ADHD News: Will the Brits Ban Green Tic Tacs?

If you've read much about hyperactive, impulsive, can't focus kids--those kids we call ADHD--you've probably run across information suggesting that artificial coloring and artificial flavors can cause this annoying behavior. Or at least make the behavior worse.

Behavior that gets in the way of learning. Gets in the way of positive social skills.

For some kids, simply making sure they don't eat anything with artificial color (not that such is an easy task), takes care of hyperactivity.

Now British Scientists are suggesting that at least one third of all kids diagnosed with ADHD really have an "allergy" to artificial colors and not ADHD. And they're putting pressure on the British Food Standards Agency to force manufacturers to stop using these chemicals.

Two groups of children showed changes in behavior when given the artificial coloring during controlled trials. The kids couldn't sit still and concentrate. Had problems reading and became loud and impulsive. (Don't know if enough kids took part in the trials to make the results statistically significant. And not sure how they came up with "one third.")

Jim Stevenson, a researcher at the University of Southampton, even suggests that banning artificial colors will also help reduce anti-social behavior in teens.

The British now have some 900 "foods" that contain artificial coloring, like green Tic Tacs. How many "foods" in the U.S.? Lots. Glad I don't have to count them! I'm not sure I'm even up to counting how many in my cupboard.

So read the labels. Check out what's in that "food" your kids are gobbling. What's in the "food" you're snacking on right this minute as you read this blog post!

Uh, oh. I just looked at the label on a lollipop I got at the bank. ( I refuse to bank at any institution that doesn't have bowls of lollipops on the counter.) Sure enough, found the dreaded words "artificially flavored" right there on the cellophane wrapper. Doesn't say "artificial color" but I'm sure it's not natural!

MaryJo

P.S. Interested in exactly how psychiatrists and psychologists make an ADHD diagnosis? Check out the DSM-IV Criteria for ADHD. (Scroll to the bottom of that page.)

Then ask yourself couldn't a child answer "yes" to six or more of the questions and have artificial color and flavor "allergies" instead of ADHD?

ADHD in 1955

First: I've got a big announcement! My new totally free weekly "ADHD Answers Now" telechat starts Tuesday night, April 29. The first one's called: "The Calm after the Storm," and I'll be giving you three quick, effective tricks for helping kids down--even helping you calm down.

So go sign up right now. You'll get handouts, web audio, and its FREE. But you do need to register since I can only take so many people on the call before the conference bridge line cuts us off.

I’ve been thinking about ADHD when I was a kid. How those of us “diagnosed” with the “disorder” as adults managed to get through school in the 1950s and early 60s? What did our families and teachers do right?

So back in the dark ages of my childhood, nobody had heard of ADHD? No stimulant drugs, no ADHD TeleChats, no ADHD forums or chat rooms, no support groups, no help for teachers or parents, no Brain Gym.

But, don’t let the experts fool you. ADHD did exist, I know cause I had it!

Impulsive, hyperactive kid who couldn’t focus. Poor coordination. A total dunce in arithmetic. Forget anything so advanced they called it “math.”

Here’s what parents and teachers did—and funny thing, it’s exactly what the ADHD books and the experts, and the “Managing ADHD” TeleChat are telling us to do today to help ADHD kids.


For starters the world moved more slowly and a lot less stimulation. So ADHD kids didn’t get quite as overwhelmed quite as quickly. We lived with boundaries, routines, and schedules. And at my house, the routine was pretty extreme!

We watched less TV. Ate less sugar and junk food. Took piano lessons. Had music and PE in school and fewer outside activities. Got more sleep. Weren’t allowed to skip breakfast EVER.

And talk about exercise. I walked . . . and walked and walked everyday.

That’s when I wasn’t riding my bike or roller skating--a primitive form of roller blading requiring a skate key and done without so much as a knee pad or a helmet. (I still have a scar on my left knee from roller skating.)

