Alternative Treatments for ADD

If focusing at school is the main problem, did you know there are self-paced online high schools available? There is a cost, but it is not so exorbitant, and might allow someone with ADD to do the work in small chunks according to his focusing ability...
If this is the problem and you can't find a good treatment, an alternative school of some kind might be another way to go.

Well, I haven't had to deal with ADD but I have had a son with Asperger's. I can tell you that what has helped us has been a strict enforcement of rules. Come home from school, half an hour of down time which includes a snack, then in your room at your desk working on homework with the door closed until dinner time. Yes, you may have music on but low and must have a play list that you have created at a time when you don't have school work, no fussing with music instead of working. No phone, no computer, no tv in the room.
As long as the work gets done should be your concern. If she needs to get up and walk around IN her room but is able to get back to homework, great! Make it known that if she is done with all her homework before dinner then she gets free time after dinner.
Be aware that you are fighting two things at this time, ADD AND a teen in full teen mode! Be patient, be firm (yes I know how hard that is :P) and years from now you will be thankful...and so will she.
Here is a story to give you hope...
My son with Asperger's really had me in knots when he was a teen. We were always butting heads over everything! He is now 23 and in training to be a chef. Well last weekend he called me and told me something wonderful.
"Mom, you know all those years you cranked on me to clean up my room, do dishes and keep things tidy? Well, I finally see why that was important! The students here are real slobs! They don't care about the mess they make. I stood up one day and yelled at them, 'you stupid #$%@ get to work! don't you know that if you don't @##@*%# keep things clean you could get fired in a real job??' they all jumped to it and started cleaning up! What I didn't know was that my instructor was behind me, he pulled me into his office and smiled. He told me that that showed real attention to the work place and he was proud of my attitude...but he also said I couldn't say #$%$# to my peers and employees...Thanks Mom, I see now why you wanted me to learn what you were teaching."

My son will never quite fit in socially but he at least absorbed some of what I was trying to teach him.
That kind of validation is what will make it worthwhile...I promise. =)

Dear L.,
I don't know about alternative treatments, but I have a good friend who really struggled with her son and ADD. That kid literally couldn't focus on his dinner plate in front of him. I was there one day when he and his sister got home from school and she asked him to give her his backpack so she could see what he brought home. He said, "Backpack? What backpack?"
She said, "The one you just walked all the way home with on your back, son."
We laugh about it now, but it really wasn't funny at the time. He's a sweet kid, but he had so much trouble at school and getting him to follow through with the slightest thing was like pulling teeth. She was frustrated out of her mind. She finally agreed to try a medication and it really helped. It was Celexa, if I'm not mistaken. The thing is though, it wasn't a magic pill. She really had to work with him every single day on his listening and focusing skills. If she asked him to bring the laundry basket from his room and wasn't back in two minutes, she had to go in there and remind him because he would be looking for a book on his bookshelf instead. He had to do his homework at the kitchen table where she could see him, TV off, nothing else on the table, only one assignment and one book at a time. He only had x amount of time to complete his work because she needed to be able to cook dinner without distracting him. His teachers really worked with her too. At first, dad wasn't thrilled about any of it and told her all she ever did was ride the kid. And, it probably seemed that way, but she couldn't just do nothing.
His grades really improved, he was able to concentrate on tasks at hand, he had great self esteem, learned lines and participated in school plays. She enrolled him in dance classes, etc. A couple of summers ago, they decided to slowly lower his medication dosages to see how he would do over the summer and he did just fine. He no longer takes it at all, but it took a lot of work to go along with that and that work, and structure, still continues, just not on the same scale.
Focusing is a skill that perhaps some of us take for granted, but it's a skill that can be learned. It takes practice, work, and a lot of patience. My friend's son is doing fantastic after a combo of medication and consistantly working with him every day to first learn to focus on one thing at a time and then learn to prioritize.

It's frustrating, but it can be done, so don't give up!

Best wishes!

I know a great doctor in Redwood City that has had great results. Amazing, compassionate person. Dr. D. Traver. Let me know if you would like his contact information.

If your child didn't respond at all to ADHD medications, then you are likely dealing with a misdiagnosis. While kids all react differently to different medications, you should see improvement (but may not like some side effects). Our son has done absolutely fantastic on his ADHD medication -- thriving at home and at school -- although it took some trial and error to find the right one.

Considering alternative treatments, be very careful and skeptical. Most do not work or solve the ADHD symptoms completely. Do you read ADDitude magazine? It covers the full range of treatment options and they've done some great articles on alternative approaches to managing ADHD. They're very neutral (not pro-meds or anti-meds) and do thorough reporting, so check out their website if you haven't found them already.

