The absolute best approach per 100 years of research regarding children and behavior  is an approach that combines individual counseling with parenting tips and family system tips to modify behavior. All of these elements are vital in creating desired change in your child or teenager. Lifeworks AZ provides this.

Before stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, and Adderall began their rise to popularity in the 1970s, treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focused on behavioral therapy. But as concerns build over the mounting dosages and extended treatment periods that come with stimulant drugs, clinical researchers are revisiting behavioral therapy techniques. Whereas stimulant medications may help young patients focus and behave in the classroom, research now suggests that behaviorally based changes make more of a difference in the long-term. ADHD drugs are tested for 8-12 weeks in experiments and most children stay on the drug for years not knowing how it impacts the brain. Many children suffer withdrawal symptoms and behavioral changes when taken off the drugs similar to what a drug addict experiences when stopping long term drug use.

Recent research findings suggest that behavioral and cognitive therapies focused on reducing impulsivity and reinforcing positive long-term habits may be able to replace current high doses of stimulant treatment in children and young adults.

Lifeworksaz has been working with ADHD children and teens using a combination of cognitive therapies, behavior modification, play therapy, and more to teach children how to manage ADHD with excellent results.

Recent surveys indicate that 12 percent of all children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD’s core symptoms include hyperactivity, inattention, inability to perform monotonous tasks and lack of impulse control. Children with ADHD have trouble in school and forming relationships, and 60 percent will continue to suffer from the disorder well into adulthood if they do not receive counseling and therapy.

Over 3 million U.S. children and adolescents with ADHD were being treated with stimulant drugs. New research reveals that these drugs are not necessarily the panacea they have been thought to be. Research outcomes suggests that if ADHD children and adolescents could learn good study habits early on, medication could become less necessary.

Other research has examined the role of behavioral interventions not only for school-age children, but also for their parents. Parents of children with ADHD tend to exhibit more parenting-related stress and difficulties than do those of non-afflicted offspring. After training parents in stress management and giving them behavioral tools to help their children, significant improvement in their children’s ADHD-related behavior appeared.

Cognitive therapy may also boost improvement: In a 2011, showed that children with ADHD show extra activity in brain areas associated with “task-irrelevant” information during working memory tasks (those that depend on one’s ability to hold and focus on information for immediate reasoning and recall), suggesting that they have less efficient cognitive control. Cognitive therapy and counseling can improve control and ability to focus.

Decades of research on treatment for ADHD children and teens show that medication alone will not produce positive long term results in children and adolescents. Behavioral therapy is one of the only type of counseling treatment’s that produces effective results. Looking at your child’s social and behavioral issues is key as well as looking at your parenting style and communication style with your children. All of these areas must be addressed to create huge positive changes at home with your child and with your family and at school with peers.

An ADHD child does display: inattentiveness, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and more. Most children and teenagers that have ADHD show challenges in these areas as well: daily life activities, school academics and school performances, behavioral issues at school, relationships issues with family members and peers at school and outside of school, defiance with parents, noncompliance with parents.

How your child with ADHD will do in adulthood is influenced by four things: (1) whether you use effective parenting skills; (2) how your child gets along with other children; (3) his or her success in school; and (4) whether behavioral treatments can be successfully applied to these critical areas. This is done by teaching skills to parents, teachers, and the children themselves. If learned and implemented by parents and teachers, these skills help the children overcome their problems in daily life functioning. Because ADHD is a chronic condition, teaching skills that will be valuable across the child’s lifetime is especially important. Lifeworks Arizona Counseling has expertise working with children and parents to address ADHD symptoms mentioned above to create success with the family and child.

Effective outcomes must combine counseling and therapy for the child one on one. It also must include parenting and behavioral modification therapy with parent or parents. If teachers are involved than keeping them in the loop as well as having a 504 or IEP that addresses these specific issues with strategies is important.

Having a system that addresses behaviors daily is important. Having parents involved in the behavior modification is essential. Working with the child or teen and parent weekly is important to modify and extinguish undesirable behaviors and it is just as important to reinforce positive behaviors.

Change will happen if you are dedicated to the process with someone who has a history of success with children and families.

There are many excellent techniques and skills when combined together that will make a huge impact on your child’s behavior at home and at school with ADHD or other challenges.

Before stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, and Adderall began their rise to popularity in the 1970s, treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focused on behavioral therapy. But as concerns build over the mounting dosages and extended treatment periods that come with stimulant drugs, clinical researchers are revisiting behavioral therapy techniques. Whereas stimulant medications may help young patients focus and behave in the classroom, research now suggests that behaviorally based changes make more of a difference in the long-term. ADHD drugs are tested for 8-12 weeks in experiments and most children stay on the drug for years not knowing how it impacts the brain. Many children suffer withdrawal symptoms and behavioral changes when taken off the drugs similar to what a drug addict experiences when stopping long term drug use.

Recent research findings suggest that behavioral and cognitive therapies focused on reducing impulsivity and reinforcing positive long-term habits may be able to replace current high doses of stimulant treatment in children and young adults.

Lifeworksaz has been working with ADHD children providing counseling skills to parents and teens using a combination of cognitive therapies, behavior modification, play therapy, and more to teach children how to manage ADHD with excellent results.

