Vitamin pills are plus for children (From Stroud News and Journal)

Vitamin pills are plus for children

CHILDREN at a Stroud special school are due to be put on a course of fish oil pills after trials found that they improved pupils' behaviour and concentration.

Teachers at Amberley Ridge school, which cares for pupils with emotional and behavioural problems, found the five students put on the 'eye q' vitamin supplement were better behaved and less disruptive than before.

Impressed by the results, the school is now trying out a three-month supply of eye q, a combination of fish oil and evening primrose oil, for all 36 pupils.

Kelly Wicks, head of care at Amberley Ridge, said: "We did a trial last year with five children to see if there was any significant difference and as it happened there was.

"We give children points each day for their behaviour and we found that the average point score for these children went up when they were taking it. When they stopped taking it the point score went down.

"We are going to put them all on it because we think it is improving their concentration. We have heard good reports from parents too.

"Our children have more problems trying to learn so we are willing to try anything that can help them in any way.

"To see the difference with the children we have is quite dramatic."

The fatty acids provided in supplements like eye q are thought to play a role in the development of vision, co-ordination, learning ability, memory and concentration.

Ground-breaking trials of eye q in County Durham showed the behaviour of those taking the supplement had significantly improved and 40 per cent of the group had made dramatic improvements in reading and spelling.

The eye q supplement is made by Equazen Nutraceuticals. For more information visit www.equazen.com