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Feingold cookbook

The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

Dr. Ben Feingold, the pediatrician and allergist who wrote Why Your Child is Hyperactive, is a champion for dietary solutions to manage behavioral issues in children. In 1979, he published The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children. This book was developed on the basis that certain chemicals, such as artificial flavors, and artificial colors and preservatives that are in food can be detrimental to children, causing behavioral issues and interfering with learning ability. Feingold’s argument is that most neurotransmitters that affect mood and learning ability are developed in the gatrointestinal tract, from the foods we ingest. This book offers an alternative to pharmaceutical medication that has garnered successful results for many parents and children over the years, in achieving the goal of reduced hyperactivity in children, and improvements in the ability to focus.

The introduction of many of these “problem chemicals” in our foods began towards the end of Word War II, and Dr. Feingold was the first to notice how these chemicals triggered behavioral and learning issues due to their allergy-inducing properties. Some of the other symptoms Dr. Feingold observed at this time in patients of his were hives, asthma, headaches, stomach issues, urinary issues and nasal congestion.

The main food groups that the Feingold Diet eliminates are: 1) Synthetic (artificial) colors and flavors and preservatives BHT and BHA and 2) Fruits, vegetables and various other types of foods that contain natural salicylates. There are two stages for the diet. First, these two food groups are eliminated. Second, about 4 to 6 weeks later, if the child is responding with positive behavioral changes, food from the second group (salicylate fruits and vegetables) can be slowly re-introduced. But foods from the first group of synthetic flavors, colors and preservatives are not re-introduced at any point.

The Feingold Cookbook brings to light the scientific evidence that indicate diet can affect behavior and learning ability in children, and introduces a list of forbidden foods. And since it can be a challenge for many families to implement the dramatic changes the Feingold Diet requires, The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children offers helpful suggestions for recipes that have been used by families that follow this diet. Today, the Feingold Association has increased the Feingold food list to thousands of acceptable brand names of foods and non-food products.

About the Author

Dr. Ben Feingold is a pediatric allergist who taught pediatrics at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, and then moved to Los Angeles where he practiced pediatrics for 22 years. While in Los Angeles, Dr. Feingold served as chief of pediatrics at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, was an associate in allergy at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, and an attending pediatrician at the Los Angeles County Hospital. His research has been a source of controversy and heavy discussion among certain bodies in government. But much of his research has been of much interest to the U.S. Senate and State of California. Dr. Feingold can be thanked for the removal of certain harmful substances from our food supply, as well as the increased safety in food production around the world.

Feingold’s research led to more research done by others, which suggested in 1980 that artificial food dyes might indeed adversely affect the behavior of children. In 1951, Dr. Feingold married his wife, Helene. Together, they wrote The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children, which was published in 1979, four years after Why Your Child is Hyperactive.

Dr. Feingold was born in Pittsburgh in 1900 and did his undergraduate and medical work at the University of Pittsburgh. He was an intern at Passavant Hospital in Pittsburgh, and then went on to serve as a fellow in pathology at the University of Gottingen in Germany in 1927, followed by a fellowship at the children’s clinic at the University of Vienna from 1928-1929.

Though Feingold is gone, the Feingold Foundation continues his valuable work and research, and you can find more information on their website.

psychotropic drugging Ablechild

The Ritalin Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

Peter R. Breggin, M.D. is an accomplished zealot for the overprescribing and misuse of psychotropic medications, that come as a result of the misdiagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in children.  In the book, Breggin makes a strong case, which he backs up with pharmaceutical research and correspondence files that he has gained access to over the years due to being a medical expert in so many civil and criminal cases involving the drug.  His reputation as a go-to medical expert has pegged Breggin as the “Ralph Nader of Psychiatry.”

