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!