Adhd - Runnemede,NJ

My son had such severe issues that they wanted to put him on Ritlin when he was 2!!!!!!!! That was back when Ritlin was popular in the 90's. I found with him, that cutting gluten out of his diet made a huge difference. He's almost 18 now and doing great.

Please don't be afraid of drugs. There is such a misnomer around meds and there is no need!

http://www.addrc.org/add-and-loving-it/

Check out the above about the Documentary - ADD & Lovin it-great info on meds and ADD--often on PBS

Driven to Distraction is a great read and CHADD.org is a great resource for kids and parents dealing with ADHD

Also-there is so much negative labeling around ADD-I have it, I'm sure one if not both my kids will/do have it, (to young to know yet). And although some of my issues frustrate me and my family-there are also parts of my personality that I know are there only because I have ADD-like the fact that I can often get by on my charm. Ha. :) Teachers liked me so it helped when I didn't understand something-I could save face by being charming when what I was trying to do was deflect away from the embarrassment of not getting a math problem and being called on in the front of the class.

I'm more intuitive, empathetic, good natured-generally that is all from ADD-and at times I am very creative.

I agree with the others -- diet has no connection to ADHD. It would be super if that happened to be the case, but there's just no link. ADHD is a brain disorder and has to be treated as one.

I second the recommendation to watch ADD and Loving It. Terrific, factual information about ADHD and it's presented in a light way.

I also recommend subscribing to ADDitude magazine and joining CHADD to get access to reliable information about this condition. Look for message boards devoted to ADHD so you can avoid a lot of the "change the diet, remove toxins, try this vitamin" misinformation that doesn't apply to ADHD.

A couple of great books to read are "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention" and "ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table."

Also, keep an open mind about medication. No parent is eager to try it and we all hesitate at first. But medication, combined with therapy, has the absolute best track record in treating this condition. Medication completely transformed our son's life. He went from being out of control and being kicked out of preschool to being pleasant and thriving at home and at school by kindergarten (however, keep in mind medication doesn't work the entire day, so when it's out of their system, you're still dealing with ADHD head-on). It can take some trial and error to find the right medication, but working with a specialist, it's worth the leap of faith to give it a try.

Best of luck to you and your family!

If the diet actually works your son is not ADHD he is just hyper.

I have lived with ADD my whole life. All my kids have ADD. It is genetic. What I can tell you about the drugs is they help. I could have never finished my masters without Adderall. I can tell you it does make a difference in how you think and focus.

My older two took Ritalin until they were in fifth grade, there was no Adderall back then. The Ritalin gave them the chance to focus, to understand how to learn, how to structure. In fifth grade they were offered the chance to prove they didn't needs the meds anymore. They took it and continued to get straight As. In college, like me, my daughter went back to meds, she takes Adderall as well. She will tell you it helps!

Diet might help, but in the same way that diet might help with depression, or bipolar disorder, but it isn't going to fix it. ADHD is a psychological disorder and you need to treat it with that kind of seriousness. My son has ADHD (combined type) and we have found that the medicine does help. The thing is, what he takes is an amphetamine... in a normal person, that is an UPPER... it's a strong stimulant. The fact that it lets HIM focus and be still when he wants to is a testament to the fact that there is something DIFFERENT about his brain.

That said, we do some things to manage his symptoms and make life a little easier for him. No "screen time" during the day (he can choose one screen activity to do after dinner before bath). Structured expectations and schedule. (chore chart, clock in his room, he cleans his room about 4 times a day so it doesn't get overwhelming). We have always limited processed foods (I just don't like junk) but we continue to be cautious about those things.

Still, before medication he couldn't even hold his body still or stop talking for long enough to find out what you wanted him to do, much less get all the way through doing it. Since starting the meds (about 10 months ago) he has had an experience of "focus" and can sometimes manage to approximate that even off of the meds. (for example, we went to WDW and he was off of meds to two of the days. He was high energy... obviously... and easily distracted, but was able to follow the rules and stay with me).

Good luck with this, mama.

T.

For my son who has Aspergers/ADHD, we tried the gluten free diet but it did not help much. We still buy some of the same foods such as quinoa. We added fish oil vitamins(the neurologist agreed this is a good idea). My friend said that caffeine works for her sons and husband but we didn't try it. My son did OK in pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade by having an aide with him full-time to keep him on track and focused. If he was unable to focus in the noisy classroom, she could take him to a quiet room and work with him one-on-one. The school used picture schedules, reward charts, and having him take breaks to do something more physical(such as walk a lap on the track or help deliver heavy copy paper).

Even though the teachers have great strategies for working with him, it's not a cure. He also needs medication to slow down long enough to apply everything he's learned. Halfway through 2nd grade, we finally tried it because my son was being sent to the office multiple times a day. After he took it, it was like someone turned down his volume- no more constant talking, humming, singing, etc. He was able to spend more time in the classroom and quickly caught up in math.
However, the side effects are as bad as we feared. He has stomach aches, no appetite, weight loss, and trouble sleeping. So we do not give him the medication on weekends or during the summer. We tried adjusting to a lower dose, but the school felt it was not working. The progress they had made with his behavior disappeared in one week. That showed us that he's not ready to go off the meds yet.

If your son had cancer, diabetes or heart trouble would you pass on the drugs? ADHD is a true neurological disorder. Why are you so opposed to drugs?

Our son was diagnosed with ADHD (primarily inattentive) in 4th grade. He did not go on meds until the middle of 5th grade. He was on them until the middle of 8th grade. It was his choice to go off the meds then because he wanted to grow and the meds were supressing his appetite. I can't say enough good about the meds. They allowed him to focus in school and at home. He got along better with others and was able to supress inappropriate comments (mostly) while on his meds. In the last quarter of 8th grade, when he went off his meds, he was failing 3 classes. (This is a kid with a gifted level IQ). With extreme effort, he was able to pull the grades up, but he did not make the honor roll - for the first time in all of middle school. I am positive beyond the shadow of a doubt that his grades would have been better had he continued his meds. We have used a combination of meds and therapy over the years - both are critical. We are meeting with the pediatrician this week to discuss a new medicine - a patch which can be taken off when needed so that the negative effects (loss of appetite in our class) can wear off sooner. Diet is not the key - therapy and medicine are. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is the reality your son will live with and it is up to you to help him. Please feel free to pm me if you have further questions. It's not an easy road for parent or child, but it can be managed.

I'm not a fan of taking meds for anything and everything, I read before about ADHD and diet and I know that a doctor in California has an approach through diet change. Many said that it works. If you do a search online for diet and ADHD, you'll find a lot of information. From what I remember, the first thing they were saying to cut was milk and then it goes to sugar and all these processed foods. I would say to try a diet change and see if it helps. It cannot do any harm. I grew up in Europe and at that time, we didn't eat anything processed or that came in packages and during all that time I've never heard of ADHD. I understand that some might have gone undiagnosed, but then again, right now, there are way too many that have it so something must have changed. Good luck and I hope everything goes well.

Hi, L.:

There is an ADHD website. Google ADHD and see if something will come up
for you.

Good luck.
D.