Is there an alternative way to treat ADHD besides prescription meds?

Question

My seven-year-old was diagnosed with ADHD but we have not had any luck with the prescription meds. He has been on a couple of meds that have either made him violent or have caused him to feel "like his heart is exploding." We found out that 9 kids have died from heart attacks on this med we just stopped. I do not want to put him on any other prescription medication, but his doctors are not being helpful when it comes to alternative solutions. Is there some type of behavior-modification I can use or a natural remedy anyone has tried? My son is incredibly intelligent yet having trouble with his school work because he cannot focus at all. I love him and I hate seeing him suffer because he cannot focus his attention.

Just for additional information: I homeschool my son so he does not have to sit in a classroom for 7 hours a day. So, any suggestions will need to be directly related to how to deal with the ADHD at home.

Thank you!

To be clear, my son has several activities outside of the home where he has the opportunity to make friends. He takes classes and "after school" activities just like every kid in public school. If you understood ADHD, you would know that a kid that suffers from it cannot sit still for 7 hours of school, that is why he has to be at home. Why would I subject him to getting in trouble everyday when he is not doing anything wrong just because he has to wiggle around and cannot sit still? Not every home schooled child is held away from society. I guarantee my son knows twice as many kids as a traditionally schooled child because of the amount of activities he chooses to participate in. Please don't answer unless you are educationed about the state of the question!

Answer 1

If there is a TV or computer in his bedroom, take it out. Recent sleep studies have shown that simply having a TV in a bedroom contributes to sleep deprivation. A number of subjects who had ADD/ADHD symptoms showed marked improvement when they slept well.

My little brother was diagnosed with ADHD and we noticed a big improvement in his behavior when we modified his diet. We took out all preservatives, refined sugars, and most processed food. Additionally, we replaced bleached flours with whole grains.

Pack-up the books and go for a walk. At first, try to keep sit-down periods short, with plenty of breaks for structured activity in between. When I'm feeling restless, I'll put my books in a backpack and go to the park or forest preserve. You'll get better at identifying learning opportunities and he'll get better at sitting-down and focusing. Studying is a skill and there are several ways to learn the same information.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I have quite a few friends with ADHD children, and they have had the most success through monitoring diet.
One lady had her son's allergies diagnosed, and then made sure that he didn't eat anything he was allergic to (mostly things with colorings, even oranges). Another lady has found that fish oil tablets have helped her 5 yr old son enormously.
If you haven't found an alternative practitioner that you trust (homeopath, naturopath) then I would recommend looking for one and asking their advice. Just like any medical professionals you get ones you like and ones you don't get on with so well, so don't be afraid to keep looking.
Some people are of the opinion that ADHD is symptomatic of deeper problems such as widespread candida infection, and a site that talks about candida infection in many varieties is http://www.yeastinfectiondiet.com, a site I put up. It isn't necessarily a site that has a lot on ADHD, but it does talk alot about using food for better health and many of the basic principles apply accross the board to healthy eating.

Answer 4

There are many different herbal alternatives, I used "Blue green algae" with my son who is also ADHD and also homeschooled. My advice though is not to stress too much about it, as long as he has a routine he will eventually work out coping mechanisms of his own. I also dont believe its nessesary to force him to spend long hours schooling, especially at the moment, he is still young. Teachers and society in general overreact to ADHD in a negative way......usually they are amongst the brightest most imaginative, creative thinkers u can find....they are the type of kids who will one day change the world if they are not given negative stimuli and get it fed into their heads that they are somehow "bad" and need medication to be "good". My son was crazy when younger I found that blue green algae had a definite impact on his concentration he is now almost 12 and with patience and nurturing of his special talents instead of focus on his weaknesses he has grown into an exceptional individual, intelligent,sensitive,loving,incredibly creative and a deep thinker with huge potential. Dont let the world scare u. Did u know there is good evidence to suggest that infant immunisations are the cause for ADHD?(although the government will never tell u that) So if u have another, wait till the baby is at least 3 or 4 befor immunising him as his immune system is better able to cope with it.check out www.biophiles.com for lots of interesting info.

