Adults and parents of children and teens who struggle with ADD/ADHD are often frustrated by what seems like limited choices for health care for these conditions. The standard medical model involves a generic, one size fits all approach to evaluation and therapeutic support. Unfortunately, this often fails to help individuals fully, or to offer safe, satisfactory long-term solutions for symptom relief.
Functional neurologyis a different and unique choice for support for ADD/ADHD that offers customized care that helps patients by improving their condition and their overall health. ADD/ADHD symptoms aren’t masked by a medication; they are lessened and alleviated as their real causes are addressed. It’s an alternative choice of care that’s well worth pursuing for many.
The care a patient receives from afunctional neurologist differs from standard medical practice from start to finish. It begins with a comprehensive examination that includes in-depth lab testing and a complete neurological assessment. By contrast, practitioners in standard medicine often identify ADD/ADHD through the use of a questionnaire. Such a limited approach to evaluation unfortunately allows for the possibility of an incomplete or inaccurate assessment—one that leaves the underlying root causes of symptoms undiscovered and unaddressed.
A functional neurologist evaluates the health condition of each patient as a whole using a wide range of tests. The individual’s health history is also considered carefully. Specific, comprehensive testing yields very precise information about the patient’s overall condition, including brain function. A thorough exam provides a comprehensive view of exactly what is going on with the person’s health, including organ and system function throughout the body.
With a complete overview of the patient’s condition at hand, a functional neurologist can determine what is causing symptoms such as inattention or impulsiveness. A program of customized therapeutic support and care can then be developed—one that will help restore function. The goal isn’t simply to alleviate symptoms by covering them up, or making them tolerable. It’s to address and manage dysfunctions and imbalances so symptoms are addressed as fully and efficiently as possible.
Medications are the most common type of therapeutic support provided to children, teens and adults who struggle with ADD/ADHD. While Adderall, Ritalin and antidepressants may seem to help control symptoms for some patients, they may not resolve symptoms fully. In time, medications may stop working. At any point, they may involve unwanted health risks and side effects. Functional neurologyrelies on safe, natural therapeutic support for ADD/ADHD symptom relief rather than medications.
By supporting the body’s ability to heal itself, functional neurology aims to provide long-term relief and lasting solutions that do not involve compromises to the patient’s wellbeing. It’s a healthy approach to effective management of ADD/ADHD. Customized nutritional support and lifestyle interventions can be very effective in helping patients who struggle with ADD/ADHD. These and other types of therapies are healthy and effective alternatives to reliance on psychoactive medications for symptom relief.