Jerusalem-----May 16......A new, educational video has been produced by Jason Alster for those suffering from ADHD.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD.The principal characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

These symptoms appear early in a child's life. Because many normal children may have these symptoms, but at a low level, or the symptoms may be caused by another disorder, it is important that the child receive a thorough examination and appropriate diagnosis by a well-qualified professional.

Symptoms of ADHD will appear over the course of many months, often with the symptoms of impulsiveness and hyperactivity preceding those of inattention, which may not emerge for a year or more. Different symptoms may appear in different settings, depending on the demands the situation may pose for the child's self-control. A child who "can't sit still" or is otherwise disruptive will be noticeable in school, but the inattentive daydreamer may be overlooked. The impulsive child who acts before thinking may be considered just a "discipline problem," while the child who is passive or sluggish may be viewed as merely unmotivated. Yet both may have different types of ADHD.

The video named: Being in Control: Natural Solutions For ADHD Dyslexia and Test Anxiety - is a self-help video which offers a natural approach in addressing ADHD. Jason Alster, an American neurophysiologist, operates the Center for Biofeedback and Psychophysiology in Israel and believes that in many cases ADHD has its roots in behavior and physiology. As such, he's created an ADHD program that offers Ritalin alternatives by teaching children relaxation and focusing techniques to help them alter their behavior, improve their concentration and teach them coping skills.

Alster's ADHD video is based on natural techniques that he's employed successfully in his Israel clinic, which have helped him normalise ADHD by at least fifty five percent of the time without medications and ninety percent of the time in conjunction with decreasing doses of medication.

Jason Alster's techniques are also effective for children with dyslexia.
"Being in Control: Natural Solutions For ADHD Dyslexia and Test Anxiety" is produced with children, parents and teachers in mind. Divided into four parts, it starts by detailing the personal and social challenges that ADHD children face.

Since the book helps the child identify with his feelings, it will capture his attention from the start. In a fun and engaging way, Alster illustrates the importance of proper nutrition and offers relaxation and focusing techniques that will help the child become more attuned to his senses, the natural world and his position in space and time.

The relaxation techniques are creative and include several projects and activities that a child and parent or teacher can make or do together. The end result is a personal relaxation tool, which is a powerful concrete and symbolic way to give responsibility for self-control back to the child.

Alster offers tips in a "roadmap" format for overcoming tense moments between friends, keeping a tidy room, creating a personal space, managing time, increasing reading speed and comprehension, improving handwriting, passing exams and more. Although this video is geared to children with ADHD and other learning disabilities, the strategies will prove helpful for any child. Perhaps most important, Alster's strategies return the locus of self-control to the child and give him skills that he will use to face challenges throughout his life.

The Jason Alster ADHD video portrays topics for improving relaxed concentration for the classroom and when preparing homework. Included are techniques for increasing self confidence, relaxed concentration, seated yoga, creativity, time management, organisation of material, sensory integration - using our senses to relax and focus, biofeedback, games, better cursive handwriting, speed reading and test taking strategies and more.

An objective physiological measure of ADHD has been elusive. However, research by Jason Alster, who holds a M.Sc, has shown that when an ADHD person tries to sit still, do a boring task, or concentrate - they actually enter stress as measured by electro dermal activity.

Measuring electron flow in a circuit the body operates largely by a series of electrical impulses which have been shown to follow certain pathways and measure changes in the electrical resistance or the ability of the tissue to conduct electricity. This marker is positive in the majority of ADD clients tested. Then GSR biofeedback may be used to improve the stress result. A protocol using this valid objective physiological marker has just been published in a video: "Guide for GSR Biofeedback Techniques for the Natural ADHD Practitioner".

The GSR is labile and increases in amplitude when the ADHD child tries to sit quietly and is more labile during the eyes closed condition. In some instances- the GSR in ADHD is stable - however, will not return to baseline after prompted with a mild stimulus like noise. This shows that ADHD or trying to sit quietly and concentrate is a stressor for him or her ( not unlike "disorientation" in dyslexics when tring to read). It proposes that relaxation techniques and self regulation techniques will help ADHD. It adds that neurobiofeedback is not necessarily the best choice in helping ADHD rather GSR or multimodality biofeedback may be adequate for many cases of ADHD.

This is a viable, objective, physiological test of concentration for ADHD that only takes ten minutes to perform. The test is good for children as well as adults. The measure may then be used to match a personal technique protocol to the client depending on what helps improve the GSR lability.

Many ADHD clients upon producing a stable GSR will claim when asked that this is the first time ever they felt what relaxation and concentration is. This may be compared to someone not having ever tasted an orange. You can't describe it to them. However, once they taste it they know what it feels like. So too with the sense of relaxation, focus in ADHD. When asked to compare this sensation with the sensation of ADHD medication - the majority of ADHD people will say that this sensation is better than medication and medication does not " feel well" even though it helps them concentrate .