For me with ADHD, I wouldn’t have made it through school without the boundaries, routines, schedules, music, walking, bike riding, and skating.

Although I never did get the math stuff. However, there’s hope now for math illiterates. A program called Cog Med. More about that in the next post.

Don’t get me wrong here. There’s plenty of stuff they botched up big time in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. But that’s another story which I don’t think I’ll bother telling.

MaryJo

P.S. And another reminder about the next TeleChat coming up soon: "They're Driving Me Crazy: How to Manage ADHD at Home and in School. Starts Thursday, May 1 to help you help these ADHD kids and keep your sanity.

Includes discussion of dozens of non-drug strategies from how to raise dopamine levels to Brain Breaks for classrooms, from TV tips to standing desks. Check out the whole list of topics covered at http://www.adhdchildrentoday.com/telechats.htm

ADHD Trick: Left Up, Right Down, Leg Around, and Nod

Try this: Draw a triangle with one hand and two squares with the other hand while tracing a circle on the floor with one leg and nodding your head twice forward, then twice backwards. Switch hands and legs.

Helps you pay attention and organize tasks and desks. (Well, I don't know about desks. Mine is still a mess.)

On the other hand I don't quite have this exercise down. I get the two hands doing something different at the same time but somehow I can't get the leg part down without stopping one or both hands. And forget the nodding! Practice makes perfect they say. Maybe I'll be able to do it next week.

You're using a Zaltsman Exercise to improve your attention and organizational abilities. You'll find all ten of them toward the bottom of the article section at ADHDChildrenToday Of course there's more than ten once kids get the hang of it and start making up their own. Fun and challenging.

When Edward Hallowell, M.D. needed a personal trainer, he hired Simon Zaltsman, a world-class Russian athlete who moved to the U.S. as an adult.

Zaltsman showed Hallowell the exercises. Zaltsman said the exercises were commonly used in Russia to help improve athletic performance. The Russians have long known that mental acuity is linked to physical well-being. Hallowell discovered, difficult as the exercises may be at first, that they help with ADHD.

Ned Hallowell, by the way, is my favorite "how to manage ADHD" author and has ADHD himself. Says he still struggles with reading even though he graduated from Harvard and then went on to Tulane Medical School. I recommend his book Delivered from Distraction which he co-authored with John Ratey.

For kids, try the exercises with music, with colored markers, standing up at the white board. Out on the playground in soft sand.

You can always start with Brain Gym's Double Doodle. It's a similar concept but much easier. Using both hands simultaneously, draw a picture or design in which the left side is the mirror image of the right side.

Once you've mastered Double Doodle, you can progress to patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. Then you're really ready for Zaltsman.

MaryJo

P.S. Get lots more tips 'n tricks with a free subscription to ADHD NewsTips

ADHD or Too Much Chocolate Cake

My favorite chocolate cake--not pictured here although this one looks pretty scrumptious--has a whopping 3 cups of sugar, not including the frosting.

Just writing about it makes me swoon! (It's the Southern Georgia Chocolate Pound Cake from a 1967 issue of "Gourmet Magazine.")

Email me at mjw@mjwagner.com and I'll send you the recipe! And then if you're worried about protein, I'll also send you the recipe I picked up at a health fair for a chocolate cake made with garbanzo beans and a skimpy 1/2 cup of sugar.

Given it's nutritional value, the garbanzo bean cake is actually quite good. And there's no reason you need to tell anyone about the garbanzo beans!

Sinfully rich or protein-packed nutritious? Your choice. Just let me know what you want. Yes, you can have both recipes.

BTW, dark chocolate's actually good for you but that's for another post. And speaking of chocolate, Milton Hershey, himself, was said to have ADHD. Or did he just eat too much of his own company's candy for a sugar high?

Talk about ADHD rambling, lets get to the point here. After all this isn't a chocolate cake recipe exchange blog or a story about Milton Hershey.

