Adhd - Riverside,CA

i would talk to a nutritionist. i subscribe to a health magazine and one reader had a daughter that was having some of the adhd symptoms. she changed her daughters diet, like eliminating sugar and foods with red dye in them and she wrote that she saw an 85% improvement in her daughter. i hope this helps.
T. s

I know a boy whose parents said he had adhd, they enrolled him into karate to help his concentration. It has helped him a lot and he doesn't take medication. Try to find a karate studio that emphasises respect, discipline, and where the teacher has control over the students. The Tang Soo Do karate studio in Santee is very good. I don't know where you live, or if your son is interested in karate, but where ever you go, they should be willing to work with your son.

Has your son's dad ever seen your son while he's on his medication? What convinced my husband with our son is that we met an adult who has ADD and she said she wasn't diagnosed until she was in grad. school. She said she wished she had been diagnosed a lot earlier in life and taken medication. She said the medication just makes things easier for, socially as well as academically. Our son takes medication for his ADHD and it does make a big difference. He takes breaks from it from time to time during school holidays and he after a few days he will ask me if he can start taking it again. He's almost 10 and I think he recognizes that it helps him. Maybe if your son takes medication and he tells his dad that it makes a positive difference his dad might listen. Good luck!

i feel for you except i was the one in denial about the meds. my whole family has adhd including me, i saw what some meds did to my brothers. so naturally i was afraid of putting myself and my 8yr old son on anything, i don't have any advice on how deal without because it was just to hard. homework was the worst time. by the time we finished one page of his homework we were both upset, he was crying and i was really mad and fustrated. getting him medicated has really worked, even his teachers say he is totally different student when he is on them.
your sons dad is probably afraid of how the meds will affect him. most of us had the horror stories that the meds make them like little zombies.
my youngest brother was put on ritilian and turned into a zombie but the ironic thing is that is exactly what my son takes and he is perfectly fine. he can function normally now.
there are ways to deal without meds. the psychologist would know.
sorry i couldn't be of more help, but you should really get your son's dad to reconsider. it would really benefit your son in the long run, especailly in school.
good luck
C.

Check out the Learning Gym in Manhattan Beach, they are doing amazing things..diet and brain gym..etc www.learninggymusa.com hope it helps.

L., i have two 13yr old (not twins) with adhd one is on medication(my daughter), the other is not (his son). I found out on my own that when zoie was younger and medication was not an option we totally changed her diet completely.. We took out all sodas (except caffeine free, sugar free), all regular sugared candy that exceeded 10 grams of sugar per serving.. Put her on a swim team and started her on an instrument.. In the sixth grade we removed her from her ritalin because of her ever changing hormones and the dr suggested we try her without medication... Needless to say her grades jumped ship and she became unbelievably crazed.. She barely fininshed sixth grade. Now she is in the 7th grade and taking focalin, 10mg a day (a very low dose and just once aday).. This is working great.. As for my step son whos real mother doesnt give a rats #$@ about him... Lordy lordy lordy.. When he is with us, we put him on the same diet as the rest of the children and make him active.. That seems to be the only thing that we can do because his own mother is in denial about the test results from his doctor and the complaints and concerns from his teachers... All i can say is just modify his diet, get him active and work on his father... Good luck,

Have to agree. Change his diet, find other ways for him to release his "excitement" Putting them on medication is NOT the answer and only Americans do that! I have done a tremendous amount of research on this topic. Simple explaination: ADHD children/adults are HUNTERS while the rest of us are FARMERS. Hunters have to be sneaky, think fast without worrying about the consequences, make decisions quickly and dont have time to wait around, they dont follow a plan. Farmers, take the time to research, care, patient understand that it all takes time, have a plan.

People are too quick to jump to conclusions with medication. Do your research, medication can enhance the problem and have negative results later in life. It is a quick fix and nothing more. Doctors will tell you medication is right b/c that is how they make money. Classrooms are not set up for "Hunters" only "farmers". I know a lot of people pull their children out of school b/c of being diagnosed as ADHD and homeschool them. They have gotten better results and improved test scores and grades as well. Since you are a stay at home you might want to consider other options.

Its true, Sad to say. America is the only country that diagnoses anyone with ADHD/ADD, I wrote in a previous posting that my brother was diagnosed with ADHD. I talked to everyone and did everything I could to make sure that my brother had other options other than just meds, I talked to a herbalist, and several Nutrisionist and got him on a diet and exsercise that best fits him (You do have to keep a "Diary" of what hes eating and doing in the day, Every little thing helps) Hes changed 100 percent, His grades have drastically improved and hes lost some weight! Tell his father to help you out with it (since it CAN BE a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it considering how much a Life time of medication costs) and to keep up with it too, If theres no change after sticking to it 100%, and only as a last resort, Try the meds. Thats just my opinion.. Best of luck.

I think any time extensive use of medication is involved in your children's life it can be unsettling. Have you tried consulting with a psychologist to go over all options available? Also, there are quite a bit of informative websites online.

I know someone who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and wishes that he had been diagnosed as a child so that he could possibly have avoided a lot of difficulties growing up. He had difficulties with school and peers, relationships, jobs and social aspects. He now takes medication and has noticed a significant improvement in his abililty to slow down and focus.

I am sure, as with everything, there are varying degrees of this condition and what works for some may not work for all. I think the best thing anyone can do is research the subject and consult with medical doctors and psychologists and together come up with a solution that works best for the person involved.

I wish you the best.

Hi L.,
My almost 14yr old was diagnosed as Adhd when he was 6yr old. We tried meds off and on, against his dads wishes. His dad was not in denial, he just didn't like the idea of giving his kid "drugs". As my son has gotten older I don't see the Hyperactivity anymore. The school my son went to last year, in a different state, had a study hall. This helped a lot, he got much better grades b/c of it. He hasn't taken meds for 2 years, his choice. The meds worked when he was younger. Two years ago he started complaining about the meds. He had valid reasons why he didn't want to take the meds anymore, so we stopped. They made him very depressed, he wouldn't talk at all. He would take the meds in the morning and he wouldn't sleep until 4 am the next morning. This year he gets bad grades, but we live in a small town and no study hall. He is passing the 8th grade though. I also am currently looking into alternative therapy. I wish you all the best.
Good Luck
K.