Being A Carer/Parent looking after your mental health Friday 4th November
Two speakers providing information on options after second level educational (Friday 18th November)
Micheal Ryan Psychoterapist. www.peace of mind.ie Friday 25th November
Time 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Location Independent College 60-63 Dawson St Dublin 2
Please contacyt Aspire for more information.
www.aspireireland.ie 01-8780027
Education @ aspire ireland ie 8780029

I am looking for as many parents as possible to fill in a questionnaire about their experiences of ADHD-related stigma. In an earlier stage of this research I interviewed a number of parents about their experiences of ADHD. These parents reported experiencing prejudice and discrimination as a result of their child’s ADHD. I would therefore like to see how much of a problem stigma is for parents of children with ADHD in Ireland. It is really important that as many parents as possible complete the questionnaire, otherwise we won’t be able to tell whether it is a problem or not. It only takes about ten/fifteen minutes to complete and I can post it to you or you can access it online. Any participation would be greatly appreciated. Two parents in the one family can also complete the questionnaire, though we would be happy with even one! Also if you know of any other parents who might be willing to fill in the questionnaire, please pass the word on!

Many thanks and looking forward to hearing from you

Ruth McIntyre
School of Psychology, University College Dublin

Thanks all,
cathy

Download (PPT, 1.05MB)

It’s not unusual for someone with ADD/ADHD and other challenging
conditions, to also be facing a challenge at dinner time. People with ADD/ ADHD often have various food allergies and very often sport an unhealthy mixture of opportunistic bacteria in their digestive system. On top of this, people with ADD/ADHD can be surprisingly sensitive to stress which also interferes with the natural digestion (and elimination especially)
processes. These problems lead to bigger problems down the line as
nutritional deficiencies build up and start to cause symptoms.
For people with ADD/ADHD, the most significant symptom of an allergy may be
hyperactivity. If a food is adding to the problem in this way the best
way to identify it is by elimination – i.e., remove that food, e.g. apples,
from the person’s diet for 4 weeks. Then the person has an apple while
there is someone else to observe them who knows what that person is like
when they’re hyperactive. The reaction is usually about 20 minutes after
the food is consumed.
Each person will have their own list of foods they need to avoid but there
are some foods in particular which seem to cause problems.

All fizzy drinks including tonic water – very common problem (it’s the
bubbles)
Red drinks
Apples and apple juice
Anything with sugar in it (cereals, biscuits, cakes, chocolates)
Alcohol (especially beers, red wine and spirits, gin is about the only
clean alcohol)
Processed foods – i.e. most freezer food, burgers, pizza etc this includes
breakfast cereals and bread
Chewing gum
Coffee
Cocoa Wheat
Dairy

The most difficult things here to eliminate can be wheat and dairy but
don’t despair, a lot of the problem here is with damage in the gut and
with certain colonies of bad bacteria. These can be fixed (although it
can take up to 2 years), and then the person may find that they can eat
wheat and dairy again. Keep in mind that a person may not automatically
have a problem with wheat and dairy just because they have ADD/ ADHD, it’s just
that it’s quite common. Sadly, if you have a craving for
a certain food, even if it’s cabbage, there’s a strong chance that you are
having a bad reaction to it and should do the elimination test to check it
out.
The bad bacteria problem can cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome which can lead
to diarrhoea and/or constipation. The constipation can be serious for
someone with ADHD if it persists as it can lead to toxins building up in
the body causing increased mood problems. Drinking water needs to be a
real priority, hot or cold, filtered if possible. Cutting out the
processed carbohydrates and sugar are also important to fix this problem.
It’s also important to avoid anti-biotics unless absolutely necessary and
taking lots of probiotics afterwards.
The good news is that there is also a huge list of foods which are
recommended for people with ADD/ADHD.

Keep in mind that a lot of goodies can be taken into the body easily
through juicing.

Naturally all these following foods are on condition that the person with
ADD/ADHD doesn’t have their own problem with the food in question.

All nuts especially walnuts – these are good for balancing the omega 3
oils proven to help with ADD /ADHD
All fruit and vegetables (best eaten raw)
All meat especially fish (avoid processed meats like chicken nuggets,
sausages, rashers or sliced meat from the deli)
Coconut fat (this is supposed to be the best to cook with)
Oregano, cinnamon and other spices (good for balancing the bacteria)
Live yogurts (these have a reduced load of lactose)
Garlic – very good
Butter (avoid margarine)
Olive oil

People with ADD/ADHD often have sugar imbalances too and this can lead to them
feeling ‘starving’ and then ‘exhausted’. To combat this, sugary foods and
processed carbohydrates (white bread, breakfast cereals, white rice and
white pasta) need to be removed or reduced to a minimum.

The person will need to eat little and often and each time they eat they must include a
small bit of protein e.g. a few nuts, a piece of cheese, some meat or beans.
Starting the day with a big bowl of porridge made on water with fruit,
nuts, cinnamon and seeds mixed in is a good way to balance out the blood.
Rice cakes are a moderately good introduction to the diet, with nut butter
(sugar free) or cheese can do for snacks. Rye bread can be lovely toasted
with butter and marmite.
Experiment, find out what foods are safe and give them all a go.