Too much sugar causes hyperactivity and insomnia. A child can end up with the ADHD label simply from eating too much sugar every single day. Although scientists are slow to "prove" this, nearly every teacher and parent I know attests to having kids who're hyped up on sugar.

Take my grandkids. There we were happily making a 3-D cookie Christmas tree. Lots of fun and lots of sugar. Making it look like a "real" tree involved FOUR tubes of ghastly green icing.

Each kid had to have their own tube of green gunk to use for decorating--the cookies, the table, their grandmother, and themselves. And then making it look like a "real" Christmas tree involved several small jars of sprinkles, red hots, and other sugary miniatures.

Finally to get the cookies to stay stacked on top of each in some form that vaguely resembled a tree involved using more of the green gunk--sugar-rich edible glue.

I'm here to tell you that eating a chunk of tree caused not a little hyperactivity! (Just between us, the thing wasn't nearly yummy enough to sacrifice calm or calories.)

Sugar's everywhere. Not just in candy, soft drinks, cake, and cookies. It’s also in most cereal, several brands of yogurt, some bread, muffins—just about anything that comes in a box or a carton. And kids are eating way too much of it. (As are their parents, grandparents, and teachers.)

Don't be fooled by the health food section at your grocery store. Plenty of sugar in lots of stuff called health food or organic or natural. And beware: high sugar often substitutes for low fat.

So what’s a parent to do? What’s a teacher to plan for party or snack time?

Read the label! Teach kids how to read the label. Make a label-reading game. A contest. Who can find the cereal at the grocery store that has the least amount of sugar? Or the cereal that has sugar closest to the bottom of the list of ingredients.

If sugar is first or second in the list of ingredients, it’s too much sugar.

And teach kids all those sneaky sugar words like glucose and sucrose. If it ends in “os” or “ol,” it’s probably sugar. I thought I knew all the code words for sugar until I found the list of no less than 30 sugar words.

Now ask yourself: Does this child have ADHD or is it an ongoing sugar high?

MaryJo

P.S. And yes, the grandkids also devoured a garbanzo bean chocolate cake. So kids will eat something that's good for them as long as you don't call it broccoli.

P.P. S. Looking for a bunch of tips to tame ADHD--from Brain Gym to nutrition, from what to sit on to computer games that help ADHD? Subscribe to the ADHD NewsTips. They're free.

They're brain boosters that benefit kids who don't have ADHD--and you too. You'll get a short, use-it-right-now tip every 3 days in email for a whole year. That's 156 tips for taming ADHD!

ADHD: Geniuses, Millionaires, and Presidents

We may whine and complain about ADHD. Wish our kids didn't have it. And look for ways to get over it.

But, a lot of ADHD folks have been fabulously successful. The most famous is Einstein himself!


Then we've got other geniuses like Mozart and Leonardo da Vinci.

How about millionaires? Bill Gates has ADHD and so did John D. Rockefeller.

Five U.S. presidents, including John F. Kenney and Abraham Lincoln, got elected and governed well despite ADHD.

Some football players, basketball players and baseball players played ball extraordinarily well with ADHD: Terry Bradshaw, Magic Johnson, and even Babe Ruth join the list.

Tom Cruise, Walt Disney, Danny Glover, Steven Spielberg and Robin Williams in Hollywood all have ADHD.

Telephones, airplanes, and light bulbs were all invented by ADHDers.

And some famous guys had ADHD so badly they did poorly in school (or at least got bored with it). Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. Thomas Edison's teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything. Einstein couldn't talk until he was four. Werner von Braun, the famous rocket scientist, flunked 9th grade algebra.

Lots more successful folks appear on the famous ADHDers list.

And what ADD qualitities did these ADHDers take advantage of? Creativity, outside the box thinking, persistence, ability to hyperfocus on a passion, intuition, and thriving on chaos.

So the next time you're feeling blue about ADHD or a kid in your class is driving you crazy or your child's having trouble in school, just remember that ADHD isn't all bad!

