Two-Day Attention and Behavior Program - A Comprehensive Outpatient Protocol Involving Physician, Parent, and Patient

The Block Center is conveniently located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex near DFW International Airport and in the heart of family entertainment.

Accommodations:
Families traveling to the area for the program can receive hotel and transportation information from The Block Center.

The Block Center
1750 Norwood
Hurst, Texas 76054

If you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone at The Block Center, please call 817.280.9933 -- Metro 817.268.3377

The Problem with the ADHD Label
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is officially a psychiatric label. When children are diagnosed with ADHD, they are considered to have a psychiatric disorder. In 1987, ADHD was literally voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM is psychiatry's "billing bible" for diagnosing and assigning insurance-payment codes. The DSM lists psychiatric disorders and the symptoms used to describe the so-called disorders. Psychiatrists write the book and decide what behaviors or groups of behaviors are psychiatric disorders.A group of psychiatrists get together every few years and sit down in a room and talk about various groups of behaviors that they think should be considered psychiatric disorders. Then they vote to include certain groups of behaviors as psychiatric disorders in the next edition of the book with a list of symptoms. Through a simple vote, with no objective means to define this psychiatric label, a new disorder is born and begins to take on a life of its own. ADHD is not a disease, it is a psychiatric label. Within one year of deciding to insert ADHD in the DSM, 500,000 children in the United States were diagnosed with the disorder and today the number is closer to 5 million. A common denominator of these psychiatric disorders is that there is no objective way to define or to diagnose them. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor can objectively measure and diagnose the problem. If you have diabetes, your doctor can objectively measure your blood sugar and give you a diagnosis. There is no way to measure for a psychiatric diagnosis.

Underlying Health Problems
When I was a guest on The Montel Williams Show, there was also a psychiatrist on the show. The psychiatrist was supporting the use of drugs for ADHD and I was discussing the fact that there are many underlying health problems that can cause the same symptoms. On the show, I mentioned that I rarely see a child who has had a physical exam, much less lab work, before being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed mind altering drugs. And then, on national television, the psychiatrist said, "Look, we're psychiatrists. It's a psychiatric diagnosis. Psychiatric diagnoses are based on the history. Psychiatrists don't do physical exams." I know from experience that many doctors don't do physicals exams before prescribing psychiatric drugs so I was glad that this psychiatrist shared this with all who were watching that day. My clinical experience confirms that this is usually what occurs to children who are diagnosed with ADHD. They see a doctor, but the doctor does not do a physical exam or look for any health or learning problems before giving the child an ADHD diagnosis and a prescription drug. This is not how I was taught to practice medicine.

A Note From Dr. Block
I recognize that many children do have problems with their behavior and ability to focus, concentrate and learn. Instead of giving these children a psychiatric label and psychiatric drug, I refer instead to the attention and behavioral problems as symptoms, preferring to look for and treat the true underlying medical and educational causes.

Dr. Block’s Approach

Excerpt from the book, No More ADHD
In my medical education, I was taught to do a complete history and physical exam. I was taught to consider something called a "differential diagnosis." To do this, one must consider all possible underlying causes of the symptoms. After that the physician comes up with a list of the possible reasons for the symptoms. In order to determine which on the list is the real cause of the symptoms, the doctor must then do any lab work or other tests, which can confirm or eliminate each one. Until this process is complete the actual diagnosis is just a guess. Once the cause is discovered, the next step is to treat it.

I prefer to determine if there is a natural way, or some life-style change that can be used whenever possible. But I always tell my patients all their options. This is called informed consent which means that the physician has explained to the patient all of the different options available and the potential risks or side effects of each. If this doctor-patient interaction sounds as if it would take a lot of time, you are right. It does take time. That is why I spend as much as an hour with a new patient. To me this is how medicine should be practiced. It is how I was taught to practice in medical school. Even psychiatrists went to medical school and were taught how to do physical exams.

Dr. Block’s Philosophy
Dr. Block is internationally known for her practical and natural approach to children’s and health and learning. Her philosophy when working with any health care problem is to try to find the underlying cause of the problem and fix it whenever possible.

As an Osteopathic Physician, Dr. Block practices the Osteopathic Philosophy of Medicine that states that the body has an inherent ability to heal itself when you identify and remove the underlying causes of the problem. Following this philosophy, Dr. Block believes in minimal use of medications with an emphasis on the use of natural treatments whenever possible. No doctor can “cure” a patient. Dr. Block’s goal is to educate you so you can continue to work toward good health after you leave The Block Center.