Nutritional Evaluations

Food sensitivities and intolerance's are common among children suffering with neurobehavioral disorders.  Unlike food allergies, sensitivities come on quite slowly and produce symptoms that you would never think to blame on food.  One clue that can be considered a red alert for possible food sensitivity is erratic behavior.  The kind of behavior where a child is as good as an angel one day and the exact opposite the next.  Or perhaps, the child is acting quite normally and then an hour or so after a meal, all heck breaks loose.

Taking just a moment each day to note foods eaten and the behaviors demonstrated later, may show a pattern correlating diet and behavior.  Reactions can take anywhere form 2 hours to 3 days after a particular food is eaten.  It may take several weeks of notation before a pattern is demonstrated.

Key foods to watch out for:
anything containing wheat (gluten or gliandin)
apples
all dairy and milk products (casein), including goat milk
chocolate
tomato
corn
citrus fruits and juices
eggs
legumes (peas, peanuts, beans, soy)
refined sugar
bakers and brewers yeast
soy

Note:  The protein components in milk (casein) and wheat (gluten/gliandin) are more often a concern than sugar.  These proteins can form  morphine-like chemicals in susceptible children. 

For information on common symptoms your child may exhibit after removing the offending food products, please log on to http://www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com/ .

Breathing for better brain function.

Holding one's breath is a common response to stress and/or focused mental activity.  Practicing "Belly Breathing" helps labored respiration become natural and spontaneous, allowing more oxygen (and thus, energy) available for thinking, speaking and moving.  The next time you or your child are entering a stressful situation, or one that will require significant mental activity, try beginning with one of the following Belly Breathing Activities:
**To begin, rest your hand on your abdomen.  With your chin tucked and ribs relaxed, blow out all the air in your lungs in short, soft little puffs (as though you are keeping a feather airborne).  On each short exhalation, press your navel inward, toward your spine.  Now take a slow, deep inhalation, gently refilling your lungs.  Continue slowly inhaling and exhaling from your belly.  Arch your back slightly at the waist so the air can go even deeper.  Repeat three or more times.  Variation: Lie on your back with a book on your abdomen.  As you breathe, notice how the book will rise with each inhalation and descend with each exhalation.

**Squat with your hands flat on the floor between your knees.  Imagine an 8 between the left and right sides of your rib cage, feeling both spheres of the 8 expand as you inhale and deflate as you exhale.  Now imagine turning the 8 so that it expands between the stomach and the spine and then turn it top to bottom, expanding the chest and lower abdomen.  Can you expand all three 8's at once?

Possible side effects of natural treatment for ADHD.

Warning!  There ARE possible side effects associated to the natural treatment for ADHD. 
 They may include, but are not limited to:
-improved focus and concentration.
-improved relationships with family and peers.
-better quality of sleep.
-high risk of improved grades and reading scores.
-higher levels of self-esteem and socialization.
-decreased incidence of parents having to repeat themselves.
-increased likelihood of scoring a goal in gym class.
-questions from family and friends wondering what you are doing different.
-a positive 2011-2012 school year!

If are concerned about the negative side effects associated with medications prescribed for ADHD, why not try the natural approach?  The Whole Child Wellness program can naturally correct the underlying problems causing your child's ADHD, and the only side effects are positive ones!

For more information, please long on to www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com .

The 14 keys.

Hemisphericity is the state in which one of the brain's hemispheres is weaker than the other.  This creates "interference" in communication between the two hemispheres of the brain and can lead to symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and oppositional disorders.  Imagine trying to talk to someone on a short wave radio with constant static and interference. It makes communication very difficult and can create a lot of confusion of information between you and the other person.  The same is true with the brain. 

There are fourteen key factors that can result in hemisphericity.  The Whole Child Wellness program evaluates these factors on each child as they enter the program.  Finding the key factor responsible for  hemisphereicity is an important part of correcting the problem.  To learn what these 14 keys are, please log on to www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com .

Kids LOVE getting adjusted!

Kids entering the Whole Child Wellness program love getting their spinal adjustments.  Not only do they think it is nice to see a doctor and not have to worry about getting shots, and it's cool to ride the adjusting table, but it makes them feel great too!