MaryJo

P.S. And speaking of ADHD, the ADHD TeleChat with oodles of strategies for helping at home and in school is still available. Even includes some Brain Gym for taming ADHD. If you've missed the first couple calls, you can listen to the audio recordings on the web and pick up the rest on the phone.

ADHD: Gift or Curse?

As an expert in ADHD and someone who reads everything she can get her hands on about ADHD, I often run into the hardline approach. Either we need to "fix" ADHD kids, if not punish them, or we need to celebrate their genius. Give me a break. Isn't it a bit of both? Can't we reach a middle ground here?


As a person afflicted with ADHD--way better now than years ago but , as you can see, still suffering from "ADHD Desk"--I can tell you first hand, I didn't need to be punished. But I certainly appreciated every tool I could get my hands on the would "fix" it. A+ to Brain Gym for helping me. (Although the Brain Gym philosophy certain isn't about "fixing" anything.)

The self-esteem stuff never made me feel better. "Oh, MaryJo, you have such potential. You're
so wonderful."

Really? So how come I was just an hour late to a presentation? Got nothing done today because I couldn't focus? Couldn't find a speech outline because of the piles and piles on my desk? These things sure didn't feel wonderful, much less demonstrate potential.

And I'm certainly not a genius, an Indigo child elder, Crystal child elder, hunter-farmer, or any of these other feel good, raise self-esteem interpretations we've put out there for ADHD. Maybe ADHD kids are Indigo children or Crystal children, or have IQs of 170. And I'm not against raising self-esteem--my own and those of the children around us.

High self-esteem's essential, but without real tools, effective strategies, and "how-to's," those of us with ADHD, Indigo or not, would still be floundering around. Adults who can't hold down a job. Talk about low self-esteem.

Hold down a job? Good grief, some days in my past ADHD life, I couldn't go to the grocery store and come home with what was on my list, much less do it in less than a couple hours. Now tell me that wandering around the grocery store for hours, unable to focus, was fun, a sign of genius, something to celebrate? It was a real pain that wasted tons of time. Drove me and those around me crazy.

And how about kids who can't settle down long enough in school to learn to read? Can't control the impulse to hit another kid . . . every day, several times a day?

Admit it--these kids drive all of us crazy. Are they wonderful and loveable and deserve the very best? You bet. But deserving the best means stopping the "feel good" chatter long enough to give them real tools to change their brain patterns . . . without drugs. Now that raises self esteem.

O.K. enough of my soap box. Funny how passionate we can be when the subject's our own "stuff." (Yes, I was one of those ADHDers who did well in school. But by graduate school, what a struggle! I just kept at it. Lots of us ADHDers have ridiculous amounts of persistence! And that's a real gift.)

So if you, or a teacher or parent you know, are looking for dozens of non-drug ADHD tools and strategies (from an expert and somebody who's been there), it's not too late to sign up for the four 90-minute sessions ADHD TeleChat.

It's called "They're Driving Me Crazy: How to Manage ADHD at Home and in School," and comes with listen-at-your-convenience web audio recordings or every call. (Yes, teachers can get university credit for salary upgrade and recertification credit.)

MaryJo

P.S. And you can get free email ADHD NewsTips too.

ADHD, Ritalin, and the Feds

O.K. so I've been gone for awhile. Sorry. But there's good news and a reason for my absence: ADHD Children Today is up and running. Yahoo! (Wouldn't say the kids in the picture are ADHD, but they're sure multi-tasking!)

Now, I hope you'll excuse me for just a bit of shamelss self-promotion which I know I shouldn't be doing on my blog. But I'm just too excited about the ADD Kids stuff to keep from telling you all about it. Then I promise to get to the news about the Food and Drug Administration's warning about ADHD stimulant drugs.

You can subscribe to ADHD NewsTips for free--and the tips are really for all kids, even adults, not just ADHD. You'll get quick, easy, use 'em right now, tips that help kids focus and parents and teachers relax!

