6 Year Old Boy/ ADHD

My son was diagnosted in kindergarten as well. I guess I was lucky to have a pediatrician that believes in home remodeies instead of medication so when he prescribed vyvance for my son I did not question him. They have websites and phone numbers to help you understand the product and your child as well.( www.adhd.emedtv.com/vyvanse/vyvance.html )this should help answer alot off question and my son does so much better in and out of school and his health is alot better, also try to see about a chiropractic that helped alot to, his dose is alot less than what it was in the begining.

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V.,

I know someone who can help you and it is all done naturally. Her website is northtexasdynamichealth.com. Information how to contact her office is on her website. She is quite successful getting positive results therefore it can take 2-3 months to get in as a new client. However, if you call them to get on the schedule they may be able to tell you some things you can do in the meantime in order for your child to remain drug-free.

TS

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Hi- I am the mother of 3 boys, my first is now 20. We had the same problems with him at a young age and we also have had problems with my now 6 year old. Get the book "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp, MD. We treated our son without drugs and just managed his diet cutting out anything with high fructose corn syrup and red dyes. Try it, you might be surprised by the results.

Good Luck
L.

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let me tell you my success story about using medication...

i was conflicted on what to do with my son. once he started kinder, i noticed he was, not wild, but really chatty. he couldnt use self control. he was constantly being in trouble for just being social. his grades were good but i thought they could be better if he could just behave. i was told to go to the dr to see if he had adhd or something. then on to first grade. same thing. he had good grades but he was just super chatty and a bit uncontrolable. i thought it was because he was so smart that he was bored and you know what happens when kids get bored. they start playing with the things in the desk and chatting and etc. second grade was a real eye opener. his behavior was uncontrollablle and the teacher that year was horrible. she gave up on him and made me feel like my child was beyond repair. this summer, i was refferred to a dr that would not just put him on adhd medication if he didnt need it. there were extensive studies on my child with lots of paperwork for me and my husband to do. after that whole day being in the dr office, we found out he was truely adhd. the testing was not bad, because the dr made it fun for him. we started on 18 mg concerta, i felt it was not enough so next month we tried 36mg and the next month we are now on 54mg. i could definately tell a diffrence. what a blessing it is to have found a dr to work with. if he was not adhd, she would have told us no and it was a dicipline problem. she would not have given us medicine, instead help us create a dicipline rutine and work with us on behavior. i asked about herbal things like fish oil pills but said that it really wasnt effective. i did not want my son to be a zombie with these meds. it has worked out awesome and my baby is now in 3rd grade and brought home a report card with all a's!! he still gets a little chatty but it is not as bad as he was! let me know if you are interested in a dr and i can refer you. i think i heard her say she takes all insurance.

good luck to ya!!

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I am an occupational therapist who works with children with the same problems. Alot of the wiggling in his seat and being easily distracted comes from the fact that his body is "craving" movement and pressure more than other children. Unfortunately, as he seeks this at inapproriate times, it is mistaken as bad behavior which he is punished for, which then leads to aggressive and "acting out" behaviors. At home, make sure to give him lots of activities that will prvide this movement and pressure for his body in fun ways (making a sandwich out of him with pillows or cushions, walking on his hands as you hold his ankles, deep hugs, pushing and pulling activities...) In therapy terms, this is called a sensory diet. Hopefully, being consistent with this will allow your son to focus more and decrease his aggression. Feel free to consult an occupational therapist if you have questions!

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I'd try to do a lot before starting meds.

Take the kid to the doctor and get a physical. Eliminate any medical condition. Then talk to the doctor and see what he/she says.

Next -- take him out and let him run. Wear the kid out. Many boys have a lot of energy and no where to get rid of it.

Second, he might be grieving about break-up and can't express it.

He needs to learn how to express anger properly. I suggest that you teach your kids when they are mad or upset to take a pillow and scream into it or hit it until they are tired. Make a game out of it. Let everyone take turns seeing how loud they can scream into the pillow or how hard they can hit it.
Develop a code-word for the family (let the kids pick it) that signals that child needs a chance to get alone and calm down.

My daugher used to get overstimulated and not be able to calm down. I used to have to sit her down and stand directly in front of her and hold her arms and say "BREATHE" and we would take 10 deep breaths together. Sometimes it worked.

At night, I'd use sleepy time tea and some bedtime music (there are many classical cds for sale) and read her a book then rub her back until she could finally calm down. I also tried LAVENDAR oil and put some on a small facecloth (very soft one that she chose) and let her breath that in.

When we had "monsters" I made a "magical" potion and let her keep it by the bed to "eliminate" any bad monsters. It was made with some lavendar and other essential oils and was diluted so it could not hurt the furniture. She sprayed it everywhere. She kept it by the bed.

I tried anything that anyone suggested. She still has trouble falling to sleep and she still drinks sleepy time tes and listens to classical music.

Try to avoid processed foods. Encourage him to let lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Many people think that the dyes in our processed food cause probelms.

Also, sugar in our processed food may contribute to his high energy.

Ask him what he needs in order to concentrate.

He might need something and can't tell you what it is. Make sure each child gets some special "mommy" time alone without the other kids. It might be one hour but that is HIS time and the other kids cann't come into the room. Then you do what HE wants for 1 hour. Do it for all kids. Then learn to take turns. It can be something silly like hot chocolate. My daughter loved to make "special potions" of many kids of liquid soap for her bath. It was cheap and easy and it ended bathtime fighting because she used her "potion" and no one else could.