This book will give you the most accurate and detailed information about psychotropic drugs prescribed for ADHD, and the information is presented in an easy-to-understand and straightforward manner.  The drugs Breggin addresses that are being overprescribed and misused are Ritalin SR, Adderall XR, Dexedrine, Focalin, Concerta, Metadate ER and Cylert.  Nearly 6 million children are taking one of these drugs, supposedly for ADHD.  Breggin gives details about all the possible side effects and withdrawal symptoms of these medications.  He says that not only do these drugs not help children with their learning and concentration issues, but they can cause other serious physical problems in children.  Breggin also lays out different alternative approaches for treating children with hyperactivity or concentration problems that do not involve psychotropic drugs.

About the Author

Peter R. Bregg, M.D., is a a psychiatrist who is very well known for helping set the stage for modern criticism of psychiatric treatments and psychotropic drugging.  He has promoted so much success in the field of mental health that he has acquired the nickname “conscience of psychiatry.”  HIs reform efforts began in the 1970s, and resulted in almost a complete cease in the use of procedures like lobotomy and psychosurgery in the Western World.   Then in the 1990s, he and his wife Ginger were able to stop a federal eugenics project that was planned on America’s inner-city children.  You can find more details about this in the book he co-authored with Ginger, The War Against Children of Color.

Breggin has been a full-time consultant at NIMH, as well as for the FAA.  He has published over 20 books and numerous scientific articles.  Some of his books include Toxic Psychiatry, The Antidepressant Factbook, and Talking Back to Prozac.  His latest book is Covid-19 and the Global Predators: We are the Prey.  Dr. Breggin is also the founder and director of The Center for the Study of Emphatic Therapy, Education and Living.  He attended Harvard, and currently resides in Ithaca, NY.  Find out more on his website, www.breggin.com.

Ablechild Ritalin

Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

In this book, author Peter Breggin, M.D., cuts through the shiny propaganda of the psychiatric and pharamaceutical industries, which tell parents that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an epidemic that can be easily solved with the use of psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta.   The reality is, many of these medications are molecularly similar to drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine.  Breggin exposes the harmful side effects that can result from the medications, such as behavioral disorders, growth suppression, neurological tics, agitation, addiction, and psychosis.  He also argues that withdrawal from some of these medications can actually create these supposed chemical “imbalances” and insubordinate behaviors these drugs are prescribed to treat.  Basically, this book is an overall “red pill” to Americans about the true motivations in the psychiatric community behind the diagnosis of ADHD and prescription of psychotropic drugs.

In Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD, Breggin goes into great detail explaining the condition of ADHD, how it is diagnosed, and gives a corporate and economic background on who financially profits from these diagnoses and the prescription of psych0tropic drugs.  The author explains the interactions that take place between the body, mind and environment, that are largely ignored by medical and mental health professionals, which can explain many of the behaviors and symptoms that are misdiagnosed as ADHD.

Breggin calls out the incompetence of medical professionals to properly diagnose physical issues that can cause concentration struggles, such as poor nutrition, neurological impairment and allergies.  He also addresses the myth that mental illness is biologically determined.  The author discusses non-drug alternatives and improvements in school and family life that may instead address these issues more effectively.

About the Author

Peter R. Bregg, M.D., is a a psychiatrist who is very well known for helping set the stage for modern criticism of psychiatric treatments and psychotropic drugging.  He has promoted so much success in the field of mental health that he has acquired the nickname “conscience of psychiatry.”  HIs reform efforts began in the 1970s, and resulted in almost a complete cease in the use of procedures like lobotomy and psychosurgery in the Western World.   Then in the 1990s, he and his wife Ginger were able to stop a federal eugenics project that was planned on America’s inner-city children.  You can find more details about this in the book he co-authored with Ginger, The War Against Children of Color.

Breggin has been a full-time consultant at NIMH, as well as for the FAA.  He has published over 20 books and numerous scientific articles.  Some of his books include Toxic Psychiatry, The Antidepressant Factbook, and Talking Back to Prozac.  His latest book is Covid-19 and the Global Predators: We are the Prey.  Dr. Breggin is also the founder and director of The Center for the Study of Emphatic Therapy, Education and Living.  He attended Harvard, and currently resides in Ithaca, NY.  Find out more on his website, www.breggin.com.

