Some children may be put on the recently discussed Feingold diet. The Feingold diet eliminates certain foods with preservatives BHT and BHA, artificial colors and flavorings, and natural salicylates. Children aren't usually put on this diet for a long time; they eventually resume eating certain foods, but the artificial additives are never reinstated in the diet.
Feingold has said he made success with a moderate percentage of children with ADHD, although he received an inordinate amount of publicity because parents often reported dramatic behavior changes and established the Feingold Association, a national network of parents.
**Teacher's Role for the Biophysical Model**
- Making a referral and following up through contacts with the specialists.
- Help monitor the classroom behavior of a child on medication or on a specialized diet.
- Take the initiative to maintain contact with specialists such as physicians.
- Provide parents with materials on the pros and cons of some of the questionable therapies that may not be standard practice in the medical community.
Parents and teachers should be wise to question ANY therapies designed to correct learning and behavior problems that exhibit several of the following characteristics:
1. They a reportedly based on biochemical or neurophysiological theories that are incongruent with current concepts of the central nervous system.
2. They are said to be absolutely harmless.
3. The children with whom they are supposedly effective are a broad, ill-defined group.
4.The studies cited as supportive research are usually anecdotal and testimonial rather than well-controlled experimental studies.
5. The therapies have an emotional appeal, and their detractors are attacked defensively.