To get her to eat, I began to let her season the food before we cooked it. She got to choose what we added or did not add. She really could season food -- even at 4! Again, it stopped fighting at mealtime.

Perhaps he needs a signal or a word that only the teacher and he knows that says "wow! calm down". Then he might feel special if he has a secret with the teacher.

Many of my daughter's teachers wanted her medicated.

Finally her 4th grade teacher said take her off all meds and I'll work with her. The teacher was wonderful and taught my daughter how to work with her disability. This teacher had problems when she was in school and she was able to perform miracles.

My daughter eventually developed a way to study that worked for her. She had to sit on her bed with the t.v. going and all the lights on in her room with the door closed. Since she was making A's I learned to trust what she needed. I don't know how it worked but somehow it made her be able to study for school.

One temp. teacher in high school joked about my daughter to the entire class that she had a learning disability! I had just gotten out of the hospital from having surgery and looked like hell and I ran to the school. I was livid! My daughter was soooo happy that I showed up and she just hugged me for soooo long. That was all she needed and I never had a bit of trouble with the temp. again.

She's now in college and she still complains about having trouble studying.

After we had my daughter tested, my ex-husband went on medication and he began to read books. I never saw him read a book in the 15 years we were married. He has been on medication for years and he said it truly changed his life. He never knew that he had a problem!

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I just started reading this book "Healing the Childhood Epidemics" by Dr. Bock and it addresses biomedical ways to treat ADHD (and ADD, Autism, Allergies and Asthma! Yes, they're all related!). I highly recommend reading this.
My son's been on a gluten-free/casein-free diet for over a year as well as going to acupuncture and taking supplements (Glutathione, Melatonin, Omega 3s, and chinese herbs from the acupuncturist). He was recently diagnosed with Sensory Integration disorder, so he's also in OT, and it seems like everything together is really helping. I think you have to approach these things from many angles. Best of luck to you and your son!

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A medicine that I highly recommend is Strattera, it is a non-stimulant drug. It has done great wonders for my daughter who is 9 years old and has been dealing with ADHD since she was 6 years old. We tried many herbal medicines before I finally took her to the doctor because I was afraid she was going to turn into a zombie child, but he understood my fears and I love the decision to give her this medicine. We have never had to change her medicine, the only thing we had to change was her dosage amount. But as your child gains weight as with any medicine the dosage will have to go up. I promise you will be so happy with this medicine.

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Hello,

I am a Speech Pathologist specializing in Dyslexia. AD/HD coexsists with dyslexia about 1/2 the time, so I have researched some about it. A Developmental Peditrician in Lubbock recommended a natural supplement you can buy at your health food store. It is Attend or Focus Factor. You HAVE to also give a Kid flavored Fish Oil to make it effective. I've had quite a few clients take it and it has made some good improvement. Go to www.brightsolutions to read research on ad/hd. Great website. L.

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Good morning V.,

We have run across a mineral/vitamin supplement which has helped our grandchild. It is called Vemma. Our grandson was having the same problem but since we have given him one ounce of Vemma every day he is now able to focus and concentrate better. His behavior is calmer. He is actually able to sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time. Let me know if you would like more information you can look it up at www.vemma.com.

a grandmother,
T.

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Fish Oil for children can be found in a health food store. Google it and you can read all about it. It works wonders for my 6 year old boy in kinder. His teacher said he was one of the calmest boys in the class...which is NOT my ADHD child!

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We have a 6yo boy who has been on meds for a year now and it is wonderful to have him be able to focus and attend. We started out by talking with our pediatrician about his attention problem. He suggested going through the public school system (all testing is free and required if you ask). Once we learned that he did have a learning disability we took him to a wonderful neurologist who tested him and was able to give a correct diagnosis of ADHD. We initially didn't want to do the meds either. We spoke with my mother in law who has a PHD and has worked with children with disabilities. After speaking with everyone and hearing from all the professionals that he did have a disability we chose to put him on meds. Our neurologist put him on Focalin which is supposed to be the closest to an herbal med there is. It was beyond words what this did for our beautiful, extremely intelligent boy. Within one day of being on the med it was a huge turnaround for him. This was a child who could not attend to most anything in Kinder and was at risk in all subjects halfway through the year. Every teacher who came in contact with him throughout the day was overwhelmed by the change in him. We kept it a secret the first few days from all but his homeroom teacher. We wanted a true reaction from all the others. Within the last year we have been on 3 different meds because it does take time to find just the right one for your child and the correct dosage. We are now on one that is working wonders and couldn't be happier. He's in 1st this year and only at risk in 2 subjects, both to do with reading. However, he is improving every day and we have no doubts he will continue. It's a painfully hard decision to put your child on meds when you really don't want to, but, here is a piece of advice we heard from all the professionals we talked with. He will not reach HIS full potential unless he can attend to learn the things he needs to. He cannot attend if he does not recieve help. I'm not saying meds are the correct thing for your son, I'm saying ask the people you trust who know about this and listen to them. Then listen to your heart and go from there.
I wish you lots of luck and patience with this.

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I taught kindergarten and found that problems with aggression and concentration tended to be motivational. Does he like his teacher? Is he happy? Does he act this way with you or someone he really loves to be around? Just a thought. Maybe, too, it could be an activity-level thing. Is he getting enough exercise? Try to change what you can about his environment...

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