And there's a packed-full-of-great-information-and-strategies TeleChat that's part of ADHD Children Today too. It's called "They're Driving Me Crazy: How to Manage ADHD at Home and in School." And yes, a bit of Brain Gym in the TeleChat. Go ahead and check it out.

The website, the NewsTips, and the TeleChat are drug-free. No Ritalin.

I took Ritalin once for a few weeks. Interesting experience. And I certainly could focus like never before. I didn't like how it felt. So even though I wanted to stop being so ADHDish, somehow I knew taking such a powerful drug couldn't be good for me in the long run. I stopped taking Ritalin.

Then in 2005 Steven Nissen, M.D., a cardiologist, became alarmed at the number of heart-related problems and even deaths associated with stimulant drugs prescribed for ADHD. He presented his findings to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the FDA considered a black box warning on all prescriptions.

The FDA eventually decided against a black box warning, much to the disappointment of many who felt that such was warranted.

However, in 2007 the FDA did direct drug manufacturers to notify children's parents in writing of the possibility of serious side effects of these drugs, particularly cardiovascular and psychiatric problems. The FDA lists 15 of these drugs including Adderal, Ritalin, Concerta, and Strattera.

You can read or listen to my article and the FDA's list of concerns and side effects for Ritalin in the April Brain Boosters for Your Kids Newsletter

MaryJo

Maybe No Child Left Behind isn't a Failure After All

Don't want to forget to remind you that I've got a spot open for you in tonight's Brain Gym Basics TeleChat. Learn to lower stress, stop procastinating, and stay on track.

Was looking for a location for the June, Colorado Springs, Brain Gym class this morning and thought of my friend Debbie. Wondered if her school might be interested in playing host.

Since two teachers come free in exchange for the room, figured it could be a win/win. When her school email bounced, I gave her a ring.

Now she's working with Success for All, a reading and math program used in more than 1,500 schools around the country. And was delighted to find that a teacher she's working with in a North Dakota classroom was doing Brain Gym with the kids too.

The program's not cheap, 75,000 to initiate and $10,000 a year to keep it going. But what a success it's been. Principals at Title I schools have said it's worth every penny. Because Success for All meets the Federal requirements of Reading First (a requirement of No Child Left Behind), grant funding is available.

The Seattle Times reports that it's common to find students reading all the time and loving it! And school officials are loving it too since they've seen a boost in test scores.

At Minnie H. School in North Dakota, only 23 percent of the kids read at grade level. After implementing Success for All, one amazed 1st grade teacher reported an entire class reading at grade level.

In the Bronx, PS 65 became the 5th most improved school in NYC after using both reading component and Math Wings of this remarkable program.

Success for All backs up their claim with the numbers, including state by state by state statistics.

To improve reading, Success for All includes programs emphasizing intense and immediate intervention, language development, family literacy, helping struggling readers, building phonics skills and reading comprehension. And works to coordinate family, community, and school resources.

What makes Success for All work? It's teacher and whole school training and committment plus persistence. Same thing that makes Brain Gym work.

When a teacher or a parent tells me Brain Gym doesn't work, I ask "How often do you do Brain Gym with the kids?" Invariably the answer is "Oh, we tried it a couple of times."

A couple of times just doesn't do it--whether it's Success for All or Brain Gym. And I vote for using both programs! Success for All is the curriculum, the motivation, the involvement. Brain Gym gets the brain moving to work efficiently and quickly.

With all the negative press about No Child Left Behind--even in this blog--it's exciting to report on the success of Success for All. I love being wrong when something that helps kids works after all--if even just some of the time.

MaryJo

Whaddya Mean They Can't Find New York?

A couple days ago we had a discussion about driving to Fort Worth, Texas from our house in Marble, located in the mountains of Western Colorado.

A guy Eric works with suggested going over to Utah and then to Texas.

