My Son Was Recently Diagnosed....

I have a nephew that has ADHD and my best friends daughter also has it. They are both on meds now, but when my nephew was younger she controlled it with diet. She found that eating sugary stuff actually calmed him down. It will also help if your son is allowed to have something in his hand when he is at school or doing home work. Both of the kids I know, always have something in their hands. My friends daughter listens to a Walkman when she is doing her homework, and it works. I don't know how long my nephew wasn't on meds, but I can find out if you want. I do know he was much older when she started him on it, and it is a very low dose. If I can be of any further help, please let me know. Good Luck.

My son was having trouble focusing in school. His teacher recommended the Brain Gym books. (a series of exercises to help improve left and right brain coordination) They have a web site you can go to to learn more about it.

His teacher also suggeted that we get him a lap pillow. I made one for him (and 2 more which the other kids in the class fight over having!) out of a pice of fabric and rice. It's about 5" x10" and filled with rice so that it is heavy but not uncomfortable. he puts it on his lap when he's sitting at his desk and the weight helps him stay grounded.

We also started him on omega 3's in the form of a chewable. These we purchased at Whole Foods.

I'd also recommend seeing a CranioSacral therapist. My son has seen one since he was one year old. The therapist has helped his body come back into balance when it gets out of wack. He's helped with migraines and grounding issues, too.

Since starting all these things he's had a really good semester. Good luck!

N.,
A few weeks ago, I posed the same question, titled "Seeking Natural approach to ADHD" I have found the advice given, invaluable in our research. There are an enormous amount of helpful sites to check out regarding ADD/HD. Sifting through them all is completely overwhelming. My saving grace is the fact that my sons' teachers have been extremely supportive of our research and efforts. It certainly is slow going.
I can tell you what has helped us so far.
1. Multi-vites and grapeseed extract daily.

2. A well defined reward/ disipline approach. We devised a schedual where all daily activities are highlighted each day. Our son has been instructed to check the calender every AM, and make sure everything is completed. After school, he is to check it again. We came up with a system that will allow him to earn prizes with a certain amount of stickers. He is totaly responsible for the calander, however; it is relatively new. Once he has had enough time to adjust to the new regimn, he can earn larger rewards for no reminders. He can also lose points for misbehavior or neglecting his responsbilities.

3. He is only allowed 1 hour of TV per day. This is also one of the first priveleges taken for misbehavior.

4. He is only allowed 1/2 hour a day on computer or tv games. (Computer learning is seperate of course) This is also a privelege that may be taken.

5. The other thing we did as a family is to sit and analyse our home life. We came to the conclusion that we certainly were not spending near as much time interacting with each other as we thought. We intergrated 1/1 time w/ Mom, 1/1 time w/Dad, and Family time into his schedual. We feel that knowing what to expect and being able to plan for future activities, has already been helpful. (He no longer has to act out for attention.)It also reminds us - his parents, there isn't anything more important than "hangin' with the Boy"!

6. I have also been journaling back and forth with his teachers, this way we are in contant contact and on the same page as far as behaviors/ disipline go. The journal is written on a as need basis. Only if there is a particular concern. IE: He had an overly active day at school, We have started a new vitamin, suppliment, or what have you. The journal has been a wonderful record of our sons' progress and regress. It has proven to be helpful to his teachers too. I am also certain it will be of some benefit at Dr. appointments.

7. We (just last Thursday) have requested IEP testing. I know some people may be skittish the IEP and Special Ed. stigma, as was evident when I requested it. His teachers were concerned that I may not be satisfied with the outcome, as my son may be considered Special needs. I told them, if My son will learn and thrive in Sp-Ed classes, than that is where he needs to be. I would much rather he go through this now, rather than wait until he is considered out of controll, and suffers in school.

I know this has been a long response. I appologise for that. We seem to be kindred spirits of sorts. If you would like, you may respond to me and maybe we can hook up on the phone. We can swap info.

Take care!
S.

hello, my daughter was diagnosed with add all i can say is get the magazine called a.d.ditude it has helped me so much that i got a subscription and it has lots of helpful methods, hope this helps! :)

hELLO MY SON WAS DIAGNOSED WHEN HE WAS 4YEARS OLD . aND I THOUGHT THE SAME THING AS YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND ,TRY ANYTHING AND EVERTHING BEFORE MEDS. i DID THAT AND NOTHING WORKED , i HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT THE ONLY MED I WILL HAVE HIM TAKE IS CONCERTA BECAUSE IT NOT ADDICTIVE AND IT IS TIME RELEASED SO IT HELPS HIM WITH SCHOOL . GOOD LUCK D.

