ADHD Therapy
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is commonly diagnosed and affects children, teens and can continue into adulthood. Symptoms include hyperactivity, poor impulse control, inattention, and poor organizational skills. Although in many cases medication is prescribed, some parents are reluctant but may eventually decide to give it to their child because there are limited resources available to their child and it is affecting their academic performance.
There are however many other possible diagnoses that appear like ADHD because they contribute to inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It is important to rule these out with your doctor or specialist. An occupational therapist would be crucial to have on the team not just for assessment but also for therapy. Other professionals such as a neuro optometrist or audiologist can help rule out other disorders that mimic ADHD. There are many other therapies available to choose from:
Listening therapy includes classical music that has been acoustically modified to provide enhanced or filtered music in certain frequencies, as specific frequencies are connected to certain brain functions. The music is delivered through both air and bone conduction (small vibration of skull). While listening the person can do some visual, balance and motor exercises.
Temporal processing training
The brain has an internal clock and it is responsible for focusing attention, reading comprehension, remembering information, processing speech and motor coordination.
There exists a growing body of literature describing the brain timing deficits in ADHD (Shaffer et al, 2001), Dyslexia, Autism, Reading Disorders, Auditory Processing Disorder, and other conditions. By addressing timing in the brain with therapy interventions you are improving skill in comprehension, memory, coordination and processing that impact achievement and independence.
Lisa Dennis has been an occupational therapist since 1999 working with a diverse clientele. She has extensive experience in community home-care in Quebec and Ontario with the adult and geriatric population with physical disabilities. She has spent 4 years working in northern Labrador offering mental health and addictions services as well as school pediatric interventions with aboriginal youth-at-risk aged 6 to 24 years
