September is a transformative time.  Vacation is over; school and school activities fill our calendars; and we reorganize our schedules to create structure for our lives as summer turns to fall. That restructuring often has a unique effect on children with ADD/ADHD, however, causing parents to wonder why is it that so many children don’t seem to “need” their ADD/ADHD medication over the summer but are unable to focus once school reopens.

It may appear to parents and teachers that children with ADD/ADHD who are “off medication” when school resumes have a difficult time learning within the classroom atmosphere.   In reality, though, the lack of medication isn’t the problem for these kids; it’s how their brain and nervous system are functioning in an often stressful school environment.The growing concerns about the safety of both short - and long-term psychotropic medications have many people worried about their use in both children and adults with hyperactive, impulsivity, attention-deficit disorders.  ADD/ADHD children (and adults) are generally extremely bright, intelligent, creative people. The difference is that their brainsand nervous systemscan be likened to Ferraris with bicycle brakes: Once they get going, it is nearly impossible to stop, focus (or change focus) or even slow down.

One of the alternatives to conventional drugs when treating people with ADD/ADHD is Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), which works to allow an overactive brain to connect, reorganize and “rewire” by removing tension from the nervous system. This reorganization enables children and adults to focus, calm down, retain information, make better decisions and improve behavioral, social and emotional difficulties, all without the harmful side effects of medication and without them losing their unique innate spirit. 

NSA achieves this reorganization by creating plastic changes in the prefrontal cortex as well as other cortical and subcortical areas of the brain, affecting attention and focus. And because neuroplasticity is the brain’s natural ability to change as a result of one’s experience, NSA is able to offer clients  strategies to handle stress and change. Who doesn’t need those? Parents of children who benefit from NSA will benefit themselves, becoming calmer and enriching the family environment while their children will have more focus with an increased ability to thrive in and out of the classroom.

Dr. Tammy M. Kaminski is a certified Special Help Integrating Neurological Experience (SHINE) practitioner trained by ADHD expert Dr. Edward Hallowell.  (SHINE is a certification course for wellness chiropractors that focuses on identifying and caring for children and adults with ADD/ADHD.) Dr. Kaminski’s holistic approach combines ADHD expertise, NSA chiropractic care, neurological assessment andexercise and nutrition counseling.

She offers a free 10-minute phone consultation to discuss ADD/ADHD or any related healthconcern:  Call 973-228-6624 or email [email protected].  For more information, visit KaminskiWellness.com.