It's no secret that child and adolescent stress are associated with learning and behavioral difficulties in school.(1-7) Parents and educators sometimes assume that discipline, counseling or pharmaceuticals are the best ways to address these issues.
Yet the benefits to be gained from attention to basic tools of alternative health care like holistic nutrition and stress management are often overlooked.
We help parents help their kids use natural methods to absorb and retain information so they can perform academically. We make sure that students have natural stress management tools at their fingertips that they can use in test situations.
Scientific research and clinical experience show that these safe and simple interventions reduce stress and improve kids' school performance.(8-23) Modern diets can have too much of some nutrients and not nearly enough of others. This can upset the endocrine system, particularly the parts of that system that control the body's stress responses. The stress that results accumulates and impairs higher cognitive function. In cases like this the person suffering from the diet-driven stress, not understanding the true source of their unease, sometimes projects that stress onto someone or something in the world around them. This can fuel aggressive acting out behavior in some, oppositional behavior in others, and depression in still others.
We're here to educate parents, teachers and school administrators all about natural, calming, brain enhancing techniques. Our free parent workshops and school in-service trainings explain how stress makes it hard for kids to learn and behave, how food's changed, and what anyone can safely begin to do to address these issues. The HELP Program itself provides seminars, coaching and a structured, supportive environment in which parents and educators learn how to put the HELP toolkit into action.
Watch the video below to learn more.
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(2) Hurt, H., Malmu, E., Brodsky, N.L., et al. 2001. Exposure to violence: psychological and academic correlates in child witnesses. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 155(12):1351-6.
(3) Haines, M., Stansfeld, S., Job, R., et al. 2001. A follow-up study of effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on child stress responses and cognition. Int J Epidemiol. 30(4):839-45.
(4) Lindahl, M., Theorell, T., Lindblad., F. 2005. Test performance and self-esteem in relation to experienced stress in Swedish sixth and ninth graders--saliva cortisol levels and psychological reactions to demands. Acta Paediatr. 94(4):489-95.
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(6) Delaney-Black, V., Covington, C., Ondersma, S.J., et al. 2002. Violence exposure, trauma, and IQ and/or reading deficits among urban children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 156(3):280-5.
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(9) Schoenthaler, S., Bier, I.D. 2000. The effect of vitamin-mineral supplementation on juvenile delinquency among American schoolchildren: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 6(1):7-17.
(10) Van Stuijvenberg, M.E., Kvalsvig, J.D., et al. 1999. Effect of iron-, iodine-, and beta-carotene-fortified biscuits on the micronutrient status of primary school children: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 69(3):497-503.
(11) Halterman, J.s., Kaczorowski, J.M., et al. 2001. Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. 107(6):1381-6.
(12) Bryan, J., Osendarp, S., Hughes, D. 2004. Nutrients for cognitive development in school-aged children. Nutr Rev. 62(8):295-306.
(13) Zaleha, M.I., Hayaati, A.R., et al. 2003. Micronutrients and its correlation with mental performance among schoolchildren in Bario, Sarawak: a preliminary study. Med J Malaysia. 58(3):309-19.
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(16) Diego, M.A., Field, T. et al. 2002. Aggressive adolescents benefit from massage therapy. Adolescence. 37(147):597-607.
(17) Khilnani, S., Field, T. et al. 2003. Massage therapy improves mood and behavior of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Adolescence. 38(152):623-38.
(18) Field, T.M., Quintino, O., et al. 1998. Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder benefit from massage therapy. Adolescence. 33(129):103-8.
(19) Escalona, A., Field, T. et al. 2001. Brief report: improvements in the behavior of children with autism following massage therapy. J Autisim Dev Disord. 31(5):513-6.
(20) Escalona, A., Field. T. et al. 2001. Behavior problem preschool children benefit from massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care. 161:1-5.
(21) Hart. S., Field, T. et al. 1998. Preschoolers' cognitive performance improves following massage. Early Child Development and Care 143:59-64.
(22) St. John, J. 1987. Acupressure in a school environment for handicapped children. Am J Acupuncture. 15(3):227-232.
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