Reviews

Psychiatrist Sharon A. Collins, M.D.:

“I am a mother first and a doctor second… The principles in this book help us as parents to empower our children to be successful in life.”

Ablechild

The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses, is, as the title implies, a work that encourages the spirits of our young people and shines a more positive light on them.  The book also has two subtitles.  The first subtitle, The Truth About Ritalin, ADHD, and other “Disruptive Behavior Disorders” signals that the book really brings a lot of attention to the phenomenon of unrealistically high numbers of children being labeled with these kind of diagnoses, and prescribed potentially dangerous psychiatric medication.  The second subtitle is What to Do When Your Child is Labeled By the Schools.  The book offers a great deal of support for any adult that is caring for and looking to help a child in this type of situation.

This book is divided into three major sections:

Part 1: Recognition and Remembrance

  • Since society distorts the reality regarding the experience of children and schools, we need to recognize this and create a realistic picture of the situation to respond effectively.
  • Addresses the “Biopsychiatry” approach, which has led to the overmedicating of children with psychiatric drugs like Ritalin in the United States.
  • This section works to focus on ideas of who the child truly is and see the schools for what they really are.
  • Remembrance refers to training ourselves to be able to remember who our child truly is, which can be easy to forget in times of heightened stress and when the child is having a hard time emotionally or behaviorally.

Part 2: Information and Action

  • This section focuses on solutions – what action parents can take to help their child.
  • In our flawed society where no one tells us how to be parents, this book guides us on how to respond to these sensitive situations.

Part 3:  On Counseling Children

  • This section is the heart of the book.
  • Does a great job of outlining and unpacking all of the conditioned thinking that has led our society astray.
  • Our society lacks support for both parents and children, and helping your children the way that is outlined in this book is very challenging in our culture today.
  • This section thoroughly examines important topics like fear, shame, crying and anger.
  • The author shares his own personal experiences as a parent.

About the Author

John Breeding, Ph.D., is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience who counsels adults children and families out of his private practice in Austin, Texas, and also around the world.  He is the director of the non-profit organization Wildest Colts Resources, which focuses on helping adults working with young people having a hard time to offer non-drug treatment alternatives.  He is also the director of Texans for Safe Education, a citizens group dedicated to fighting the growing role of psychiatry and psychiatric drugs in schools today.

Dr. Breeding is also experienced in other aspects of psychiatric oppression, including electroshock and psychiatric drugging of elders in nursing homes.  He received his doctorate from the University of Texas.  He has published several other books: Eyes Wide Open: Parenting and Life Mainfestos for the 21st Century, True Nature and Great Misunderstandings (On How We Care for Our Children According to Our Understanding, and Necessity of Madness and Unproductivity: Psychiatric Oppression or Human Transformation.

Reviews

Moira Dolan, M.D. The West News, Fall 1996:

“Are you the parent of a ‘wild colt’? Is your darling child identified as a ‘problem’ in school, or been the target of kindly professionals suggesting Ritalin? If so, you will discover your child in John Breeding’s new book….”

Chris Mercogliano, author of Making it Up as We Go Along, the Story of the Albany Free School and Co-Director of the Free School:

“Authors die for the perfect titles for their work. Well, John Breeding has come up with a doozy here. I wholeheartedly agree with Breeding and share his horror at what we are doing to our society’s wild colts. Breeding elects to focus mainly on today’s most popular designer label for children who don’t fit the mold, “Attention Deficit Disorder.” He emphatically repudiates any and every psychopharmaceutical approach to the behavioral management of children… Breeding knows what he’s talking about. So, parents out there, if the “psychiatric police” show up at your door, there is another way.”

