ADD/ADHD – Consults

Unlike the conventional point of view, I do not see ADD/ADHD as a “Ritalin deficiency.” I believe that the “diagnosis” of ADHD really should be labeled more as “symptoms” of an underlying imbalance in the brain of the affected child.

We strive to look at attention difficulties as a symptom of something else in the brain. These could be many things, including:

• Poor nutrition leading to vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the central nervous system leading to poor focus or hyperactive behavior.
• Neuroinflammation resulting from eating foods that are heavily processed or sugar-laden or contain other neuroactive chemicals like salicylates, glutamates, gluteomorpines/caseomorphines, etc.
• Genetic SNPs that make it more difficult for the child’s brain to make essential neurotransmitters to help them maintain focus and maximize frontal lobe executive function. (MTHFR, MTRR, DHPR, COMT, etc. and more than would cause less dopamine to be created or slower breakdown of stimulatory catecholamine neurotransmitters).
• Possible toxins from the environment that is negatively impacting your child’s brain and leading to the symptoms of ADD/ADHD.

Dr . Fliedner is no longer seeing patients at Raising Sages Integrative Pediatrics.