Hi N.,
I have much research with natural supplements and add and adhd. Please E-mail me and I will be happy to exchange info over the phone. My daughter who is 10 has adhd and I have been using naturat supplements . I also have friends who do the same. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing info..
H. P
____@____.com

Will I was in school we were taught about a way that you can help your child over come ADHD without being medicated. You would have to do some research on it. It was being performed at different places. What it is is that your child would learn how to think properly. Its a video game of sorts. The big difference is that the child wears a helmet that controls the whole game. They have to completely consentrate on the task at hand to get the game to do as they wish. While in the process of doing this they are creating new pathways in the brain for information to pass through. This will allow your child to overcome ADHD permentaly without medication. Hope this might help you some.Sorry I can not recall what its called

Hi N.,

There are many questions you need to ask when your child is newly diagnosed with ANYTHING.
1) WHO made the diagnosis? The school? The doctor?
2)If it was your school, was it a teacher or an Occupational Therapist?
3) Have you sought a second opinion?
4) Are they recommending a specific drug or treatment regimen?
5) Have they offered you literature about the dis-order or the treatment they are proposing?
6) Is there a parent's support group in your area/school?

My responses may become encyclopedic, I'll try to keep it short and to the point...
a)Schools often attempt to pressure parents into medicating their children by 'diagnosing' a problem without proper training and testing.
b)Occupational Therapists have tools to help determine if your child has a learning or physical disability. ADHD can be both. Most parent advocate groups advise getting a second, independent test. In Maine, the school district is supposed to pay for that service.
c)Your child's doctor should be able to recommend a reputable consultant.
d)If the school is advocating a specific drug or treatment, they may have experience in what works OR they may have a biased opinion of it's efficacy.
e)If they offer you literature, STUDY IT. Starting with their fix, it will be easier to find alternatives as well as anecdotal and clinical evidence of the efficacy of the proposed method.
f)Again, if there is already a parental support group, they may be very helpful, but it may be evidence of a frequent and popular diagnosis trend. Get a second opinion, look for alternatives, do the research. Medicating a child should be a last resort.
Hope this helps you without scaring you too much. Remember, YOU are your child's first and best advocate.
Good Luck!

Hi N...
I remember reading an article once in my chiropractor's office about ADD and ADHD and it was saying that the child could be lacking omega 3 oils in their diet...(flax seeds are rich in omega 3's for someone -like myself- who doesn't like the deep cold water fishes that have the omega 3's)It was a while ago that I read this so I don't remember much...but that is definitely worth checking out...there are plenty of books out there on alternatives to conventional medicine...I too like to try to determine cause and effect and try to eliminate the cause rather than just treat the symptom...if we only treat a symptom the problem will never really go away!
I don't know where you live...my chiropractor specializes in children and he has helped so many people with problems you would not think at all were spine related....but I would investigate that!

let me know if you hear anything on that issues im faceing a simllary thing with my son

Hi N.--

I have a 5 year old son who has ADHD (his father has it too). We looked into everything we could do rather than medicate him. We took him to our chiropractor who put him on omega fish oils (make sure it's pure, not the stuff you get at the grocery store) and chiropractic care. It's hard to tell if these things have helped him, but we do them anyway. There are processes called Neurofeedback that trains the brain to develop certain neural pathways to make it easier for them to function. This is experimental, not covered by insurance and is very expensive. It's also not harmful, so I would do it and will if we get the money. We find that consistent exercise, getting enough sleep and eating better foods (like especially no artificial colorings and less gluten-containing foods) really help him.

I don't know if you're in the Boston area, but in Sudbury there is a center run by a man named Dr. Hallowell (who "wrote the book" on AD/HD treatment, literally. read "driven to distraction") it's a nice local resource (but it ain't cheap). They can help you see the options you have and make an informed decision. If you can get to that center (I think there's more than one location, actually) you should read his books.

The professionals have recommended behavior therapy as well, which we haven't done yet, but which makes sense to me. My husband was undiagnosed until he was 32, and so developed his own ways of dealing with "normal" demands on him, like being on time and not being too loud. I think it's a good idea to get a child into behavioral therapy before they develop their own ways of dealing with things.

We did end up putting our child on medication, but not without a lot of research. The medications they use for children (mostly Ritalin and other stimulants, as currently Concerta does not come in a child-size dose and you can't split the pills because they are timed-release) have been used for 70 years or so and have not been shown to have any long term health effects. There are a lot of myths about bad side effects out there, you need to do a lot of reading and get those straight. It was a difficult decision to put my 5-year old on strong stimulant drugs presumably for the rest of his life, but when you look at the effects of untreated AD/HD (high divorce, suicide, drug use rates - poor school performance, very low self esteem) it made sense to us.

My point is, educate yourself and do what feels right for you. Your child will have AD/HD in a year, so you can always change your mind later.