Supplements which might be beneficial include:
DigestiveEnzymes
Fish oils (Eskimo oils do a good one)
B-Complex especially B3 and B6
Magnesium (one study showed that supplementing with B6 and Magnesium was
10 times as affective as Ritalin!) REF , Holford, P, Optimum Nutrition for the Mind
Probiotics e g Bifidus and Acidophilus (Udo do a good one)
Slippery Elm
Milk Thistle (only when there is no constipation).

Keep in mind that it takes time and patience to get the diet right but it
can be well worth it. Once the gut heals and the bacteria are right, it’s
possible to ease up on some of the restrictions.

The following are 3 books which I found very good .

Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
Dr. Campbell-McBride,

Optimum Nutrition for the Mind.
Patrick Holford,

Bad Attitude
Audrey Ricker,

Heidi Bedell, B.Sc, H.Dip.Ed, H.Dip. Microbiology, Member of Nutritional
therapists of Ireland.

To contact Heidi Bedell, please go to www.adhd.ie and contact via the web site

References

B Starobrat-Hermelin and T. Kozielec, “The effects of magnesium physiological supplementation on hyperactivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Positive response to magnesium oral loading test”, Magnes Res, Vol 10(2), 1997, pp149-56

B.Rimland, “Parents ratings of the effectiveness of drugs and nutrients”, Autism Research Review International, October 1994

B.Rimland et al., “The effect of high doses of vitamin B6 on autistic children: a double-blind crossover study”, Am J Psychiatry, Vol 135(4), 1978, pp 472-5

S.I. Pfeiffer et al., “Efficacy of vitamin B6 and magnesium in the treatment of autism: a methodology review and summary of outcomes”, J Autism Dev Disord, Vol 25(5), p1995,pp481-93

What is Parent to Parent?

Parent to Parent is a presentation that empowers parents to deal directly with their own children on the critical issues of adolescence, alcohol, drugs and other personal values.

The next Parent to Parent Presentation, is scheduled to commence in the 2nd week of November . ( if not suitable see other dates attached)

The schedule is either a series of our one night presentation or our four week presentation (details attached)

Kind Regards

Louise

Louise Butler

Community Development Worker

Balbriggan Community Policing Forum

Mob: 086 7716811

In the first in this six-part professional developmentseries, Fiona Smith from NYCI’s Arts Programme will be in conversation withErika King from Athenry Adolescent Support Project inGalway, who has been engaging with youth arts activities for a number of years.For the first hour of the session, Erika will discuss her experiences ofdeveloping and undertaking youth arts activities within her organisation,planning and delivering arts projects, ways of working with young people andthe arts, as well as reflecting on what she has learnt along the way.

Following this, the session will also provideparticipants with practical techniques and methods for undertaking artsprojects in different youth work settings, offer ideas for working with youngpeople to develop arts activities and will provide strategies, tools andresources for youth workers to find the best ways for providing high qualityarts engagement for the young people they support.

Whether you have been working with young people and thearts for some time and are looking for some fresh inspiration or you arethinking about undertaking you first youth arts project, the workshop willprovide a wealth of ideas, encouragement and motivation. So grab a cup of tea andjoin us online to develop techniques and skills, swap stories and be inspiredby the wealth of youth arts activities happening across the country.

The sessions will be hosted by us online on ADOBEConnect, but you don’t need to have any special software to attend-all you needis a computer, an internet connection and a set of speakers or headphones. Thesession is free but you need to register your attendance before the session inorder to get the link and password.

So if you are thinking about undertaking a creativeproject with your youth group or have specific questions about an existingproject-please join us for this virtual session. The workshop is free but youneed to register, you will then be sent the link and instructions for attendingthe online session. For more information or if you have any questions pleasecontact Fiona at fiona@nyci.ieor on 014784122

Date: 11am-13.00pm,Wednesday 5th October 2011

For more information and to register to attend contact fiona@nyci.ie

Fiona Smith

Project Officer, Youth Arts

National Youth Council of Ireland

3 Montague Street

Dublin 2

http://www.youtharts.ie

Sign up for Youth Arts News -our monthly e-bulletin for theyouth arts community:

http://www.youtharts.ie/content/sign-youth-arts-news

For parents. This involves being interviewed about your experiences of parenting a child with ADHD or depression/anxiety?
For your child This involves taking part in a short inverview, completing a computer based word association task, and filling in a questionnaire.
It takes approximately 50 minutes for children/adolescents and 40 minutes for parents and will take place at a time and loction that suits you.
Does your child:
Have a primary clincial diagnosis of ADHD or depression/anxiety?
Is Your child
Aged between 10 and 16 years
Currently attending a child/adolescent mental health service?

If you have answered yes to the above and wish for your you or your child to take part, contact us to find out more about this research project.

Lynn McKeague Postgraduate research, School of Psychologhy, University College Dublin.(UCD) phone 085/1800353email.lynn.mckeague@ucd.ie