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TM helping students with ADHD in the Caribbean The problem of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is on the rise throughout the world. Many doctors and researchers think that this problem is directly related to the sharp increase of sensory stimulus created by increasing TV watching and computer use. Other researchers are correlating the alarming growth rate of stress and anxiety among children with the alarming increase in the incidence of this debilitating disorder. According to NBC News, ADHD is a behavior condition that now affects from 4 percent to 12 percent of U.S. children. ADHD is characterized by the inability to focus, listen, and complete tasks and schoolwork. Many children are medicated to control the condition with negative side-effects. TM has been found to help children with ADHD Research in 2011 conducted by Dr. Sarina Grosswald and Dr. Fred Travis on students with learning disabilities in Washington, DC found that the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique significantly improved brain functioning and decreased the symptoms of ADHD. Now schools in the Caribbean are beginning to utilize the TM technique to help students with ADHD. Dr. Lucia John, the director of the TM program on the island of Dominica, has been teaching the TM technique to students in several town around the island. The children who have learned the TM technique can focus better in school, are much better behaved, do their homework with greater ease, and have more success in their study for tests, according to their teachers. Parents also report that their children are noticeably more settled in their demeanor—that they are experiencing an increase of inner contentment, improved sleep, less anxiety, and better health. In early January the school in the Kalinago Indian Territory, invited Dr. John to begin teaching TM to students in their villages. These native people are “Carib” Indians, the original inhabitants of the island. Unfortunately, through the island’s different colonial periods, like so many other First Nation peoples, they came almost to extinction. They now live in villages in a section of Dominica call the Carib Territory. So far Dr. John has instructed an initial group of 17 children along with their teacher in the Transcendental Meditation technique—with remarkable results. Now many more students, teachers and parents are eagerly waiting to also be able to learn the TM technique. Donations are needed to help Dr. John complete the instruction of the more than 200 children and parents in Dominica who have applied for the ADHD project. Those wishing to contribute can donate for this project through The Seeds of Heaven Foundation. Donations to Seeds of Heaven are tax deductible for those living in the US. Those not needing a tax deduction may also contact Dr. Lucia John directly by email at ljohn@tm.org for further information and instructions on how to donate. Dr. John’s TM initiative in Dominica is serving as a model for the whole Caribbean.
© Copyright 2013 Maharishi Foundation USA
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