Seeking Ways to Help an 8 Yr Old Girl Focus

Hi A. F.,
I was interested in responding because I have an 8 yr. old son who would have great difficulty focusing had I not discovered years ago that gluten and dairy were a big problem for him. My older son is also gluten and dairy intolerant and focus the problem that shows up when he has gluten or dairy. Have you considered looking at foods as one possible source? My 8-yr. old son, once he got older, was able to express that his stomach doesn't feel so great when he has dairy or gluten.
I hope you find something that works for you and your child. I know it is a struggle. Let me know if I can support you further.
Love,
L. L.

Have you asked about her diet? I have been hearing a lot about how certain foods can have a significant affect on a child's behavior and ability to focus. I have no training in behavior or mental illness, but it seems that the recent news about autism and diet makes sense. Perhaps this is another option to consider for your 8 year-old.

Try The reading program EYE Q. You can probably find it online. It really helped with my son.
The phone number is - 1-888-463-6463

What kind of reinforcements are you using and what is the schedule for reinforcement? Despite that she has selective mutism, does she communicate likes/dislikes? The key is getting her involved in things that interest her, and therefore force her attention to be given to the task. (I'm a certified social worker with kids who are mentally retarded and dually diagnosed...I do a lot of work with behavior management and communication skills...)

A.,
My grandson had focus problems until he started to drink more water. My friend Marylou's son Liam also had focus problems until he started drinking more water.
Too many sugar drinks, or just too much sugar in the diet altogether. We managed to avoid the "diagnosis" route by improving the focus across the board. I work with a Holistic Researcher who can help you with this. Let me know and I will put you in touch with him. My email is: ____@____.com
Best of luck to you
D. K

Have you tried any occuptaional therapy exercises? Sometimes, when I find a child having a hard time keeping focused because of extra stimuli around the room I have the child stand up and start jumping up and down for a minute or 2. This will sometimes get them focused on the subject before them because this exercise strengthen the cerabellum of the brain. Try it, can't hurt! If you see some sort of change, you may want to research more exercises.

I hope I was helpful.
Have a GREAT day!!

I have no expertise in this field but my husband is a Shaklee independent distributor and has seen lots of cases of ADD helped with simple nuturitial changes. So I imagine that if ADD can be helped, then so can her focus. I'd suggest making sure that she gets a whole food sourced multivitamin every day (not one with synthetic ingrediants like most of the vitamins out there). And that she make sure she had adequate protein intake throughout the day. Maybe even specifically just before you meet. It's amazing what a difference just those two things can do. Plus it could help her health in general.
If you want any more info on this feel free to send me a message.