This illustrates that medication like Ritalin has a different mode of action working to help ADHD than "au-natural." The relaxation and concentration response is natural and lacking in most people with ADHD. This response might have been lacking at birth or was compromised with an unbalancing childhood medical problem (ENT-sleep-gastric problem -operation).

However, once re-learned or acquired - the ADHD person can re-produce this "sensation" upon need. Like learning art or music, some are born with it but all can learn to be artists or musicians with the proper instruction. This objective physiological test is easy to replicate with sensitive and graphic GSR biofeedback equipment .

Once upon a time in 7th grade Jason's teacher surmised that Jason would always be a B+ student. From that day forward Jason though that regardless of motivation some students were born smarter than others and would always get higher grades. No matter how much he studied he did not usually get grades above B+. How some students always achieved high grades in school was a mystery to him, and Jason loved a good mystery.

Then, when working on his Master's degree research paper in medical sciences, Jason won a prestigious research award. He then wanted to turn a negative into a positive and began a journey to search how he can help other students succeed in school and get high grades too. He turned this into his profession. Psychophysiologist, ADHD coach, Biofeedback practitioner - he witnessed a 17 year old complete reading a book for the first time, an athlete with ADHD win a trophy, a student with grades of 50 achieve the highest grades in his class, a dysgraphic write nicely; an A+ student get over his anxiety attacks before exams and more!

With over 300 clients experience, Jason wants to help even more students succeed in school and made a video about his techniques to share with others.

"I began treating children with ADD quite unexpectedly in 1991," says Jason. "I had been a biofeedback therapist as part of an anxiety clinic in a mental day care setting in Tel Aviv, Israel. I had absolutely no experience in treating children but was doing quite well with adults suffering from stress disorders and teenagers who had test anxiety and social phobias. The biofeedback clinic had just opened and each type of patient was a new experience. With my medical technological training in neuro-electrodiagnostics and sleep and wake disorders, I was more into the neurological and psycho - physiological disorders while a child psychologist working with me wanted to try biofeedback on ADD. Then he had said that there was no treatment for this poorly understood syndrome. The only remedy was Ritalin although reports about EEG (electroencephalogram) biofeedback and Joel Lubar's research with Neurofeedback were just coming out."

Alster continues: "At first I used EMG (testing muscle tension) then over time found that GSR (electrodermal resistance) was better and easier to use. At the time there were no studies of GSR biofeedback for ADHD. After starting to treat a handful of children with biofeedback the psychologist I was working with had to leave the unit and I had to take over his patients. All I knew then about ADHD was from a television program showing a hyperactive child literally jump off the walls and I worried about what this child would do to my biofeedback equipment! I had absolutely no knowledge of learning disorders either. I mention this lack of knowledge for a reason. I had to begin treating ADHD without a prior predisposition to what was written in the literature."

"I had to see for myself what worked, and fast," said Alster. "On my very first ADD patient I performed a regular biofeedback stress baseline for anxiety. That is, I hooked the child up to galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensors, muscle and peripheral temperature monitors, but not EEG. I had to start to treat ADD with what I knew and that is how to treat stress and anxiety. I was lucky. My very first patient's baseline EMG (electromyogram or muscle activity potential good for measuring stress) showed that the more she sat quietly the EMG gained in amplitude. That is, sitting quietly was stressful for her. I tried relaxation training and she improved her baseline in just 6 sessions and began to do better both at home and in school. This was not supposed to happen. Biofeedback in ADHD was supposed to be a stubborn neurological problem that takes 60 sessions to treat."

Alster continues: "In my readings at the time, a number of avenues were being pursued in the treatment of ADD. Some of these were nutritional, sensory integration, guided imagery, art therapy, natural meditation, yoga, Bach flower remedies, homeopathy, chiropractic, and the use of aromatic oils. In biofeedback, animated computer games were being introduced. I decided I could use each method and observe its effectiveness. I could develop an integrated and holistic approach. I could match the method to each child individually. One of the first things that I found that can cause the GSR to become stable in ADHD children and adults is holding a soft or smooth stone in your hand. Who would ever expect that this piece of nature could compete with Ritalin? But it does. I got this idea from the worry stones and beads of the Middle East."

Professional reviews of Alster's work have begun to pour in.

"I would like to congratulate Jason for putting out his new ADHD CD with relaxation techniques that are geared to children with ADHD but are great for everybody. I viewed the CD and recommend it for all families," says Israel child psychologist Sara Silber.

"We live under such daily stress that these techniques are essential for keeping our equilibrium, even more so for children with additional stress factors and their parents and siblings. I regularly use the techniques myself as well as conveying them to my clients. Regular use of the techniques will enhance the quality of your life, improve your emotional state, and enhance attention. Keep up the good work, Jason."

Jason Alster wants to coordinate ADHD workshops to train facilitators in his methods. Alster feels that any practitioner with an existing qualification, such as teachers, social workers, psychologists, classroom assistants and so forth could easily learn, employ and devolve his methods and these would be beneficial to any children that were struggling with ADHD, Dyslexia and other learning disorders.

Jason Alster will be in the USA for lectures from July and may be reached at jasonalster@gmail.com.

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