Dr. Flemming is trained and licensed to use the Activator Method of adjusting.  The Activator Method uses a small, hand held tool, to reposition the spinal joints to their proper alignment.  The Activator tool enables Dr. Flemming to control the exact amount of thrust and the direction of the adjustment, and minimizes any soreness or soft-tissue stretching typically associated with chiropractic treatments.  There is no "twist and pop" with the Activator Method.

Children getting adjusted step onto a small platform that lowers them down on the adjusting table, allowing Dr. Flemming to see their standing posture.  She asks them to move different areas of the body.  A spinal joint that is functioning properly will accept this movement without any consequence.  A spinal joint that is functioning improperly will respond negatively, tightening the surrounding muscles and altering the child's resting posture.  This is a clear indication that objectively diagnoses an area that needs to be realigned.  Dr. Flemming then uses her Activator tool to gently and effectively move the joint into a better functioning position. 

Most kids respond very quickly to chiropractic adjustments and require only a few treatments before obtaining noticeable results.  For information about why adjusting children with neurobehavioral disorders is so important, please log on to www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com .  

What are we putting into our Kids?

Manufacturers in the USA use approximately 15 million pounds of 8 synthetic food dyes in foods.  A significant proportion of these dyes are used in brightly colored cereals, drinks and candies - products aimed mainly at children.  These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children, and possibly cancer in anybody.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, food dyes are in everything, from M&Ms to Kraft salad dressings, and they pose risks of childhood cancer, hyperactivity and allergies.  The three most commonly and widely used dyes contaminated with known carcinogens are- Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6.  Red 3 has been acknowledged by the US FDA as a carcinogen, but it is still in the food supply.  The CSPI's scientifically detailed report on possible health effects of food dyes raises many questions about their safety.  Their continued use presents unnecessary risks to humans, especially young children.  It is disappointing that the FDA has not addressed the toxic threat posed by food dyes.  Am example of where the government's help can protect children is with McDonald's strawberry sundaes, which in Britain is colored with strawberries, while in the United States the same product has Red dye 40.
For more information on how what we put into our kid affects their behavior, go to www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com .

Try this simple exercise before starting homework.

Do you battle with your child each night over homework?  Kids are worn out and tired from school.  Parents are worn out and tired from work.  Dinner needs to be fixed.  After school sports attended.  The last thing a parent wants is an uncooperative child thrown into the mix, unwilling to focus on his or her homework . 

Can doing something as simple as "sipping water" and "hook-ups" help?  The answer is yes! 

Sipping water promotes efficient electrical and chemical action between the brain and nervous system, which helps with the storage and retrieval of information.  Water makes up 80% of our body weight and is essential for the electrical transmissions within our nervous systems.  There is an observable correlation between sipping water, good cognitive function, and emotional calm.

Hook-ups draws attention to the body's mid line and core postural muscles, supporting higher-order thinking and choice making.  Doing the activity invites calm while focusing and organizing scattered attention.
This activity improves self control and sense of boundaries and increases comfort in the environment (less hypersensitivity).

For information on how to do "sipping water" and "hook-ups", or on other "Brain Gym" activities, please go to www.wholechildwellness.blogspot.com .

What are the key pieces in your child's ADHD puzzle?

There are so many factors that contribute to the dysfunction of the brain in neurobehavioral disorders.  Whole Child Wellness is the only program that examines each piece of the ADHD puzzle, specific to your child, and determines which pieces are key.

Food intolerance's or gut permeability could be causing aggressive behavior.  Heavy metals could be the cause of developmental delays.  Hemisphericity may be the reason for lack of focus and concentration.  No other program will examine so comprehensively, the pieces to your child's ADHD puzzle. 

If you are looking for the reason, and the solution for your child's symptoms, let us examine his or her puzzle. 

The pieces may surprise you!

Meet us at the Zing Zumm Family Expo.

Want to talk with Dr. Flemming and the Brain Coaches personally?  We'll be at the Zing Zumm Family Expo at the Fairgrounds in Jacksonville on Saturday, May 21st, from 10:00-4:00.

We will also be having several Educational Parents Nights in May and June where the Dr. will speak about the ADHD brain and how our program works.  Please check out wholechildwellness.blogspot.com for more information. 