Huh? Drive west to go east. Only airplane pilots do that! Not long ago, our son was routed to Cleveland from Denver by way of Phoenix!

Somebody else came up with going south into New Mexico and then east. But thanks to snow and avalanche danger, the mountain passes south from Marble were closed.

I suggested Denver and across Kansas on I-70 to Wichita and then south through Oklahoma into Texas. Now I don't know for sure if that's really the most efficient, but MapQuest agreed with me.

We may have figured out how to drive to Texas, but unhappily kids don't seem to know much geography. A 2002 National Geographic study discovered that only half of the young people polled between ages 18-24 could find New York on a map. Six out of ten couldn't find Iraq.

And eleven percent couldn't find the U.S. on a map!

However, geography's having a real come back. Traveler IQ Challenge boasts 1.6 million games installed on FaceBook. Although the Challenge starts out with something simple like "Find London," it progresses to more difficult places like Ashkabat, Turkmenistan.

Talk about a Brain Booster!
Especially since the game
bases your score
on the speed with
which you found Ashkabat.

To help kids advance to Traveler
IQ Challenge, start them out
with fun online geography games

National Geographic also has games for kids Schools can register to take part in the National Geographic's GeoBee And kids
can play GeoBee even if their school isn't registered. Of course
you can play too.

MaryJo

P.S. Have you listened yet to the free 60-minute Introduction to Brain Gym? Downloaded the free 17-page handout complete with a personal action plan? What're you waiting for?

So What do the Finns know about Brain Boosters?

Finnish teens waste time online in chat rooms and downloading music. They rebel by dying their hair black. No different than the teens I know.

So why do Finnish kids score higher in science and math than U.S. kids do? Way higher. The US isn't even in the top ten!

Now it certainly isn't because our kids are dumb! They're just as smart as Finnish kids. Or any other kids who are scoring higher in math and science.

Fanny Salo, whose picture here appeared in the "Wall Street Journal," attends Norsii School in Jyvaskyla. She loves to shop for clothes, read "Gossip Girl" books, and watch "Desparate Housewives" on TV. Nothing out of sync here.

They don't do more homework. They don't start reading at 3. In fact, they don't start school till age 7--a year later than most U.S. kids. TV and video games aren't banned.

But kids play more. And kids read more. When a baby is born, her parents get a gift pack that includes a child's picture book. Libraries are in shopping malls. If you can't get to the mall, a book bus will come to your remote area.

And kids become independent at an earlier age. The Finns don't hover over their children. Kids walk to school in near darkness. Pick their own lunch. No internet filter in the school library.

And kids are taught at the youngest age possible to put on their own skates and skiis. Obviously this indicates that kids are outdoors playing and moving, even in cold winter weather.

What's the message for us? Kids need more playing, reading, and moving. And we need to foster more independence.

Tomorrow: Find out what the Finnish schools are like and how teachers teach.

MaryJo

P.S. Of course, Brain Gym involves playing and moving and certainly helps with making reading easier. Learn a couple of Brain Gym exercises that you can use immediately. Be sure to download the 17-page handout first.

"High School Musical" a Brain Booster?

“What do they want for Christmas?” I asked. “

Oh anything about “High School Musical,” Stephen replied.

“High School what? They’re just little girls. Cari’s only in 2nd grade.”

“Hey Mom, get with it. 'High School Musical' is the thing.”

So off I went shopping. Sure enough, Stephen was right. I soon found "High School Musical" DVD’s, CD’s, dance mats, bed room lamps, sleep-over bags. You name it and you can get it with the HS Musical theme. HS Musical was everywhere—even in the grocery store.

Finally decided on a HS Musical interactive DVD for 4th grader, Abby and a HS Musical dance mat for Cari. I still didn’t have a clue.

