The Education Blog

18th October, 2021

ADHD Q&A with Sarah Warley

As we continue to mark ADHD Awareness Month this October, we are thrilled to bring you an in-depth Q&A on ADHD from Sarah Warley, Founder of The Key Clinic.

My child has difficulty concentrating, but I’m not sure if they have ADHD?

Finding it hard to sit still and concentrate can be caused by many things – boredom, tiredness and depression, so it is worth looking at the big picture before jumping to the conclusion that your child has ADHD.

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

A diagnosis of ADHD covers a wide range of symptoms, from difficulty focussing and staying on task through to hyperactivity, impulsivity, disruptive behaviours, anger and violent outbursts – all of which are beyond conscious control.

What else can interfere with concentration?

For some children, retained ‘primitive reflexes’ (little immaturities in the nervous system) can make them fidgety, interfering with concentration and causing the eyes to jump when trying to read. This can be corrected by carrying out a Neurodevelopmental exercise programme – doing some specific exercises every day for a few months to get rid of the retained reflexes for good.

Other children find it hard to focus because they have problems in the way in which they hear information, making it hard to follow what the teacher is saying. For example, hypersensitive hearing makes it hard to block out background noises. Other children may be only able to hear certain parts of language clearly, but miss other parts of words, (a bit like being on a mobile phone in an area of poor reception). These problems can be easily corrected with a 10 day course of Key Auditory Therapy.

Is the ADHD brain different?

Yes. Children with ADHD have an imbalance in brain chemicals.

1) Not enough dopamine, a neurotransmitter required for focus/learning, and 2) Too much norepinephrine, an excitatory neurotransmitter resulting in adrenaline overload.

How is it currently treated?

At the moment, stimulant medications are widely used. They work by chemically rebalancing these neurotransmitters. However, they can also have significant long term side effects.

Is there a viable and effective alternative to drugs?

There is now a different way to address these biochemical imbalances without the need to introduce a chemical substance. ‘Nutrient Therapy’ allows us to treat these imbalances using highly targeted supplements, to give the body what it needs to rebalance itself, without the need for drugs. To do this, your child’s biochemistry needs to be tested.

What actually causes ADHD?

The Walsh Institute in the USA studied over 6,000 children with ADHD and found two clear, underlying causes:

75% have too much copper and not enough zinc in their bodies. This is the root cause of the dopamine and norepinephrine imbalance! A simple blood test at The Key Clinic will be able to tell if this is the cause of your child’s ADHD.

30% of those diagnosed with ADHD were found to have an underlying ‘Pyrrole Disorder’ – something which again, alters the biochemistry of the brain and body and tends to run in families. It can lead to more extreme symptoms such as mood swings, chronic anxiety, explosive temper, violent rages, Jekyll and Hyde type behaviours and Oppositional Defiance. A simple urine test at The Key Clinic will accurately diagnose Pyrrole disorder.

How effective is this new drug-free treatment method?

Nutrient Therapy shows impressive results:

80% of children under the age of 14 years show improved behaviour, with more than half ceasing physical violence.

In more severe cases, 91% reporting reduced incidences of physical violence and 58% reporting this had stopped completely.

71% achieved significant improvement in academics (Ref The Walsh Institute 2004 Study of those with ‘severe ADHD’ in a high poverty, inner city school in Chicago).

What would be the first step to getting my child assessed?

Visit The Key Clinic: (www.thekeyclinic.co.uk) or call their London office on 01635 761565 to book in for an Initial Screening Consultation (£175). This takes an hour over Zoom and only the parent or parents need to be present. From here, they will be able to say which assessment(s) your child needs.

If you would like to speak to one of our team about your child’s learning styles and how we can support, or would like to learn more about how you can support young people with ADHD, please get in touch with us here.

Discover more

Marking ADHD Awareness Month: Resources & Top Tips

To mark ADHD Awareness Month this October, take a look at our recommended resources and advice to support you and your family.

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