provenance61 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Our DS is 9 and has ADD (no hyperactivity, just difficulty with focus). He also has sensory issues, and so has OT exercises to help with sensory things such as difficulty w/background noise. I saw on another post a mention of cardio exercise at the beginning of the day as being very helpful for ADD. Is this typical? We really don't know at this point what is sensory and how much is ADD; he also had an auditory processing eval and there are some differences there (difficulty with auditory memory). His ADHD-Inattentive was diagnosed just on a parent-teacher eval so far. Last year when he was still in school they also noticed up days and down days in regard to focus (we are HSing now). I was wondering how much exercise to try to incorporate into his daily routine and how much help we might expect. We aren't totally against meds but would like to explore other methods and accommodations first. (This is one reason we pulled him from school, they just weren't doing that--I guess they would have if we'd waited until he fell way behind.) Any advice/suggestions would be much welcomed. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 (edited) I highly recommend reading through Dianne Craft's articles. She has some physical therapy type exercises to enhance left-right brain connection (which is a problem for ADD and ADHD children), and also has great recommendations for natural supplements to help increase brain function, focus and concentration. As far as exercise, I found that, when younger, our active/lack-of-focus DS did better with short "bursts" of learning (10-20 minutes), followed by 5 minutes of running, bouncing on a trampoline, jump roping, etc. Also a protein snack (cheese, nuts, a sandwich meat "roll-up", etc.) in the mid-morning can help. Specific exercises that help the left-right brain hemisphere connection are things like alternate arm/leg marching (lift right knee up high, while swinging the left arm forward; then lift left knee high while swinging the right arm forward). You could take a 3 minute "marching break" around the house to music. Also, I highly recommend doing some research on food allergies/food sensitivities. You may find that by eliminating artificial colors, sweeteners, chemicals, sugar, or other "trigger" foods you also drastically reduce the hyper-sensitivity issues. BEST of luck in finding what works best for your DS! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited September 16, 2011 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Dd is ADD. We ALWAYS start the day with breakfast and then a walk or a bike ride, and then come back & do school. Always. Otherwise we'd take hours to get the first little bit done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saja1029 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 (edited) I have been researching ADD, Autism (Asperger's), PDD Nos and Sensory issues lately. Some things overlap between them so you may find that certain activities will help in more than one areas. Here are two of the many books I have been looking into lately. See if your library carries them. You may find them useful: - the Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun (Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder) - 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or Asperger's (the first section is on Sensory Integration) Also, check out some titles from Hallowell on ADD/ ADHD. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Edward%20M.%20Hallowell%20M.D. I am not an expert of any kind and therefore have no advice to give. I am just sending these your way to at least start you off on your research. Edited September 17, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamauk Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I read an article a while ago (I believe it was in Triathlete Mag or Runner's World) about ADD exercise. The exercises the author found to help his symptoms the most (long term & throughout the day) were martial arts, swimming and biking. He stated anything that required extreme concentration & focus, but also required being aware of everything going on around you (therefore letting your brain work on two different levels at the same time) was excellent exercise for not only your body, but for your brain as well. I wish I could find the article for you....I'll try a quick google search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 You can also do school while having him sit/bounce on a yoga ball.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Research has shown that aerobic exercise improves focus and learning in all children. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/exercise-school-leads-learning/story?id=10371315 There is a book by John Ratey, quoted in the article above, that goes through the research on exercise and the brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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