INDEPENDENCE -- The ability to focus and tune out distraction
can be challenging for anyone. But for children and adults with
ADHD, it is a daily, frustrating battle. Medication and
behavioral therapy are traditional methods of treatment. Now, an
alternative form of medicine with ancient roots is being used to
ease the symptoms of ADHD. A recent study by the Mayo Clinic
finds that seven and a half percent of all school-age children
are affected by ADHD. And symptoms vary from child to child.
Some may struggle with focus, distractibility, impulsivity,
hyperactivity, or a combination of them. "Western medicine looks
at ADHD as a brain dysfunction, a brain chemistry dysfunction,"
says licensed acupuncturist Allison Bower. "Eastern medicine
looks at ADHD as the organ functions are malfunctioning, then
causing the brain function to be off." Licensed for more than 20
years, Bower sees both children and adults with ADHD, and says
for them acupuncture is a complimentary form of medicine. It
works well in addition to