Ablechild

No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

With several million children still being prescribed ADHD drugs such as Ritalin every year, Dr. Mary Ann Block makes the case for why Ritalin (generic name methylphenidate) could be a huge risk to your child’s health.  Block takes an avant-garde approach in No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs, not only questioning the very existence of the ADHD diagnosis, but she outlines safe and more effective drug-free alternative means of treatment.  Block is of the school of thought that you can’t treat the problem until you identify the underlying causes of ADHD, such as hypoglycemia, allergies, environmental factors and hyperthyroidism.  Often, symptoms stemming from issues such as these are misdiagnosed as ADHD.  The book also lists commonly prescribed medications, explains what they are and the potential side effects they can have on children.

Block discusses in the book her belief that children diagnoses with ADHD are usually right-brain dominant in their information processing and learning styles, as well as being more creative than those with left-brain dominant styles.  She explains the need for right-brain dominated children to be offered better accommodations with their learning styles in the school system.  Block presents her arguments with thorough research and actual case histories from her clinic.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Ann Block is a top-selling author on family health, and director of the Block Center.  Her medical approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes of the problem, instead of using drugs to cover the symptoms.  Her other books include No More ADHD, Just Because You’re Depressed, Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause — Fix the Problem, Today I Will Not Die, and The ABC’s of Raising Great Kids.

Dr. Block chairs The Health and Empowerment Committee for the National Foundation of Women Legislators.  She is a State of Texas Family Practice Preceptor and served on the faculty as assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas.  Dr. Block is a regular contributor on TBN and FamilyNet’s Your Health with Dr. Richard Becker, as well as being quoted in magazines, newspapers, radio and TV shows across the country.

ADHD

No More ADHD, 10 Steps to Help Improve Your Child’s Attention and Behavior WITHOUT Drugs

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

From the same top-selling author of Just Because You’re Depressed, Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause — Fix the Problem is a book that thoroughly investigates the truth about the ADHD diagnosis, and helps parents identify their child’s true health and learning problems and find non-pharmaceutical ways to improve these issues.  Block reveals what’s behind the origin of the medical profession’s label of ADHD, question’s the disorder’s medical legitimacy, and shows how children’s attention and behavior symptoms can be the result of real and explainable health and learning problems.

Dr. Block is an outspoken critic of children being diagnosed with ADHD and the dangers of the psychiatric drugs being prescribed to treat children.  She advises parents to make sure their children are thoroughly examined by a medical professional to find underlying medical problems that could be misdiagnosed as a mental disorder.

Dr. Block is a mother who knows from personal experience how the medical system can fail a child. Her daughter became seriously ill following an incorrect diagnosis from doctors and inappropriate use of pharmaceutical drugs.  This compelled her to attend medical school at the age of 39 to save her daughter.  Dr. Block’s perspective as both a parent and a physician should set many parents at ease and give them confidence in her advice in this book.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Ann Block is a licensed osteopathic physician and top-selling author on family health, and director of the Block Center.  Her other books include No More Ritalin, No More Amoxicillin, Today I Will Not Die, and The ABC’s of Raising Great Kids.

Dr. Block chairs The Health and Empowerment Committee for the National Foundation of Women Legislators.  She is a State of Texas Family Practice Preceptor and served on the faculty as assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas.  Dr. Block is a regular contributor on TBN and FamilyNet’s Your Health with Dr. Richard Becker, as well as being quoted in magazines, newspapers, radio and TV shows across the country.

Ablechild

The Myth of the ADHD Child, Revised Edition: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels and Coercion

Written by AbleChild on . Posted in Essential Books.

In response to the rise of ADHD diagnoses and the number of people taking psychoactive medications, The Myth of the ADHD Child: Revised Edition: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels or Coercion really examines the root of where all of these issues are coming from.  Psychologist Dr. Thomas Armstrong addresses what many people believe to be a highly overdiagnosed disorder at the very least, and he even challenges the actual existence of ADHD, based on lack of concrete evidence. He instead explores possible alternatives for dealing with hyperactivity and short attention spans by engaging children’s creativity and vitality, which is often mischanneled.

