Post by Brenda on Mar 13, 2004 22:21:02 GMT -5
One out of every 20 children in America struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The condition is frustrating for children and parents, especially children who don't respond to medication.
For years doctors have prescribed drugs like Ritalin to treat ADHD. Medicine can calm children down and allow them to focus. But parents who are leery about giving their children drugs don't have many proven alternatives. Now researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center are testing a new approach.
Doctor David Clark and his colleagues are treating children with motion instead of medicine. By using sights, sounds and movement to stimulate a nerve involving the inner ear, known as the 8th nerve.
Dr. Clark says they found that stimulation through the 8th nerve, which involves both hearing and balance, seemed to be the most effective in improving their behaviors.
Using a mask and headphones, the eyes and ears of the children are activated while the device is moving. After 30 minutes the children are then asked to work on a computer to practice their ability to concentrate.
The typing is used to help give the children some practice in doing something useful with this approved state of alertness and ability to focus attention.
Some of the children seem to be showing improvement, and doctors are hoping that enough stimulation of the nerve might just retrain or reset the brain to respond appropriately.
Dr. Arnold says if it works, it could be a permanent kind of change that doesn't require continuing to take medication over a long period of time. And that's something that many parents are looking for, relief for their children without reliance on medication
For years doctors have prescribed drugs like Ritalin to treat ADHD. Medicine can calm children down and allow them to focus. But parents who are leery about giving their children drugs don't have many proven alternatives. Now researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center are testing a new approach.
Doctor David Clark and his colleagues are treating children with motion instead of medicine. By using sights, sounds and movement to stimulate a nerve involving the inner ear, known as the 8th nerve.
Dr. Clark says they found that stimulation through the 8th nerve, which involves both hearing and balance, seemed to be the most effective in improving their behaviors.
Using a mask and headphones, the eyes and ears of the children are activated while the device is moving. After 30 minutes the children are then asked to work on a computer to practice their ability to concentrate.
The typing is used to help give the children some practice in doing something useful with this approved state of alertness and ability to focus attention.
Some of the children seem to be showing improvement, and doctors are hoping that enough stimulation of the nerve might just retrain or reset the brain to respond appropriately.
Dr. Arnold says if it works, it could be a permanent kind of change that doesn't require continuing to take medication over a long period of time. And that's something that many parents are looking for, relief for their children without reliance on medication
