Hi Erica I have 2 Grandchildren with ADD and one is 13 and is doing ok without meds the other is 11 and is Straterra once a day.It took me a long time to go for the meds because some are control drugs and can cause a habit if not watched. strterra is a non control drug. theres also some natural items out there that work well and I have the older one on the natural items.I also have the youngest one going to counseling and it does help him and I.
Erica, while I am not a mom I frequently scan these messages my wife gets. I am a therapist for couples and families. About your kid: I have heard that "Green Walks" are helpful with ADHD people - kids or adults. Try taking him to forests, camping, and big parks and the like for hours or even days if you can. My bet is that we're going to soon be finding out that the absence of consistent green in our modern lives is depriving us of a calming element that our ancestors enjoyed and adapted to for millions of years. Please consider this. Mark Gery
I don't have a child with ADHD but I have seen many patients diagnosed with it at my chiropractors office. My best friend decided to forgo medication as her son was not "that bad" either. She treats him with diet, exercise and chiropractic adjustments. As she put it..."there aren't any side effects to those and I wanted to exhaust every possible avenue before drugs." It seems to be working. He's improved considerably after two years. It's not a magic pill but it works for some. I wish you all the best in this difficult time.
I am not a big fan of the meds. There is much you can do nutritionally. As much as possible stay away from processed foods, sugars, simple carbs-white breads, white rice, pasta, white potatoes. Superfood is really recommended. Superfood is dehydrated greens such as wheatgrass, rye grass, spirulina that you add to a smoothie or juice. Great stuff, everyone should drink it. Spirulina is packed with B vitamins that the body is usually short on when it is stressed and your daughter sounds like she could use it. You can find it in any good health food store, Whole Foods and maybe Trader Joes. In addition to that,believe it or not, chiropractic adjustments can help. I am including the following link with an article on this subject.
http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRACTS/Children_ADD_ADHD...
Yoga is also really great for children with ADHD. Here's a link to just one site, there are many. You can find DVD's to do at home or classes in your area. Yoga helps the mind focus and it can also help build up self esteem. Low self esteem often goes hand in hand with ADHD.
http://www.childrensyoga.com/
Good luck
Hi Erica,
Before you start medicating your son, I'd like to suggest that you try modifying your son's diet to get rid of most, if not all, of the processed, overly processed and sugary foods that he may be eating right now. And try to especially avoid any foods that have any type of artificial colors in it. Those artificial colors are believed to cause hyperactivity in children. You may be the naturally health conscious sort so this advise may not be needed but, just in case you aren't, really start taking a look at the labels on foods your son is eating throughout the day and maybe keeping a diet and behavior diary for a few weeks to see if you can see a correlation between what he's eating and any reactions he may have.
I would also suggest reading the book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Dr. Kenneth Bock. It discusses the role of environmental triggers possibly have in causing the increase the we are seeing ADHD, Allergies, Asthma and Autism currently and what you can do with regard to diet and vitamin and mineral supplementation to help chldren heal whatever is going on with them internally that is causing the symptoms that we see with each of these diasnosis.
Also, with regard to your son's auditory processing disorder, a good speech therapist should be able to help him with this. Our ST used the Lindamood Bell system to work on this issue with him and he seemed to catch on to it pretty quickly. Maybe it will work for your son as well.
Wishing you the best of luck.
Hi Erica,
Check out these links to an interview with psychiatrists and therapists and that they have to say about medication for ADD/ADHD and other "disorders". You will be surprised at what they have to say!
1 Video:
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73SRn1gdAdM
(8-1/2 minutes):
2 Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvCtxaiOGg
(7-1/2 minutes)
3 Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58UZqr3fiZI
(6 minutes)
How is his grades, and did you ask the school for an IEP assistment, ADHD is now considered a disability and in the schools they can modify his lessons so that he can concentrate on them. I am against the meds unless the ADHD is very bad and he or she is failing all classes or coarses in learning,. My son has Cerebral palsy, mild Autism, ADHD plus some, we tried the meds once, he was so out of it that he couldnt be himself, plus the meds lsow the growth rate of kids.. modify his schedele, keep him on a schedule routine cans make a huge difference. Submit a request in writing to his teacher to have an IEP evaluation done, it takes 30 to 45 days must be submitted in writing keep a copy of the letter for you . This way the school has to help its the law.
Good luck
Hi Erica:
Have you looked into the possibility that your child's ADHD may be the result of allergies and may be able to be cured via NAET (Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Techniques)? There are thousands of NAET certified practitioners. I go to Dr. David Karaba in Fullerton.
Best wishes,
Margaret
please use meds only as a last resort. his is so young still and i know a friend who was told her son had adhd and should medicate him and she did not. he is now in the gate program with no behavior issues. good luck.
If it's mild, he may not need medication at all. Explore all your options. We found that Omega3 helps - you can give it to him as a capsule of fish oil or flax see oil. And we found that eliminating sugar & whey products and giving him a higher protein breakfast and a mid morning snack helps.
If he does need meds, Concerta is good.
My son was diagnosed at about 6 - with an extreme case. We tried everything and finally gave in and did the meds. We tried ALL of the meds with different results - insomnia, lethargy, lack of appetite, hypersensitive, overly emotional, upset stomach, headache, etc. We finally ended up on Concerta - it works great with no side effects.
Good luck and God bless!
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Try it if your child has an official diagnosis. Then you’ll have your answer. I don’t understand this fear (and this is not a personal attack but aimed at all those who are questioning whether to give a child medication or not). You have to stop being scared of the medication. If your child were diagnosed with another chitin-cancer? diabetes? whatever and the doctor prescribed mediation, would you be on the internet asking if you should give the medication for those conditions? Of course not. I assume you took your kids in for testing for a reason and if the professional feels a medical trial is in order, do it. Or don’t but question who is at harm while you ponder this question. Doctors don’t prescribe haphazardly. If she/he feels there’s an alternative, she/he should have told you (unless you didn’t mention to them your fear). I realize that this question was asked 7 years ago but I see/hear less concern about adhd and medication. Perhaps doctors are doing a bit more proactive answering of questions/concerns so write down every single one and make an appointment again and ask every single question and if the answer makes sense, stop with the concerns that you are “drugging” your child. If he/she needs it, you are helping him. Oh, and if you are still on-the-fence after peppering the doctor with all your questions, ask him/her what “kindling” is and if you withhold medication, is it possible that your child’s brain will experience it. (it’s when the pathways in the brain that is still developing and is deprived of medications to treat conditions like adhd, burn new pathways that don’t result in a normal reaction).
My husband and I decided to put our son on Concerta, 18 mg. His ability to focus at school has increased and his overall impulsivity has decreased. He still has his days but for now, I think it was a good decision. However, one of the side effects is insomnia and he has trouble falling asleep many nights which is one thing I do not like.