So a couple weeks ago at the video store, Eric said “Let’s rent “High School Musical” and see what all the fuss is about. In case you’re not any savvier than we were, turns out HS Musical, filmed in Utah, is a Disney take-off on “Grease” minus John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

A bit hair-brained and not quite as sophisticated as "Grease," but certainly tame enough. HSM 2 struck me as sillier than HSM 1 but then I’m not a 2nd grader. It's been described as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet except everyone lives happily ever after.

The good news is all that dancing. And that’s what the kids are loving. That’s what the dance mat is all about. So is “High School Musical” a Brain Booster? You bet. Doesn’t get any better than dancing, and the dancing in HS Musical rocks.

Now even more curious, I had to Google "High School Musical" and check it out in Wikipedia Seems HS Musical was one of the most successful Disney channel movies—7.7 million viewers in the U.S. saw the premier. Reached best selling album status in 2006.

And in the U.K, HSM got 1.2 million viewers during the first week. In 2006, "High School Musical" was the most watched programs for the Disney Channel in the U.K.

There’s an ice tour and "High School Music 3" is on its way. Disney’s got a winner.

Gabriella, the main character, has her own blog (obviously sponsored by Disney). If you Google, “about High School Musical,” you’ll find chat rooms and online games and even a forum for “I Hate High School Musical.” Plenty that isn't tied to Disney marketing.

At last report, Cari and Abby are learning dance steps thanks to help from the dance mat they got from us. And the little ones, Alison and Andrew, are giving it a try too.

They’re jumping and hopping and crossing the midline like crazy.

Readers of this blog and the Brain Boosters for Your Kids newsletter will remember that any movement which crosses the center mid-line of the body helps increase brain integration between the left and right hemispheres.

Similar in the big picture to Wii Fit that we talked about yesterday. Wii Fit includes dancing and a mat. You can do the High School Musical dance mat with other kids and that's the most fun. (Obviously, you don't need the mat in order to dance since it's one kid at a time on the mat.) Requires digital viewing in order to see those dance steps and you’re moving.

So, I guess, with a bit of a stretch, you could include the “High School Musical” dance mat in the “social network gaming” genre.

That I think the plot is silly, the acting stilted, and the singing dreadful is quite beside the point.

So A+ for “High School Musical”—at least for the HS Musical products that get kids up off the couch and singing and dancing. As for the rest of the products and the online chatter, I’ll pass.

Can't imagine, though, that HS Musical would interest kids much beyond 4th grade, maybe the rare, unsophisticated 5th grader. I'm sure the Ohio grandkids, just a bit older than the NH kids, are saying things like "Yuk, 'High School Musical' is for babies."

Parents, the dance mat is a great toy, inexpensive enough to get a couple of them. And teachers, you can use the CD in your classroom or P.E. class to get the kids not only moving but moving to their favorite music. If you do Brain Gym in your classroom, try a fast HS Musical tune for Cross Crawl.

Meanwhile I’ve been hard at work compiling the “Brain Boosters for Your Kids” ebook and accompanying workbook. I’ve got a self-imposed deadline of two weeks. (Some of you, I’m sure, aren’t holding your breath since you’ll remember this project, in its original incarnation, began months ago and then languished.)

The ebook's got everything from tips and strategies to checklists and quizzes, even a bit of Brain Gym. As the kids say, “Get psyched.”

MaryJo

P.S. Maybe you weren't in the dark about "High School Musical," but you're still wondering what Brain Gym is all about.

Listen to a 4-minute explanation of Brain Gym or spend a full hour learning about Brain Gym and even a couple of BG movements you can use immediately. It's free. Be sure to download the 17-page full-color set of handouts before you click the listen button.

Listen to the 60-minute Intro to BG and get a discount on the next Brain Gym Basics TeleChat starting March 11.

Thoughts: The Greatest Brain Booster of All

So did you watch "The Secret" or buy the book? Did you think lots of thoughts about being rich just like they told you? Did you get rich?

Scads of people followed the directions or thought they were following the directions. Some few got rich. Lots didn't--for all kinds of reasons including emotions.