Answer 5

My son was diagnosed with ADHD as wel.

First thing you need to do is pay closer attention to his diet. What kinds of foods is he eating?

Sometimes the food is the cause of an imbalance that causes him to lose focus.

next, what forms of discipline have you tried?

I know what youre thinking..He cant help it so you cant punish him. That is the WORST line of thought you can follow. DEMAND that he focus and behave and if YOU stay steady and consistent then he will learn the rules and learn to focus.

My son because a real problem in the classroom. He grew bored and threw fits.

the teachers didnt inform us for WEEKS about the problem so by the time we ( his parents ) became involved in it, my kid had found that he could get anything he wanted from his teachers by simply misbehaving. They tried to slap him with the ADHD label again this year but I put a stop to that.

I found that the teachers would try to talk to my son and reason with him. He is ten. You do NOT reason with a ten year old. You tell him what you want and what you expect and then you demand that you get it.

In other words," Because I said so! "

I took my son through a series of schoolbooks I had from when I was a child this last summer. He learned to focus and get his work done so he could do the things he wanted to do ( video games )

Guess what? He just got his midterm report last friday ( not the final grades for this quarter ) He is currently earning one A, one B+, two B's and a B-.

Did I mention they wanted to hold him back because and I quote, " A child with a disability like his cannot function in a normal classroom."

NONESENSE!

Dont listen to all those idiots. They WANT kids to have disabilities because it means more federal money for their school.

Demand focus. teach him how. Be firm and be consistent. If you are not its your child that will pay the price.If you love him, you will get tough and demand that he learn to focus.

Answer 6

adhd is treated alot of times with the drug adderall or riddin, and if you dont know what those drugs are well you might be shooked,adderall is amphetamines and that is speed i know this from exeperence ive took them and they very habit forming and bad for a person if a person takes them improper they can stay up and awake for days at a time and riddin is a stemant also they make you change moods in a blink,but those drugs make you feel good and speed,they are the next thing to meth, and believe me i know. so if your son has been diaonosed without the chemical tests and blood work there is a good chance he isnt adhd,so check all the meds he is precribed by asking the pharamacy what is in the drug.

Answer 7

Yes. You teach him how to cope with it. (I have it so I know)

Not easy, but it can be done.

He has some advantages by the way. We are more creative at times.

How to cope? Essentially, you have to get things in term of goal oriented.

Also limit some forms of excessive stimulation.

Check with doctor or by experiment that some foods like excessive sugar are not making him high.

I never used drugs for it.

Also, I'm not sure home schooling is such a great idea. I mean, he will have to eventually cope with the real world. Be careful of that. (He is one day going to have to work. Do stuff that is not always pleasant without you around. He's already at a disadvantage, so better to get him on his feet now while 80% of what he's learning is not "critical".)

Lots of people with ADHD actually excel at life. Don't put the kid in a box and hide him away,

Accept he's gonna be a bit messier than other kids, he's can switch topics in conversations rather fast, (I can do it continuously), and he has to actively work to focus.

In terms of focusing, help him learn how to break his work up into well defined "goals".

Answer 8

When I was a child, everybody thought I had ADHD. Then I was in a family setting where I respected the central male figure and feared the consequences of misbehavior. I didn't need Ritalin to keep me in line, I needed a boot in the rear.

I'm not saying that's the case with all ADD/ADHD kids, or even yours for that matter, but consistent discipline worked on me.

Answer 9

I will answer this question in this way. I am suffering from what the doctors call an incurable disease..motor neurone disease. I too have run out of options from the medical proffession. My answer is to seek alternative medicine. I am putting my faith in a spiritual healer. Your son has nothing to lose and everything to gain from what is really asking God to help you.

Answer 10

You have to get him off of processed foods, make him drink lots of water everyday, and put him on an "alkalarian diet".