Blog Layout

So You Suspect ADD………What Next? – Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
Dr. Ferrari • Jan 09, 2008

So you, or someone else significant, suspects your child may have ADD (or ADHD). What do you do? Well, the first step should be to determine if the disorder is actually there. There are generally two paths to take to make this determination, although ultimately they often lead to the same destination.

Schools vary widely in their ability and willingness to assist the parent in this matter. My brother is an elementary school teacher, and a good one, as are many of his peers. However, there is a wide range in the ability of teachers, as well as schools, in assessing and working with children with attention deficit disorder.

Some teachers are judgmental in their opinions regarding ADD. They may believe a child willfully misbehaves. Everyone knows a dangerous “little” about ADD. School personnel are often more objective than parents, as they can compare the child to hundreds of children in their professional experience.  However, teachers listen to the popular press, have family members with ADD, glean information from other sources, and often base their opinion on what they have heard, and not on the true facts. With good intentions, school personnel may believe or imply to parents that bad parenting, low ability, and or emotional problems are behind the difficulties. Some teachers have been known to tell parents not to treat the problem, rather, just to employ harsher punishments, and that indeed is a very bad answer.

Many teachers advise (insist?) that medication is the only answer. On the contrary, there is a significant alternative, as we shall see later. Furthermore, many schools are often very slow to actually do any such testing on children (6 months to a year is not at all uncommon). And these results are often quite vague (often yielding results such as “learning disorders or disabilities”). Which leads the parent back to option #2, testing by an outside, independent professional.

Most of these professionals rely on symptoms to make their determinations, and sense there are other possible causes of ADD symptoms, only a neurological evaluation (EEG analysis), which looks directly at the organ in question, the brain, is the proper objective method of testing. If the disorder is present, its best to treat it, rather than to teach the child to merely compensate for it.

Medication and neurofeedback are the only methods of treatment which actually address the brains’ misalignment. Medication is effective, however, possible side effects and the necessity of the life long use of these drugs are often very discouraging to parents. A very successful alternative to drugs is neurofeedback.

Neurofeedback is a drug free, painless procedure in which the child learns to re-train the relevant attention and behavioral mechanisms of their brain, alleviating the condition. Fortunately, once training is complete, no further treatment is necessary.

To request information on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), Mild to Moderate Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Chronic Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Peak Performance Training contact:

Dr. Stephen A. Ferrari
Alta Neuro-Imaging Neurofeedback
1075 Yorba Place
Suite 105
Placentia, CA 92870
714.990.6536
By Dr. Ferrari 18 Apr, 2016
“Both our son and our daughter are very intelligent. Yet, somehow, they struggle in school. It has been suggested that they may have ADHD. How can that be?” People who are close to individuals with ADHD will not find this question surprising at all. However, people who interact with these individuals, but don’t actually know them (often teachers and coaches) [...]
By Dr. Ferrari 03 Feb, 2016
“My child is having significant problems in school and may be exhibiting signs of ADHD, but we’re not sure. My husband struggled in school, and he says it’s normal. Should we have her tested?” Parents of children suspected of having ADHD (inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, or combined forms) often deny even the possibility of testing, let alone treating the disorder. This denial [...]
By Dr. Ferrari 07 Jan, 2016
As a psychologist specializing in treating ADHD with Neurofeedback [EEG-Biofeedback] for over 20 years, I’ve heard many questions regarding using Neurofeedback to treat this disorder. Here is one of the most frequent and important ones: “My son is having significant behavior problems at school and home. His teacher is calling me, he’s making bad decisions, and he doesn’t think before [...]
More Posts
Share by: