Autism Therapy: hyperactivity

definition of hyperactivity: A physical state of abnormal activity. Some research has shown that food additives may cause hyperactivity in children.

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Journal of Attention Disorders, by Roy, M., Dillo W., Bessling S., Emrich HE, and Ohlmeier MD, published in 2009, summarized Nov 9, 2010

Methylphenidate may help adults who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger syndrome.

This case study presents an adult patient with ADHD and Aspergers syndrome. The 26-year old man had had problems since childhood with making and keeping social contacts. The authors note that when an adult has both ADHD and Aspergers syndrome the case may be complex and hard to diagnose. This is because both ADHD and Aspergers syndrome may result in poor social skills and lack of attention. In the case of this patient, treatment with methylphenidate improved his ability to function and reduced his ADHD symptoms.


Cases Journal, by Edebol, H., Kjellgren A., Bood S. - A., and Norlander T., published in 2009, summarized Sep 7, 2010

Flotation tanks may be a useful tool for calming the nervous system and helping with sensory integration in adults with Asperger syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This case study describes an adult with Asperger syndrome and ADHD who was treated with flotation-Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique (flotation-REST). The 36-year old woman from Sweden also had depression. She was given 19 sessions over a year and at the end felt that she was better able to live life on her own. With time she learned to control how alert she was (arousal control). She also learned to control how active she was (activity regulation). Her senses relaxed and she became better at sensory integration.


J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, by Marcus, RN, Owen R., Kamen L., Manos G., McQuade RD, Carson WH, and Aman MG, published in 2009, summarized May 13, 2010

Aripiprazole may help to treat irritability in children with autism.

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared the atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole with placebo in terms of being able to reduce irritability in children (aged 6 to 17 years) with autism. This eight week study found that aripiprazole was able to reduce irritability in children with autism. Children who received aripiprazole also had decreased hyperactivity. There was a high placebo response rate of 35% on this study. The authors also note that this was a fixed-dose study and therefore doctors were not able to change the dose of the drug based upon the patient’s response to the drug.


Neuroscience, by Gilby, KL, Jans J., and McIntyre DC, published in 2009, summarized Jan 11, 2010

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduced impulsive behaviors in one strain of rats, and increased seizures in another strain of rats; some of these behaviors may be found in children with autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Rat strains are rats that are bred to each other so that they all have the same genes. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements were given to two rat strains in this study. One rat strain (Fast rats) has hyperactivity, learning problems, impulsive behaviors, and increased chance of seizures. Another strain (Slow rats) has few seizures and does not have the behavioral problems that the Fast rats have. The Fast rats had less impulsive behaviors when they had omega-3 therapy, but they have the same seizure sensitivity. The Slow rats’ behavior didn’t change, but they had more seizures when they had omega-3 therapy. The authors said that omega-3 therapy may have different effects in different people, and urged caution when using the therapy.


Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleau, a doctor of naturopathic medicine in Canada, has written about the importance of "brain food" for all children, and most recently those with autism and other learning disorders. She calls the brain the "hungriest organ" in the body and stresses that breakfast along with essential fatty acids, like omega-3, are important for learning and concentration. She is finding that kids who do not get enough protein and iron in their foods may have problems with distraction and hyperactivity (ADHD). Dr. Rheaume-Bleau thinks that the most important supplements are found in the foods we eat, but that sometimes, vitamin supplements may be necessary.

Read original article.


Toys with brain wave reading capabilities are ready to debut this year. They use biofeedback to focus the mind on the game at hand. Advocates of these toys believe they "could boost mental focus and help kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and mood disorders." Scientific research is lacking and the question remains whether children who achieve focus through the games are able to replicate the state in real life.

Read original article.



Please comment on this autism topic.

Responding to Tenex - Intuniv (guanfacine)

Sep 30, 2011 by Anonymous

We've used Tenex since my son was almost 4 in combination with Abilify (which we recently stopped). He is 8 now and weighs 125 lbs and is almost 5ft tall.. It has been amazing in helping him with the hyperactivity without sedating him or him a zombie. We tried the extended release version (Intuniv) but my son processes things very quickly and it didnt work well for us. We have found that giving him 1mg 2x per day and 2mg at bedtime with Melatonin (5mg) have increased his sleep. One thing to note about Melatonin is that it can cause night terrors so if thats happening you may need to switch to something else. Im not sure that using benadryl long term is good for our kids but you do what works and the dr is ok with. We also keep on hand ativan (he tends to have issues with anxiety ie drs appts, grocery shopping etc.) and clonazepam for long trips and severe aggression. The ativan and clonazepam are used sparingly. My son knows what his meds are, what they are for and can tell us if he needs something (he is rx'ed the tenex for am, lunch and bed but if he doesnt need it then he doesnt take the noon dose). Its been a long road to get him from non-verbal to verbal (still some delays but he can hold a conversation) and is now actaully quite social. His medications help allow him to be who he really is and dont just mask the problems that he has.


Ayurveda for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jan 4, 2011 by sunethriayurved...

Hi everybody,

I am Dr.Prasad M, MD (Ay.), working with autistic kids from 2002 onwards. I went through the article mentioned. Let me share with you an unbiased information on the scope of Ayurveda, the age-old Indian system of Vedic medicine, in the treatment of ASD. This is based 100% on my personal experiences. Kindly see the following passages. Comments and criticisms are welcomed whole-heatedly. 

Scope of Ayurveda in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Trials with Ayurvedic medicines and treatments for their efficacy in ASD are going on at various centres in India and abroad.   The main advantage of ayurvedic medicine is that it has got a magazine of safe therapeutic preparations of various forms which are developed by continuous trials and rectifications over thousands of years.  There are many preparations like kwatha (decoction), churna (powder), arishta (self-fermented beverage), gudika (pill), ghrtha (medicated ghee), thyla (medicated vegetable fats) etc.  In recent times, many of the herbs used in Ayurveda are proven to have excellent detoxifying effect as well as free radical- scavenging potential.  The therapeutic preparations like kwatha are combinations of many herbs.  These combinations are originally developed on the basis of ayurvedic principles.  Till recent times these formulations were not given due consideration by the western scientists.  But now the picture has changed. More and more ayurvedic preparations are under their evaluation.  In Ayurveda, the compounds as well as single herbs are used for different purposes of health care like pacifying vitiated functional units called doshas, eliminating excessive toxic accumulations, providing targeted nutrients to tissues, tuning the mind-body coordination, sharpening the efficacy of sense-organs, and so on.  These prescriptions are based on personalised evaluation of different aspects like body constitution, doshik status, power of digestion and assimilation, status of bowel evacuation, physical strength, mental constitution, and etc which is done by experienced physicians.  Mind is an important factor in the healing of any ailment.  It is assumed that mind is like ghee which is held inside a pot called body.  If the ghee is hot the pot also gets warmed and if the pot is hot definitely the ghee also will be hot.  You cannot expect warm ghee in a cool pot and wise versa.  Similarly, food is given the supreme role in the healing process as well as in the maintenance of health.  It is a basic concept in Ayurveda that there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to pathya (wholesome) food (as it brings about health spontaneously) and there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to apathya (nasty) food (as there is no scope for functioning of the medicine).   In the context of autism, these assumptions are extremely important and seen exceptionally beneficial. 

The care of autism, as per ayurvedic principles, is based on the protocol of a three-step intervention

  1. detoxifying the body by regulating the agni
  2. Cleansing the dhatus (body tissues) by medicines and therapies
  3. Enhancing the mental abilities like comprehension, memory etc. by promoting the Agni.

Again, though the stages are generalised the execution will be personalised. 

The first stage is based on medicines almost completely.  Medicinal preparations like purgatives, specific formulations for de-worming, for enhancing the functions of the liver and pancreas, for enhancing the digestive fire (Agni), and for regulating the intestinal motility are used in this stage.  Certain preparations meant for squeezing out heavy metals from the tissues are also used.  Turmeric, garlic, curry leaves, etc are having this advantage. 

Second phase is mainly comprised of massages.  Traditional methods like abhyanga (hot-oil massages), udwarthana (dry powder massages), pindasweda of various types, thalapothichilpizhichil, etc are used here.  These manoeuvres improve the muscle tone, reduce hyperactivity, create better motor coordination, and normalize most of the obsessive repetitive movements.  Child sleeps well.  The bowels become more regular at this stage.  He/she will be more receptive to commands or suggestions.  The demand for sensory stimulation slows down considerably and the symptoms like increased sensitivity to certain sounds (hyperacusis) slowly disappear.  There will be oral medications parallel to the therapies and a few of these medications will be carried over to the next phase as well.  

Third stage is very specific and sold not be started before the proper completion of the first two.  This is an important point as there is a general tendency to mark the condition as mental retardation and to prescribe brain tonics and memory boosters to all autistic kids indiscriminately.

The major therapies in this stage are shirodhara (pouring of liquids like oils on the head), shirovasthi (holding of medicated oils on the head inside specially designed leather-rims), shiropichu (wetting the scalp with oil bandages), dhoopanam (fumigation with specific medicines) etc along with specific medications like kallyanakam kashayam, indukantham kashayam, gorochanadi gudika,balakanakapathradi kashayam, sidharthakam gudika etc.  Certain specific herbs like sahadevi, sankhapushpi, vacha, vishnukranthietc are also used.  Follow up is done with ghee preparations like mahakallyanaka, mahapaisachika, brahmighrtha, saraswathaghrtha, etc. 

Conclusion

It is seen that the classical ayurvedic treatment done systematically give promising results in kids diagnosed with ASD.  But it should be emphasised that the level of improvements is different from child to child.  Another important point is that these interventions are made in a corrective manner.   The child gets relieved of a lot of physical problems and tantrums.  But this will not make him/her a normal child.  Intensive training and special education are needed to put him on track and to catch up the peers.  This requires the dedicated involvement of parents, special educators, and skilled professional like occupational therapists.


Free Sound Therapy Home Programme

Jan 21, 2010 by Anonymous

Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a French otolaryngologist, is recognised as the modern day originator of sound or music therapy. In the early 1950's he developed an effective therapy method using altered music to treat conditions such as auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and autism. Another French doctor, Dr. Guy Bérard, developed a similar method, Auditory Integration Training (AIT), which has found many followers in the USA. From personal experience I know that many clients report improvements in understanding, speech, balance, behaviour and emotional well-being after just two or three weeks of daily sound therapy.

 Sensory Activation Solutions (SAS) is an organisation with Centres in the U.K. and Turkey that provides a unique service for children and adults that face learning or developmental difficulties. When the established educational, psychological or medical services fail to provide adequate support, the SAS methodology often can provide practical solutions that result in noticeable improvements in daily life.

 You may be interested to check out their Free Sound Therapy Home Programme. Their Auditory Activation Method builds on the pioneering work of Dr. Tomatis and Dr. Bérard and has been specifically developed with the aim to improve sensory processing, interhemispheric integration and cognitive functioning. It has helped many children and adults with a wide range of difficulties, ranging from dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder to sensory processing disorders and autism. It is not a cure or medical intervention, but a structured training programme that can help alleviate some of the debilitating effects that these conditions can have on speech and physical ability, daily behaviour, emotional well-being and educational or work performance.

 There is no catch, it's absolutely free and most importantly often effective. Check it out at: http://www.sascentre.com/uk/uk_free.html.

 




Scope of Ayurveda in ASD by Vaidya Prasad

Nov 13, 2009 by Anonymous

Trials with Ayurvedic medicines and treatments for their efficacy in ASD are going on at various centres in India and abroad. The main advantage of ayurvedic medicine is that it has got a magazine of safe therapeutic preparations of various forms which are developed by continuous trials and rectifications over thousands of years. There are many preparations like kwatha (decoction), churna (powder), arishta (self-fermented beverage), gudika (pill), ghrtha (medicated ghee), thyla (medicated vegetable fats) etc. In recent times, many of the herbs used in Ayurveda are proven to have excellent detoxifying effect as well as free radical- scavenging potential. The therapeutic preparations like kwatha are combinations of many herbs. These combinations are originally developed on the basis of ayurvedic principles. Till recent times these formulations were not given due consideration by the western scientists. But now the picture has changed. More and more ayurvedic preparations are under their evaluation. In Ayurveda, the compounds as well as single herbs are used for different purposes of health care like pacifying vitiated functional units called doshas, eliminating excessive toxic accumulations, providing targeted nutrients to tissues, tuning the mind-body coordination, sharpening the efficacy of sense-organs, and so on. These prescriptions are based on personalised evaluation of different aspects like body constitution, doshik status, power of digestion and assimilation, status of bowel evacuation, physical strength, mental constitution, and etc, which is done by experienced physicians. Mind is an important factor in the healing of any ailment. It is assumed that mind is like ghee, which is held inside a pot called body. If the ghee is hot the pot also gets warmed and if the pot is hot definitely the ghee also will be hot. You cannot expect warm ghee in a cool pot and wise versa. Similarly, food is given the supreme role in the healing process as well as in the maintenance of health. It is a basic concept in Ayurveda that there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to pathya (wholesome) food (as it brings about health spontaneously) and there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to apathya (nasty) food (as there is no scope for functioning of the medicine). In the context of autism, these assumptions are extremely important and seen exceptionally beneficial.

The care of autism, as per ayurvedic principles, is based on the protocol of a three-step intervention.

  1. detoxifying the body
  2. balancing the mind-body interaction, and coordination  and
  3. enhancing the mental abilities like comprehension, memory etc.

Again, though the stages are generalised the execution will be personalised.

The first stage is based on medicines almost completely. Medicinal preparations like purgatives, specific formulations for de-worming, for enhancing the functions of the liver and pancreas, for enhancing the digestive fire (Agni), and for regulating the intestinal motility are used in this stage. Certain preparations meant for squeezing out heavy metals from the tissues are also used. Turmeric, garlic, curry leaves, etc are having this advantage.

Second phase is mainly comprised of massages. Traditional methods like abhyanga (hot-oil massages), udwarthana (dry powder massages), pindasweda of various types, thalapothichil, pizhichil, etc are used here. These manoeuvres improve the muscle tone, reduce hyperactivity, create better motor coordination, and normalize most of the obsessive repetitive movements. Child sleeps well. The bowels become more regular at this stage. He/she will be more receptive to commands or suggestions. The demand for sensory stimulation slows down considerably and the symptoms like increased sensitivity to certain sounds (hyperacusis) slowly disappear. There will be oral medications parallel to the therapies and a few of these medications will be carried over to the next phase as well.

Third stage is very specific and sold not be started before the proper completion of the first two. This is an important point as there is a general tendency to mark the condition as mental retardation and to prescribe brain tonics and memory boosters to all autistic kids indiscriminately.

The major therapies in this stage are shirodhara (pouring of liquids like oils on the head), shirovasthi (holding of medicated oils on the head inside specially designed leather-rims), shiropichu (wetting the scalp with oil bandages), dhoopanam (fumigation with specific medicines) etc along with specific medications like kallyanakam kashayam, indukantham kashayam, gorochanadi gudika, balakanakapathradi kashayam, sidharthakam gudika etc. Certain specific herbs like sahadevi, sankhapushpi, vacha, vishnukranthi etc are also used. Follow up is done with ghee preparations like mahakallyanaka, mahapaisachika, brahmighrtha, saraswathaghrtha, etc.

It is seen that the classical ayurvedic treatment done systematically give promising results in kids diagnosed with ASD. But it should be emphasised that the level of improvements is different from child to child. Another important point is that these interventions are made in a corrective manner. The child gets relieved of a lot of physical problems and tantrums. But this will not make him/her a normal child. Intensive training and special education are needed to put him on track and to catch up the peers. This requires the dedicated involvement of parents, special educators, and skilled professional like occupational therapists.



Please comment on hyperactivity or other autism therapy topics.

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