Although this post isn't about how to get rich (sorry), the bottom line is, just as "The Secret" told us, thoughts do control us.

Even something as simple as me getting up from my computer and going down to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. I don't walk across my home office without thinking about it first--even though I'm certainly not aware that I've planned every move.

It's my brain that says "Hey, how about coffee now." It's my brain that controls my movement from comuter to coffee pot.

This is important stuff for parents, teachers, and kids to know. We all live out our expectations (i.e. thoughts) of ourselves and the expectations that our parents and teachers have of us. Some kids overcome the poor expectations held of them by teachers and parents. Many don't.

So let's look at some mind-control gadgets.

In 2006, scientists at Brown University investigated the "Brain Gate," a sensor implant which allows quadripalegics to direct thoughts to control a computer cursor or robot limb. Superman, Christopher Reeve, used a similar device after he was paralyzed.

The latest is a contraption coming out later this year from a company called Emotive. Kids put a helmet-like thing on their heads to control video games with their thoughts.

Yikes. Now kids don't have to move at all while playing games. Emotive, the company making the $299 headset, will release it later this year. I wouldn't buy this for my grandkids if it were just $29!

Take a look at some videos showing how these devices work.

In the meantime, remind kids that saying over and over again, especially with great passion while moving around, "I know I'm going to flunk this algebra test, I know I'm going to flunk this algebra test" is an excellent predictor of flunking this algebra test!

Often thinking something and verbalizing it is a better predictor than hours and hours of studying--not that studying isn't essential. (I'll give you some proof on this after I get done posting about video games.)

Thoughts accompanied by movement plus strong emotion often equal results. It's why a movement-based learning program like Brain Gym is so effective.

So tomorrow we'll look at Wii Fit. It's the opposite from the thing from Emotive. A video game that requires moving! Gets A+ from me.

MaryJo

P.S. We're down to the wire now but you've still got time to register for Brain Gym Basics TeleChat

ADHD or Creative Parenting?

The creative spirit of entreprenurial parents never ceases to amaze me. Remember "Baby Einstein" when it first came out? (Not that I recommend the "Einstein" videos for babies and toddlers but that's another post.)

Lori Pope has solved the problem of keeping her infant twin sons constantly entertained. Your kids get bored with the gazillion toys they got for birthdays, Christmas, and Chanukah? Can't afford to buy more? Not sure what they might really enjoy? Now you can rent toys from Lori Pope via her company Baby Plays.

At first I thought what a clever, creative idea. It is.

But is it a good thing to give our children a continuing new supply of toys? Does this only make ever-increasing short attention spans even worse What does it teach about patience? Making one's own fun with snowmen, mud pies, pots and pans, and whatever we can find? Do kids risk growing up with an even greater dependence on store-bought external stimuli?

My first guess is that renting toys only adds to our hyperactive ADHD society? Bored? Go out doors and run around. But I haven't tested it so maybe renting toys is a great solution to finding out where a child's interest lies without spending a ton of money.

What do you think? Read the article We'd love to get your comments.

I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you subscribe to the free "Brain Boosters for Your Kids" newsletter. Not sure you want to subscribe? Read the February issue and get plenty of ideas for playing in the snow, how to teach math and science using snow, and even how to do Brain Gym in the snow.

And sign up for the next Brain Gym TeleChat starting Tuesday evening. I've got your spot saved. It's for both teachers and parents. You'll get 100 full-color pages of handouts and the audio to listen to if you miss one of the sessions or want to review.

The TeleChat's worth it just for tips on focusing on some dreaded, boring task and controlling your own stress. And you'll learn all 26 Brain Gym movements to help your kids learn anything quickly and easily. Wish you could tame ADHD? Try Brain Gym. It works.

Teachers, you'll want to watch for tomorrow's post on Project-based learning. Turns out recent research has shown that Project-based Learning can substantially raise test scores.

MaryJo

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