Armstrong recommends the book be followed along with the guidance of the child’s doctor, and that the parents have an active role in the child’s treatment. Also, the book gives an overview of the history and politics of ADD and ADHD, and Big Pharma’s role in creating such a heavily medicated society. This is the second edition of the book, published 22 years after The Myth of the A.D.D. Child: 50 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels or Coercion.  Since the first book was published 22 years ago, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of people, and children, on psychotropic medication.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas Armstrong has a background in education, and has written a lot of material on parenting and education.  He has also explored mindfulness in the classroom as a way to help children feel calmer and more focused in school, which he wrote about in Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration, Compassion, and Calm.  He also avidly promotes neurodiversity, which is an idea that views people with disabilities as having differences from others, including both challenges and strengths, as opposed to only focusing on the weaknesses of the disabled.  You can learn more in Armstrong’s book The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleash the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain.

Reviews

Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and Success Principles:

“Parents everywhere should read this book, not just those with kids diagnosed with ADHD!  Thomas Armstrong presents a wealth of strategies, ideas, tips and resources that will help parents nurture kids who feel good about themselves, who have skills for coping with life’s challenges, strategies that will help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.  I wholeheartedly recommend The Myth of the ADHD Child.”

Alan Sroufe, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Child Psychology, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota:

“…absolutely essential reading for parents. teachers, and others concerned with children who struggle.  Armstrong provides a lucid and comprehensive response to the tragic overuse of medication for America’s children.  Bursting the myths of an established brain deficit, a single cause, and long-term effectiveness of drugs, Armstrong discusses parental options with compassion.”

Is Parkland Accused Murderer, Nikolas Cruz, Deserving of a Fair Trial?

Written by Able Child on . Posted in Violence.

He stood mute at the arraignment while the Court entered a Not Guilty Plea on his behalf. Nikolas Cruz appeared with his head down, the result of reportedly being heavily drugged. Cruz had been a patient of Henderson Behavioral Health, a contracted mental health vendor of Broward County that received $8.9 million in federal grants two distributions, one in October 2012 and the other in December of 2016.

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Ablechild Board Member Featured Speaker Risperdal-Gynecomastia Litigation

Written by Able Child on . Posted in Interviews, Lawmaking.

Ablechild is pleased to announce that one of its founding board members, Derek Braslow, will be a featured speaker concerning the Risperdal-Gynecomastia litigation at the National Mass Torts Made Perfect Conference in Las Vegas, on October 10, 2014.

Derek has long been an advocate for America’s children and is looking forward to updating some of the nation’s pre-eminent trial attorneys on preparations for the first Risperdal trial, scheduled for November 3, 2014 in Philadelphia.

“Gynecomastia, or the swelling of breast tissue in males,” says Braslow, “can be a devastating consequence of taking Risperdal – especially to young boys going through adolescence.”  “Risperdal was not approved for any indication for children or adolescents until October 2006, and thereafter, only for limited indications in that age group – yet many doctors did and continued to prescribe Risperdal off-label for this age group – without appreciating the actual benefits and risks of this psychotropic drug.”

Risperidone is an “atypical antipsychotic,” so called because these drugs are chemically different from and have different side effects than the older antipsychotic medications. While science does not understand the exact mechanism of Risperidone, it is believed that Risperidone affects the way the brain works by blocking the receptors on some of the brain’s nerves, thus altering communication normally done by chemical neurotransmitters.

Johnson & Johnson received FDA approval for Risperdal (their brand name for Risperidone) in 1993 for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults only. It was later approved in 2006 for irritability associated with autism in children. Despite not being approved for children and adolescents for any indication prior to 2006, it was promoted “off-label” for a variety of mental health conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, sleep difficulties, depression, Tourette syndrome, stuttering, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

In addition to causing Gynecomastia, Risperdal carries the risk of other serious side effects as well, including suicidality, heart failure, stroke, uncontrollable movements, diabetes, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome.

Ablechild couldn’t be more pleased that Derek will be the featured speaker on such an important issues affecting so many of today’s youth.