Hello Lesie,
As the mother of 5 children all of which have set the example for Curious George. I have been blessed to have 2 with disabilities. My son, was always bright and could hear the teacher while watching the grass grow in the field and could answer questions with the class just not quietly sitting there. We value our children greatly and were able to see a doctor that taught us not to use medication but patience and making sure he was in stimulating classroom situation. The most important thing we did was change our family eatting habits 100%. We started the day with solid proteins and never used processed foods. For example macacaroni and cheese no longer came from a box but I used real cheese and real milk, and he also had us use real butter vs margarine. I would put what ever we were having in the oven or crock pot at bed time and eat it in the morning... so dinner for breakfast and then smaller meals and fruit and vegetables and breakfast foods in the evening. The plus the kitchen was clean early, I learned to cook, and our son over a perios of time was better able to focus. We saw this doctor at Stanford.
I always appreciate his stressing that we didn't want to use medication as a easy way out for the schools and others but do what is best for the child. Good Luck, I hope that you are able to get the help you need. I want to give you the encouragement that my son is a wonderful father, creative and able to do wonderful things in his work choice. Nana Glenda

Check out the Clements Clinic, www.clementsclinic.com. It sorta sounds like the biofeedback, but they actually measure the blood flow in the brain to see where the "hot spots" are. We are going to get our son tested there. I have heard good results from other families.

Hope this helps. I really think each child is different and we have to try all avenues until we find the right one. Hang in there. You are not alone.

My sister gives her son DHA with his ADD meds. I have also heard of diet modification, but you have to cut out a lot of foods to do this. Our son was diagnosed with it (finally) in 2004. He was tough to diagnose because he also has a central auditory processing disorder.
He takes Adderall xr for his ADD and does quite well. It did take us a few visits to get the right level of doseage.

I personally have A.D.D and its been a struggle. I am a mellow A.D.D case however. I have low energy some days and then not so much other days. However, I have tried Adderall XR and a few others and hated the way i felt. I keep trying them hoping it'll get better but I just dont' feel like me so i stop taking them. I then not on purpose decided to lose my baby weight and do this diet/cleanse thing to drop pounds. What I noticed is cutting out my dairy, sugar and all caffeine and a lot of my processed wheats or grains I was GOLDEN. I was focused, on top of things, getting stuff done, had tons of energy and could actually NOT FEEL OVERWHELMED with life which happens to me quite frequently. I know this would be challenging for a teen but I guess what I'd like to convey is cutting sugar and cleaning out the diet a bit could help tremendously...along with maybe running 15-20 mins in the afternoon prior to homework could REALLY help!

try omega fatty acids. they have been very successful for some patients.
good luck!

Hi L.,
You may want to check out Shaklee. They are the number one seller of natural supplements. Products that may help are soy protein, b complex, omegaguard (or Mighty Smart), Gentle Sleep Complex and Energy chews. Everything has a 100% money back guarantee so you don't have to worry about throwing away more money. If you are interested, you can go to http://www.shaklee.net/healthforlife
I can also direct you to more information.
Also, cut out junk food, especially at places like MacDonalds.
Good luck and God bless.
Victoria

I highly recommend the book by Barbara Sher:
Attention Games: 101 Fun, Easy Games That Help Kids Learn To Focus (Paperback)
(I swear I would recommend the book even if the author wasn't my mother!)
http://www.amazon.com/Attention-Games-Easy-Learn-Focus/dp...

"Attention, please! These sensory-rich activities are sensational! They will encourage kids to relate purposefully to others and participate wholeheartedly in the world around them as they focus intentionally on novel experiences and ideas."
—Carol S. Kranowitz, M.A., author of The Out-of-Sync Child

"Barbara Sher's new book Attention Games is just the sort of fresh contribution we need right now in a culture gone mad with labeling kids as 'ADHD.' Her simple games and activities are wonderful for helping kids of all ages focus their attention while learning new things, thinking in new ways, and exploring the world around them."
—Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., author of The Myth of the A.D.D. Child

martial arts, cut out sugar... sometimes gifted bored kids look ADD too

http://www.amenclinics.com/

Best site ever.
Here are a couple of specific links: http://www.amenclinics.com/brain-science/spect-image-gall...

Best book ever on ADD, including alternative treatments.
http://www.amenclinics.com/store/index.php?main_page=prod...

The website also has a free ADD test which will help you figure out what you need to do for your son. Good stuff!

This information was invaluable to me when learning how to manage my husband who has ADD.

I don't have any first-hand experience but I would see if Dr David Perlmutter's books have anything that you can try that you haven't already. (Here's a little introductory article: http://www.healthcastle.com/adhd_diet.shtml )

Best to your and your family!