Recent surveys indicate that 12 percent of all children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD’s core symptoms include hyperactivity, inattention, inability to perform monotonous tasks and lack of impulse control. Children with ADHD have trouble in school and forming relationships, and 60 percent will continue to suffer from the disorder well into adulthood if they do not receive counseling and therapy.

Over 3 million U.S. children and adolescents with ADHD were being treated with stimulant drugs. New research reveals that these drugs are not necessarily the panacea they have been thought to be.Research outcomes suggests that if ADHD children and adolescents could learn good study habits early on, medication could become less necessary.

Other research has examined the role of behavioral interventions not only for school-age children, but also for their parents. Parents of children with ADHD tend to exhibit more parenting-related stress and difficulties than do those of non-afflicted offspring. After training parents in stress management and giving them behavioral tools to help their children, significant improvement in their children’s ADHD-related behavior appeared.

Cognitive therapy may also boost improvement: In a 2011, showed that children with ADHD show extra activity in brain areas associated with “task-irrelevant” information during working memory tasks (those that depend on one’s ability to hold and focus on information for immediate reasoning and recall), suggesting that they have less efficient cognitive control. Cognitive therapy and counseling can improve control and ability to focus.

Will medication teach your child life skills? Will meds teach your child values and respect? Will meds help build your child’s self esteem? Confidence? Will medication help your child learn appropriate social and relationship skills? Will medication teach your child or teen have to become motivated and find passion and purpose for the future? Behavior and life skills and counseling can do all the above. There are other things that can help your ADHD child like physical exercise.

Recent research and past research show children and teenagers who took part in a regular physical activity program showed important enhancement of cognitive performance and brain function. Exercise research demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity for improving childhood cognition and brain health.

The improvements in this case came in executive control, which consists of inhibition (resisting distraction, maintaining focus), working memory, and cognitive flexibility (switching between tasks).

Exercise programs improved math and reading test scores in all kids, but especially in those with signs of ADHD. (Executive functioning is impaired in ADHD, and tied to performance in math and reading. Studies suggest that physical activity can have a positive effect on children who suffer from ADHD.”

The Journal of Attention Disorders found that just 26 minutes of daily physical activity for eight weeks significantly allayed ADHD symptoms in grade-school kids. .

The number of prescriptions increased from 34.8 to 48.4 million between 2007 and 2011 alone. The pharmaceutical market around the disorder has grown to several billion dollars in recent years while school exercise is on the decline.

A multi-country study that found that obese teenagers go on to earn 18 percent less money as adults than their peers, even if they are no longer obese. The rapid increase in childhood and adolescent obesity could have long-lasting effects on the economic growth and

Physical activity improves mood and cognitive performance by triggering the brain to release dopamine and serotonin, similar to the way that stimulant medications do without side effects.

In conclusion there a wide array of things that can help your child: individual counseling, Behavior modification plan customized to your child, DBT skills, CBT skills, Exercise, Parenting skills, stress management skills and more.

The head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of  Adelaide states that children are being over diagnosed and over prescribed medications for ADD as well as ADHD. There has been a three hundred percent increase between children  3- 7 years old. The Professor states that alternative interventions are needed instead of giving children methylphenidate hydrochloride  commonly sold under the brand Ritalin.

The head Doctor states that the prescription simply dampens the behavior however does not address the root of the behavior. Medications will not teach life skills, problem solving , how to regulate stress and emotions, how to develop healthy social skills,academic skills, sports skills, how to develop coping skills, how to interact with family, healthy life choices. The medication will not help parents develop better relationships with their child and this must happen to improve the child’s behaviors.

Stimulant drugs like Ritalin and many other drugs damage the brains of growing children and teenagers and suppress behavior regardless of a diagnosis or any other disorder. The adverse effects of these drugs on your child go back over forty years. Animals in studies lose their passion, spirit, and vitality. Obsessive and compulsive behaviors are seen in those that take these stimulants.

In some ADHD children, drug induced compliant behavior may be accompanied  by: isolation of your child, withdrawal, and over focused behaviors. Many medicated children will appear “zoned out” “similar to a robot or a zombie. Many children will become more socially isolated by taking these medications and will suffer from social interactions at school as well as at home.

The zombie “look” may look like your child is compliant however it is associated by experts in Psychiatry with drug toxicity and is really not an improvement just a sedation of the child that will not last with the same medication. These medications can cause 20-30 percent decrease  of blood flow to the brain and the brain in adults that were treated with these medications have shown brain atrophy.

These medications are highly addictive and research shows children have higher rates of drug addiction later on in life connected to early use of ADHD medications like the ones mentioned. Tics and obsessive compulsive behaviors go hand and hand with these stimulants.

ADHD  is the expression of a normal child who is bored. frustrated. frightened. angry, or emotionally injured. undisciplined. lonely, too far behind in class. too far ahead of the class. or otherwise in need of special attention that is not being provided.

Some of the adverse side effects can be: child anxiety, agitation, insomnia nd aggression so you might see a more docile child at times however these other symptoms will have a negative impact for your child moving forward and you have not addressed the root cause of his behavior and he or she has not learned how to deal with life, life challenges, peers, emotions, and much more.