Nutrient Supplementation and Learning Disabilities
Clinical Reviews
With Comments from Lynn Keegan, RN, PhD, HNC, FAAN
Nutrient Supplementation and Learning Disabilities
Source: Carlton RM, et al. Rational dosages of nutrients have a prolonged effect on learning disabilities. Altern Ther Health Med 2000;6:85-91.
Context: Some reports in the literature indicate that administration of nutrients increased the academic performance of learning-disabled children; other studies found no effect.
Objective: To document the effects of nutrients on learning-disabled children in a controlled study.
Design: Children who improved in the one-year, open-label trial were eligible to enter the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase of the study.
Setting: Subjects (via their parents) were solicited from local newspaper ads in New York state.
Participants: Twenty children met the criteria for being learning disabled; all were from middle class families and had private pediatricians.
Intervention: Each child was given some (but not necessarily all) of the B vitamins and minerals used in this study. The nutrients were administered semi-blinded for the first year; double-blinded in crossover rotations during the second year, and open-label in the ensuing years.
Outcome Measures: At various time points, school-certified psychologists administered psychoeducational tests. School report cards were evaluated at baseline and for all subsequent periods.
Results: Twenty learning-disabled children entered the study, but one dropped out because of nausea. The remaining 19 children showed significant academic and behavioral improvements within weeks or months of open-label treatment with nutrient supplements. Some children gained three to five years in reading comprehension within the first year of treatment; all of the children in special education classes became mainstreamed and their grades rose significantly. Twelve of the children completed the one-year double-blind phase, after which approximately half of the children chose to remain on the nutrients for at least two additional years. For those who discontinued, it took at least one year to begin to see the first indications of decline in academic performance, and another year for their grades to drop significantly. In contrast, for children who remained on nutrients, the gains continued the upward trend; at the end of year 4, the difference in scores between the two groups had reached statistical significance (P < 0.0l).
Conclusion: The overall results of this study tentatively support the concept that learning disabilities may in some cases be a nutrient-responsive disorder.
Comment: This is an exciting study with potentially significant effects for a large number of learning-disabled children. The study’s tight design including a four-year time frame, psychoeducational tests, academic performance, behavioral changes, and laboratory blood chemistries yielded multiple ways of analyzing the data. There were 14 nutrients administered to these children. Once information on the nutrient combination and the results of this investigation are propagated and understood, there is no doubt that both the parents and pediatricians of learning-disabled children will want to try this method to enhance academic performance.
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