HYPERACTIVITY
Is your child hyperactive? Does he show impulsiveness, poor co-ordination and a short attention span?
The term hyperactivity, or hyperkynesis, has now given way in medical circles to “minimal brain dysfunction”.
In children with this condition, there is no demonstrable cause and it occurs in the absence of other neurological abnormalities.
There are some doctors who deny that such a syndrome exists; they feel it is merely an attempt to put label on a group of children who are more difficult than others.
Certainly, most children seem to grow out of this problem but it may still cause them and their parents a great deal of worry and trouble.
Treatment has always been unsatisfactory. Sedatives, antidepressants and even stimulants like amphetamine have been used with less than moderate success.
In 1974, Dr Ben Feingold claimed in the U.S. that he had produced a dramatic 50 per cent improvement in hyperactive children by placing them on a diet which excluded naturally occurring and added salicylates. Other food additives and colorings were also placed on the banned list.
This diet has been widely used in Australia and the U.S., but results so far are still equivocal. The advocates of the elimination diet claim it works well and the sceptics claim any response is due to the placebo effect.
The diet is very restrictive and easily broken, either by accident or design.
The diagnosis of hyperactivity or minimal brain dysfunction, should not be made by the parents but by a doctor skilled in dealing with these cases.
Parents should be wary of starting their children on a restrictive diet without the advice of a dietitian.
Treatment with a drug methylphenidate, marketed as Ritalin, has been shown to give good control for most children.
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