Outline
Why Not Medication?
- Useful as a short-term tool
- Concerns with long-term use
- Limitations and risks
ADHD and Brain Differences
- Brain imaging evidence of ADHD
- Research regarding ADHD brain development
- Frontal lobes mature more slowly in the ADHD brain
- Excess theta brainwaves
- Implications for treatment
Neurodiversity Revolution
- Bottom up, top down interventions
- Wake up an underaroused ADHD brain
- Hyperactivity as an adaptive mechanism
- The impact of play and exercise on the brain
- Role of rhythm and timing training
Frontal Lobe/Working Memory Strategic Tools
- Use it or lose it: Increase memory, attention and focus
- Computerized cognitive training programs
- Meditation and mindfulness for ADHD
- Neurofeedback
Nutrition and Brain Health
- The impact of sugars, fats, proteins and water
- Diet and dopamine
- Omega supplementation and ADHD symptoms
- Multivitamins/minerals: Do they make a difference?
- Gluten, food additives and pesticides
ADHD and Anxiety
- ”Overaroused” subtype of ADHD
- Stress, anxiety and ADHD: the connection
- Breathwork and movement for nervous system calming
Environmental Influences
- Media plan
- Video games and social media
- Sleep deprivation
- ADHD look-alikes
- Environmental toxins
- The impact of time in nature on ADHD symptoms
Objectives
- Evaluate the relationship between the frontal lobe of the brain and ADHD symptomology for the purpose of client psychoeducation.
- Determine the impact of movement and exercise on the reduction of ADHD symptoms as it relates to assessment and treatment planning.
- Employ treatment interventions for improving impulse control and working memory in clients.
- Analyze the influence of diet and nutrition on ADHD symptoms in relation to assessment and treatment planning.
- Develop clinical strategies to calm the nervous system of clients diagnosed with ADHD.
- Assess the clinical implications of environmental influences on ADHD symptoms in clients.
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Teachers
- School Administrators
- Addiction Counselors
- Occupational Therapists
- Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Nurses
- Physicians
- Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children