Re: Re: Nature and Hyperactivity

September 22, 2004

As the light turns purple at dusk on the Big Island, the windbreak of huge

eucalyptus trees watch Chelsey soar into the evening sky on the swing hung from

one of their branches. She can do this for a long time, singing to herself or

silently. Sometimes, as the light fades and the uncountable sweep of stars come

out to celebrate, she invites me to play the alphabet game with her. I say a

letter and she has to give me a word that starts with it before she completes

one more full arc of joy.

Jack

Blackmon wrote:

So funny that you said that. When my daughter was small she wanted me to take

her outside after dark and spin round and round. I remember one night even

before we knew she was autistic we were outside in the early spring.

There was dew on the grass, a wonderful sky full of stars and honeysuckles

blooming in the woods. We were in our pajamas spinning around and around. I

picked my daughter up and told her we were dancing with the fairies.

I think that is going to be the title of my book someday.

Oh she still loves to be outside after dark. Now she sits and swings in her

hammock swing. I guess the fairies are still around watching out for her.

Re: Re: Nature and Hyperactivity

When my son was little, he would have a strange response to being in the

woods. He seemed very aware of something and never wanted to leave, like he was

really content there. My husband and I used to joke that he was communicating

with the fairies!

Kathy

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I'm always amused when science " proves' something that we all know

is true intuitively or from experience, but I couldn't resist passing

this on because of its importance. Our experience with Chelsey

completely confirms the importance of the earth and water connection

as part of her healing. That is one of the many reasons why living

in some kind of intentional community may be in the future for many

of us...

>

> Jack

>

> ************************

>

> Spending Time with Nature, a Natural Remedy for ADHD

>

> Children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) should

spend some quality time outdoors when they are not in school,

according to a nationwide study.

>

> Researchers observed the positive effects spending time outdoors

had on ADHD patients in different regions of the country.

Participants, ages 5-18, spent time in " green " areas, which varied

from big cities to rural settings. The results indicated a dramatic

reduction in symptoms. Researchers believe that simply incorporating

nature with regular after-school and weekend activities could be

widely effective.

>

> In the United States, ADHD affects one in every 14 children --

which is equivalent to one or two in each classroom. About 2 million

school-aged children and as many as 4 percent of adults experience

the symptoms of ADHD. Those with the neurological disorder usually

have problems in school, work and relationships. They often suffer

from depression and substance abuse.

>

> Researchers recruited the parents of 322 boys and 84 girls, all

diagnosed with ADHD, through ads in major newspapers and the

Internet.

>

> Activities were conducted in a variety of areas, including indoors,

parking lots, downtown areas, tree-lined streets, back yards and

parks.

>

> Researchers then asked parents, through online interviews, how

their children performed during a wide range of activities.

>

> Reports indicated that symptoms were reduced most in green outdoor

settings, even when the same activities were compared across

different settings.

>

> In 56 different comparisons, activities in " green areas " had more

positive responses than activities in other settings. In 54 of the

56, the difference was significant, signaling that the findings were

consistent.

>

> Those involved with the study are excited with the results and hope

they will lead to more research and potential treatment.

>

> While medications for ADHD work for most kids, experts point out

that they are expensive and can have serious side effects, including

loss of appetite and trouble sleeping. Society often places negative

labels upon children with ADHD. Even more disheartening, about 10

percent of ADHD children don't even respond to medication, which is

the most popular form of conventional treatment.

>

> Researchers said that exposing ADHD children to nature is an

affordable, healthy method of controlling symptoms.

>

> They suggest daily doses of " green time " can supplement medications

and other traditional treatments of ADHD.

>

> Spending time in ordinary urban nature -- a tree-lined street, a

green yard or neighborhood park -- may offer additional relief from

ADHD symptoms when medications aren't enough.

>

> Some kids might be able to substitute a " green dose " for their

afternoon pill, making it easier to get a good night's sleep.

