This is the short story of our long battle to find a solution ……….if you are patient and read to the end, I hope you will find some truths that resonate deep within you, and some peace knowing you are not alone.
Where to start? Well, our Aiden is now 10 years old, full of energy and courage and these days has a smile on his face. He even likes to get up in the morning and go to school. But it wasn’t always this way.
For the first three years of his formal school life (Grades 1-3), we battled to get him to up in the morning. He always had a sore tummy, or sore throat or head or ears or some other ailment. All stress, related to school performance.
Early in Grade One we met with teachers and support staff and had him assessed. Yes, this same assessment questionnaire that hasn’t been changed in 5o years and which diagnosed him as ADHD. Oh how we love to label our children.
The decision was taken to try him on a quarter tablet of Ritalin. Welcome FEAR FACTOR. This one small quarter of a tablet exponentially accelerated and increased this little boy’s fear of everything, to the point where at seven years of age he was having anxiety attacks. He practically stopped eating. But in the pursuit of academic success and classroom harmony, we moved on to the next drug. This time, something called Strattera – a long acting behaviour controlling drug that is dosed according to weight and that takes several months to kick in.
Over the next 18 months, we persevered, saw a modicum of improvement, which could have been attributed to natural maturation or not. Once again though, no food and skinnier than ever and not much real, tangible improvement in his academics.
What to do next? Well involved as I have been with the guys from Green Cell Technologies and having done months and even years, of research into nutrition based programmes and supplements, I started Go-Figure.
For the past two months before going live, I have been giving Aiden a shake every morning – banana (or other seasonal fruit), rice milk, some ice cubes and a couple of scoops of Go-Figure Supa-Shake. He eats this as well as a yoghurt and a piece of toast (peanut butter or marmite are his favourites). A vast improvement on previous breakfasts that comprised half a slice of toast.
I also made the fortunate and fantastic discovery of Dr Sandy Gluckman. Gluckman is a clinical Psychologist, whose passion and commitment to an alternative functional health intervention ‘spoke’ to me and several other mothers and teachers at an impromptu workshop.
Using a combination of her insight, brain gym exercises and of course the Go-Figure shakes, we made the decision to take Aiden off the chemical medication. We changed his diet and added in some Go-Figure Supa-Shake twice a day. I am not going to lie to you, it takes discipline on behalf of the parents as well as the child, to commit to this, but the results are worth it.
Grade 4 is a difficult year and we were duly worried. However, we have been pleasantly surprised with the results. Aiden is now eating at break times (something he never did as my dog’s expanding middle testified to after eating his uneaten sandwiches) and we make sure he has a glass of Supa-Shake late afternoon to stop his blood sugar dipping and he is now hungry for dinner. The academic results speak for themselves and his general demeanor is sunnier.
I firmly believe that the right nutritional supplements can definitely improve a child’s overall concentration. When taken with the additional support of a healthy eating plan (beneficial for the entire family); a good exercise programme and consistent input and support from parents, the results are pronounced and exceptional.
So if your child’s focus, concentration and behavior are a concern for you and your educators, start by analyzing your eating habits…………you have so much to gain, not lose by this approach.
Kaz.
Leave a Reply