many stickers it will take to get there. Don’t make it too hard or the child will give up. You can try your own version of McDonalds’ monopoly with the prizes written on pieces of paper in a bowl. Include some instant winner prizes. This way every time is a chance to win.

9.  Maintain a routine. Have your child wake, eat and go to sleep at the same time each day.

10.  Some children have been helped by the supplement DMAE (2-dimethylaminoethanol Bitartrate) –50 mg.

11.  Contact the International Dyslexia Association (Tel: 800-ABC-D123)

12.  Give your child a magnet mattress. They are very calming. Magnetico in Alberta, Canada has reasonable prices and a good product. Quality is very important when purchasing magnets. (Tel: 800-265-1119)

13.  Use glasses with colored lenses (either purple or orange depending on brain dominance) for dyslexia. They can be purchased in health food stores.