Herbal Supplement Guide

ADD, attention deficit disorder, is a disorder easier to recognise in children than in adults. It manifests as, basically, an inability to maintain one's attention on the task in hand, an inability to maintain concentration on a speaker, in the case of children, on the teacher in class. It results in work never getting finished and learning not taking place.

Young children make no effort to disguise their symptoms. That's just the way they are. Their classroom performance is poor compared with their peers and they wrongly assume that they are not as clever as their peers. They infuriate their teachers by being so easily distracted and suffer accordingly. Their peers find them distant and non-communicative and they have difficulty making friends. Most regrettably of all, many parents of such children, if unaware that their child has a treatable mental problem, find the child increasingly unlovable and react to him/her accordingly.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be characterized by the persistent pattern of the inattention characteristic of ADD together with abnormal hyperactivity and impulsivity. These will show in academic, occupational and social settings to the child's enormous detriment

I recall some years ago raising matter of children with ADD with a school counsellor to be told “ADD – rubbish! All these kids need is a good kick in the backside from their parents!”

Many (more enlightened) parents I've spoken to speak highly of the effectiveness of Ritalin, but there are side effects and it is a regrettable choice parents have to make to expose their child to such a potent drug.

It is important to realise that there are other options which do not use pharmaceutic drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta or Adderall, which many, many, thankful parents will testify are equally effective.

In the early days of recognition of ADD it was thought to be something children “grew out of”. Not so. Untreated it most surely continues on into adult life. The inability to focus and complete tasks continues on. Unfortunately, these individuals (4 times more likely to be men than women) have emerged from their childhood with low self esteem and a history of learning impairment which diminishes expectations, their own and that of others, of their likelihood to cope and thrive in society.

A “kick in the backside” won't help.

The good news is that there is increasing understanding and recognition of the problem, and there are effective treatments. I try to avoid making specific recommendations in these pages, but I have to say that Native Remedies have produced two great products – the “Focus” products described briefly at the top of this page, one for adults and one for children. They use a combination of Gotu Kola, Panax Ginseng and my culinary favourite, Rosemary. (Native Remedies tend to use the Latin names for the herbs they use which, of course, is correct because different varieties can have quite different medical effects. I use the common name and, usually, the Latin name in my herb database which I hope my readers will appreciate).

Herbs for Kids have a number of products for children, of which I have selected the two that are more directly related to helping with ADD. They both use Skullcap, Chamomile, Fennel and Catnip and one adds the soothing properties of Valerian.

Other herbs for ADD support included in the mix are Calendula, Ginkgo Biloba, Gotu Kola, Avena Sativa, Nettle and Rooibos.

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