ADHD: Can the outdoors be a psychological comfort?

Source: http://margitcrane.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/http-www.yogibo.comblogdoes-yogibo-help-adhd.jpg

Go to any social gathering where there are parents around and more than likely you will hear them bring up their children. Around those talks there are many topics: praise, scholarly achievements, and of course the occasional 'what if' scenario. However, there has always been a hot topic with parents over the past decade, and that has been ADHD. ADHD has always been considered somewhat of a medical mystery, as medical doctors are not quite sure as to how ADHD is developed. Medication is normally prescribed to children/adults with ADHD but some have looked into other alternatives.

I read an excerpt from Last Child in the Woods: "Nature-Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment by Richard Louv, and he proceeds to go in depth of one of these alternatives which is called "nature therapy." "Even without corroborating evidence or institutional help, many parents notice significant changes in their children's stress levels and hyperactivity when they spend time outside." (pg 4 Louv). He supports this claim with a research study done where "they followed participants in an Outward Bound-like wilderness program, which took people into the wilds for up to two weeks." (pg 5 Louv)

Source: http://datumdezign.com/itp/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/tree-canopy.jpg

I have to say that with these claims I am a bit skeptical, but I have seen first hand on what nature has done for one of my family members. Every year, my family up north heads to a small lake town also known as Lake George, which is a nice respite from typical New York suburban life. Lake George is encompassed by tall, sky-scraping mountain peaks, and those peaks surround a large and deep blue oligotrophic lake. My cousin, who has a severe case of autism (which also includes ADHD), takes a swim in this lake and for awhile it seems as if nothing affected him at all. Seeing it first hand unfortunately isn't definitive enough evidence for this therapy to become a medical reality.

Source: http://www.lakegeorgeinfo.com/lakegeorgeuidephoto.JPG

 Louv quoted "'Getting kids out in nature can make a difference.'" (pg 5 Louv) and firmly states that "New studies may offer that proof." (pg 5 Louv). However that may not ring true for every single patient. There is a possibility that not every single child that is revealed to this sort of treatment may have the same results as described by Louv. Some cases that may be in the extreme form may require medication, or even a concoction of both treatments in order for this sort of therapy to possibly have any effect. It sounds as if nature therapy may be some sort of pipe dream but as with any theory it has to undergo a scientific process in order to become a medical reality.