>

> Increasing " green time " can be done by:

>

> Choosing a greener route for the walk to school

> Doing classwork or homework outside or at a window with a

relatively green view

> Playing in a green yard or ball field at recess and after school

>

> Science Blog August 28, 2004

>

September 23, 2004

While staying with Albert Enayati's family as the eHg short-version was

being written, I came to know his then 10 yo autistic son Payam. A very

bright, very strong, very energetic, very autistic lad. One day the

family (having heard my laments about nature <g>) took me not too miles

northward from Paramus NJ into a rolling hills, touristy area in NY. I

was content to hike slowly, to experience the full tapestry of the

non-alpine environment. Payam and Albert took a long hike. In the woods

and able to roam, Payam was a different person from the hard-to-control

person he was at home, in a neighborhood. I found myself wondering

thoughts like, Would children like Payam have found a role on a large

ranch? In a pre-conquest Native American community wherein knowing the

locale and wildlife in a large region was important?

A corollarial issue: To what extent is ADHD a socio-political construct?

While at the FraX-etc clinic at TCH in Denver, I saw severe ADHD kids

and see such kids occasionally in libraries, at grocery stores, etc. Yet

I wonder if many individuals with seeming ADHD or ADD would not be so

labeled if western civilization was differently structured, eg, had more

roles for folks who need to move about, ingesting new perceptions

alertly.?.?.?

September 23, 2004

There is at least one book written about this. The thesis is that people

labeled ADHD are actually hunter-gatherers in a world full of farmers. I'll

say it has some merit, without negating the fact that our environment is

also causing this problem, not just showcasing it. It's too complex to nail

on one thing.

I think we're ALL better out of the daily overload of life. Our kids are

simply more sensitive to overstimulation.

My 2¢: All of you at the gathering saw my Ben at his best. I go through a

lot of hassle to take him camping at least once every year. This year, we

got in much more. It's hard to tell he's not NT in that setting. One of my

financial goals is to own land in the country so we can retreat there more

often, and I'll have a place to leave to him in my will.

One more thing, -- we do have roles for ADHD people in this society.

Prisons are full of them, as are the fields of acting, sports, and racing.

The challenge is to find one of the latter and not the former as a career.

I lied. One MORE thing -- my theory is that a vast number of people in

prison are malnourished and/or have metabolic issues like not being able to

release heavy metals. Not as a result of prison, although that's certainly

an exacerbating factor, but as a causal factor in their incarceration. From

malnourished, poor parents who might have drug issues, to low achieving in

school, to a bad reaction to puberty. All these things are intertwined.

Liz

In the woods

> and able to roam, Payam was a different person from the hard-to-control

> person he was at home, in a neighborhood. I found myself wondering

> thoughts like, Would children like Payam have found a role on a large

> ranch? In a pre-conquest Native American community wherein knowing the

> locale and wildlife in a large region was important?

>

> A corollarial issue: To what extent is ADHD a socio-political construct?

> While at the FraX-etc clinic at TCH in Denver, I saw severe ADHD kids

> and see such kids occasionally in libraries, at grocery stores, etc. Yet

> I wonder if many individuals with seeming ADHD or ADD would not be so

> labeled if western civilization was differently structured, eg, had more

> roles for folks who need to move about, ingesting new perceptions

> alertly.?.?.?

>

September 23, 2004

,

Having started working with children in 1946, when television began to cut into

children's time for unstructured experiences in nature, I have had the

opportunity to watch their steady increase in restlessness and inattentiveness

until the " diagnosis " of ADHD became fashionable many years later. I refused to

have television in my home when my biological kids were growing up. They

complained (mildly) then, but are now profusely thankful.

Of course, other factors, such as diet (sugar and wheat particularly), the rise

of instant gratification as an expectation, the increasingly polluted

environment, misguided medical practices, factory--like schools and the absence

of any meaningful experience of Nature for many urban kids contributed to what

we now recognize as an epidemic of ADHD and related patterns.

I have no doubt that this epidemic is a cultural phenomenon. The children are

showing us just how off-balance so called Western " Civilization " has become (at

least the American version). As a group they are crying out that the " Large

Body " is seriously ill.

How do we find our way home? That's the question so many of us are living now.

Jack

Binstock wrote: