Can mild ADHD be treated without mediation?

Question

My sons gets extra help in school but it has come to the point where he needs to been seen by a specialist. We don't want to medicate him and we're trying to find other alternatives. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

My oldest daughter was the same way. I even came up with a plan where she took a sheet to school with her, and when she had homework or classwork, she had to write it down on this paper, and her teachers had to initial it so that EVERYONE knew what was expected out of them. We also stuck to a ROUTINE. Every day was just like the day before it, and we had to stick by that. She didn't do well at sleepovers, or anything that was out of the 'norm'. Bedtime was the same even on weekends, and we got up at the same time, even on weekends, too. We stayed away from caffeine, refined sugar, and food dyes. And she took St. Johns's Wort. You might ask your doc before you give your child any, but it helped Shealy calm herself down and sleep at night. Good luck...I know what you must be going through. The doc's seem to think Ritalin and Adderall is the cure-all, but you if can deal with the energy levels, just let him play sports, or swim, or take up track. Anything to let off some of that steam in a positive way! Long ago, my daughter was punished for her behavior before it was understood as well as it is now. She had one teacher who was so full of love, and she understood Shealy's needs and worked with her. Her assessement of my daughter was this: "She's not bad, she's BUSY!" God love Miss Eloise. She set the tone for how I handled Shealy from then on!!

Answer 2

A specialist may be necessary to be sure he has ADHD. Many children are misdiagnosed. There are a lot of well-meaning physicians that jump on the label without thorough examination. Some people have had good results with diet changes. No processed sugar,no milk products, no wheat products and regular vigorous exercise.Difficult but not impossible. See the specialist for sure.There are studies that are specific for this disorder. Help is out there.Don't give up. I commend you. You are in a difficult position, but I believe with perseverance you and your son will succeed.

Answer 3

Sometimes if you watch his sugar intake, and monitor his sleeptime it will help. Our son is ADHA and they would take him off his meds for the summer to give his body a refreshing. He would need a quiet time in the afternoon or would get wildly out of control after dinner. He also needed to go to bed at the same time everynight usually we made it later than normal so he would not feel like he was not getting punished for having ADHD. Try this for a while see if you notice a change it will take about 2 weeks to make the adjustment so you might want to log it down in a journal. Take notes on what spikes his temper and outbursts of energy. Note what calms it. You should see a pattern.Plenty of patience please, he is not really in control of his actions and lots of love and hugs, their self esteem really takes a beating because those who do not know he has this and even some that do treat him like he is a disciplinary problem. I agree with the person who mentioned sports it is great release of excess energy. especially soccer.

Answer 4

Ask the specialist you are going to see. We took our sons to a pediatric behavior specialist and he recommended medication, but told us that it was mostly because of the types of ADHD they have (inattentive and hyperactive). Different types are treated differently ~ just let your doctor know your feelings about medication. S/he should be able to give you alternative options, if they are effective for your child's type of ADHD.

Answer 5

Always check with your doctor or therapist before starting any new "program", but here's what I did for myself (Adult ADD) and my son, diagnosed (ADHD).
Changed diet, (examine proteins, carbs, fish, )
Exercise program
Dietary Supplements
What about blood sugar levels?
Are allergies an issue? They were for my son.
Behavior therapy, to relearn triggered responses.

Now these seem very vague, but it really depends on the person as to which specifics in each category work.
The specifics of what worked for me was different than it was for my son. Believe me it's an overwhelming process sometimes, but it's worth it to stay off the meds.
You can look at one of my websites, to get more information
http://kristicasey.ahealthcafe.com

Answer 6

adhd is usually brought on by the fact that the person diagnosed is very smart, and if your son is super smart but doesn't do his homework, it's probably because the teacher teaches at a slow rate. try homeschool or a private school or somewhere where he won't be bored

Answer 7

my oldest son was like this, we had to keep him busy doing things or he would get into trouble. he would finish his school work and then be bored, so would mess with other kids. sometimes he'd just skip the "boring" work and mess with the kids anyways. i was luck enough to have teachers that would work with us on this. he graduated and has a great job now and is very responsible. 'he still needs to stay busy' i just had to be consistent and discipline him if he didn't do right. i would take away things he liked first (spanking didn't help).

some kids need meds for chemical imbalances, so it's something you should talk to your doctor about still . of course!

Answer 8

Try having him seen by an Occupational Therapist. they are able to do things and teach them to control it. Stimulation and Counter stimulation techniques. I have put my son on Aderal when these things did not work, but I would have liked to stay away from the meds

Answer 9

I've read in a psychology journal that studies have shown that fish oil (distilled) has had a positive effect on people with ADD and ADHD.

Answer 10

Remember this - all psychotrophic drugs are habit-forming. Try site below before have drugs prescribed. Be sure to click on the link also in this report.