Children are an important part of my life (we have four, and counting…). Even though they are healthy and lively, they are quite a handful at the best of times. I must be honest – I have NO idea how parents with challenged and challenging children cope. Every time I meet such parents (or, sadly, parent, singular), I take my hat off to them. These are the unsung heroes of our society. They often sacrifice career, savings and much, much more to ensure their child gets the best chance possible in life.
Autism
Now and then, one of these parents buys an Elexoma Medic from us for a child with a learning challenge or even a more serious challenge, such as autism. In nearly all cases, we get reports of improvement – children improving dramatically in their school performance, or becoming more sociable and / or less aggressive.
Attention Span
A number of studies have confirmed that CES calms down the limbic system – that part of our brains that deals with our emotions. The limbic system can be rather unruly, even for the calmest among us. It regularly sends distracting messages to the cortex – that part of our brains that THINKS. And, if your thoughts get disrupted, so does your memory and so does your ability to complete a task. Keeping the limbic system in its proper place may be one of the toughest challenges to living harmoniously.
Children with Attention Deficit issues (ADD or ADHD) have an obvious problem with their limbic systems. The cortex of an ADD child gets a steady stream of exciting proposals from the limbic system. So rapid is the stream of temptations that the child just HAS to act on one or more of them. And then, while the child is still busy with the new, exciting, task, another “new new thing” crops up. And off the child goes yet again (mentally or physically). No wonder these children drive their care-givers around the bend.
Now imagine if your limbic system sent you a steady stream of angry impulses. Sooner or later, your cortex will be caught off guard and you’ll say an angry word, or do something in anger. Or if your limbic system sent out anxious signals – “Did you remember to do…?” etc – you would have huge trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Your cortex would keep on being woken up by the hyperactive limbic system.
And, overall, all these interruptions mess with your memory and ability to recall facts.
The standard medical approach to such “limbic hyperactivity” is to prescribe medication to help various parts of the brain to cope. But this is a rather blunt approach. The drugs often have serious side effects (if you think death is serious…) and you may very well need to use the drugs for life (sometimes for the simple reason that they are slightly more addictive than SABC News).
Pregnancy and depression
Or you happen to be pregnant (assuming you have the right mix of goodies for this to happen). If you’re pregnant and need depression or anxiety medication, you’re in trouble. Many of these drugs go straight through the placenta to the unborn child, affecting the development in ways we still do not fully know. But it is safe to assume that the effects are not really helping the unborn.
Below are two links I’d like to share with you in this regard.
The first is a link to a video of a short lecture showing CES being used effectively in treating conditions during pregnancy and after delivery.
It is often said that electrotherapy is contra-indicated in pregnancy. This warning is not based on research results, simply on the LACK of research. As a doctor, this means I am NOT allowed to promote electrotherapy during pregnancy. As a father, however, I can report that my wife used electrotherapy throughout all three pregnancies, for a variety of indications, with no hassles or problems at all.
The second is a link to a remarkable video howing a variant of CES is being used to treat autism, with impressive results.
So, who can benefit from CES?
1. Children with diagnosed attention deficit (ADD / ADHD)
2. Children with diagnosed autism or Asperger’s disease
3. Pregnant or breast-feeding women with mood disturbances
4. Caregivers of challenged children I often get asked how to apply CES in children.
How to treat
It is better to use the sticky pads rather than using the earlobe clips, which the children find uncomfortable. Place a sticky pad on either side of the base of the neck and use Programme 1 (CES) at ~200 to 500 uAmp (depending on severity of condition) for 25 minutes once a day (or as long as the child allows you, if 25 minutes is too long). It is advisable NOT to treat children EVERY day, but to leave some days (like weekends) without treatment and to take a treatment holiday of a week or two every once in a while.
This is simply to allow the child’s brain to work its own magic, too. As when a building is erected, the Elexoma provides the scaffolding to support the brain’s functions, just like scaffolding supports the building initially. But the idea is to be free from scaffolding, so remove it from time to time to test the strength of the brain against normal daily challenges.
Another question I often get asked is whether the Elexoma will interact with Ritalin or Concerta. The answer is NO. You can use the Elexoma together with these drugs. There is no interaction. We’ve had wonderful feedback of children improving dramatically at school work simply using the Elexoma to improve attention span and memory.
In fact, in a simple test we devised, we can prove that a single 15 minute session of Elexoma therapy can increase short-term memory in a child by 20%.
Have a great day!
(Doc) Frank