This week and next week we will be delivering our ADHD Resource Kits to local schools.  Not only does it have information about our program, but it is specifically designed to offer teachers ideas on how to reach and teach ADHD children.  Our upcoming newsletter will have more information on this project.  To sign up for this newletter, please e-mail NEWSLETTER to staff.drflemming@embarqmail.com .

Keep kids hydrated to improve cognitive performance.

For a substance that is so essential to life, water seems remarkably unremarkable: colorless, odorless, tasteless. Yet, it is the magic elixir for learning, the "secret potion" for learning.


A 2009 study at the University of East London investigated whether having a drink of water improved children's behavior on cognitive tasks.  Fifty-eight children aged 7-9 were randomly allocated to a group that received an extra glass of water or a group that did not.  Results show that children who drank additional water performed better on visual attention tasks.  These results indicate that a child's cognitive performance can be improved by having a drink of water.

Water is one of the most important and most abundant inorganic substances in the body.  Water comprises more of the brain than any other organ in the body.  It is essential for the electrical transmissions within the nervous system that allow us to sense, learn, think and act.

The numbers on co-morbidity and ADHD

54-76% of ADHD children meet the criteria for oppositional defiant disorder.
20-50% of ADHD children meet the criteria for conduct disorder.
12-21% of ADHD adults qualify for antisocial personality disorder.
The severity of ADHD is correlated to the severity of other disorders.

Dominance and Lateralization

Understanding dominance and lateralization can guide us to the best approach when working with children suffering from neurobehavioral disorders.

*4 easy tests to determine the dominant hemisphere.
Hand-  Throw a small ball and ask the child to catch it and throw it back with one hand. 
Foot-  Place a small ball on the ground and ask the child to kick it.
Eye-  Create a telescope with a used paper towel roll.  Hand it to the child at mid line of the waist and instruct the child to take the telescope with both hands and look into it.  If you want you can check whether the child uses a different eye when looking through the telescope at a near or far object.
Ear-  Tell the child that you heard some noise on the other side of the door and him to listen at the door and see if he hears it.
For each dominance tested, record the dominant side.

Mixed dominance (not having some or all dominance on the right) may be a sign of developmental delay or brain disorganization.  Up until 7 years old, the mixed dominance may resolve with proper care and brain balancing protocol.  After 7 years old, the mixed dominance pattern is usually fixed.  Each mixed dominance has a pattern of strengths and weaknesses.  When the language centers are located in the left hemisphere (which occurs in most people, but there may be exceptions), it is neurologically ideal to have right-sided dominance.

Testing Attention

The T.O.V.A is a diagnostic test used by many child behavioral practitioners to test variables of attention.  Taken pre-and post treatment, it measures the speed and accuracy of response to a 21 minute computer task.  The task is pretty boring (trust me on this one) and requires a degree of maintained focus and concentration  to complete.  For kids with ADHD, it provides insight as to how well a treatment is working to control attentiveness and impulsivity.  A T.O.V.A. score improvement of 0.5 confirms that drug therapy has been effective in the treatment of ADHD.  Pre- and post testing of children in the Whole Child Wellness program has show T.O.V.A. score improvement at 2.0!  This is irrefutable evidence on the effectiveness of our program, and its ability to improve the way an ADHD brain functions.  No medication needed!

Our Open House was a great success!

If you missed our Open House on Wednesday, you missed a great opportunity to learn a lot about neurobehavioral disorders and how our Brain Balancing Program works.  We had many parents, educators and medical professionals come and check us out, and we provided what we feel was a fun and interesting way to learn about our program.  The most frequently asked question at our Open House was-"How does your program differ from behavioral therapy and the other things we have tried before?" 
Our program differs primarily in how we view ADHD and autism, and therefore how we treat it.
In the Whole Child Wellness Program, we determine the causes of hemisphericity through clinical exam, and work to remove them.  Hemisphericity is the primary reason for the symptoms associated with neurobehavioral disorders.  Once the causes are removed, we then work to strengthen any deficits created by the weakened side of the brain.

I'll discuss more about our Open House and why our program is so successfull for the treatment of ADHD, Asperger's, autism and learning delays in my next post.

Yours in health,
Dr. Lois Flemming

Please feel free to e-mail any questions for the Doctor or questions about our program to staff.drflemming@embarqmail.com with ADHD in the subject line.