ADHD and Natural Therapies

ADHD and Natural Therapies

A small pilot study was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2007 Dec;13(10):1091-7). The idea was to treat the 10 subjects with multiple natural therapies, including chelation, nutrition, environmental control, behavioral therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy and educational therapy. The subjects were aged 4-10 and had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and with ADHD. They were treated with a comprehensive program of natural therapies for 3-6 months. The results were judged by doctors, teachers and parents and all ten children demonstrated significant improvement in language skills, writing, behavior and social interaction. Also, urinary lead levels dropped in all of the subjects. Granted, this was a small study. It was not double-blind or placebo controlled. It does, however bring up the interesting possibility that children with ADHD may respond to a comprehensive program of natural therapies. It makes sense to use a multi-faceted approach and try to develop a safe and natural way to address this complex problem. A larger, objective study would be interesting to see.