How do you deal with a child who has ADHD without doping them up with medication and turning them into zombies

Question

My son is 7 years old and he was diagnosed with ADHD last year in Kindergarden. It has been very difficult for me. I am a single mother trying to get him stablized so he doen't have to repeat first grade. I sometimes feel like I am going to go insane. I need some serious help. Please!

Answer 1

Well, you are heading in the right direction. Educating yourself is definitely the best thing you can do!

ADHD is so overly diagnosed and children are overly medicated...often times unnecessarily. You might want to consider a second and third opinion on your son.

I cant really give you specific advice since I do not know your son and your situation. However, here are some resources from the top organizations in the field including the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association.

Good luck and let us know how he's doing!

Answer 2

I don't blame you for wanting to avoid medication. I think doctors these days are too quick to prescribe, which is the opposite of how things were 25 years ago. I really wish they would find a middle ground and encourage people to first try other things. The decision to put a child on medication is a major one and should not be treated lightly, as I fear it all to often is these days.
I think it should be used when nothing else works, and in that situation it is almost medical neglect to withhold meds because untreated ADHD can really turn a person's world upside down and have very long reaching consequences, so please do not rule this out as an option if nothing else works. Having ADHD is incredibly difficult and frustrating, it greatly effects a child's self esteem, confidence and self-image. Untreated it very often leads to major depression. (although that one is kind of the chicken and the egg debate of which came first.)

ADHD meds don't turn kids into zombies, although it can make them very quiet at times. I've found that with a slight dosage change (less meds usually) this side effect can be avoided. It's not sedating them though, it is actually activating a part of the brain that is not activating properly in people with ADHD, which allows them to focus their attention. A really interesting book that shows the differences in the brain of people with ADHD on and off meds and the brain of a non-ADHD person is Healing ADD by Daniel Amen.

As for coping with the behavioral difficulties an ADHD child presents....I would recommend two books.
1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan
and
The Explosive Child by Ross Greene

Good luck!

Answer 3

Consistnecy is a huge thing. Make a daily schedule and stick to it! Have predictable rules, consiquences, and rewards. Write it all down and have it posted. Use a sticker chart as a way to reinforce possitive behaviors and to help change negative ones. Put the chart on the fridge where your son can see it. Use a reward at the end of the week to get him to want to earn stickers. Try to organize things so that they are as easy as possible for your son. Have a place for everything so that your son will know where things are. For example have a place for your son to hang his coat and back pack when he gets home from school to avoid things getting lost. My son use to be to wound up at the end of the day to practice writing, etc so I started doing it with him in the morning before school. That worked better for us. Also as others have recommended get him involved in something that will help wear off some of the excess energy. Or take him outside after school and play tag or some other physical activity.
I was in the same boat as you. My son was failing the first grade. We finally got him on ADHD meds and he is now making all As and Bs. Your son can be medicated and not be a zombie! I don't know if you have completely ruled this option out or not. My son is still himself and very energetic! But ever since he has started taking meds he is more focused, can sit and concentrate for much longer periods of time. I had the same concerns as you. Our doctor started him out with the lowest dose and as it was raised my son was closely monitored. Just a thought. Good Luck to you and your son!

Answer 4

There are natural cures for ADD/ADHD as good as nutritional cures. Whether or now not those cures will paintings relies on the character or the level of the sickness. I could be weary in relation to medications since the longer term results of ritalin and different medications find it irresistible comprise drug abuse exceptionally ritalin abuse as good as melancholy and different temper problems. While a few kids might 'develop out' of upload/adhd many don't and simplest study to cover or take care of the sickness higher. Others preserve cure via out their grownup existence.

Answer 5

My mother in law had the same problem with my husband. Have your son join a sports team, or at night take him out for a long walk or run and let him work off the extra energy so that he is a little more tolerable.

Good luck, you have a very long and hard road ahead of you.

Answer 6

feed him fresh fruit and vegetables and fish. plenty of bran and fibre too. Much ADHD these days is made much worse by chemical additives in food.

try it for a month, only fresh home cooked food. Nothing out of a packet, no fizzy drinks, no sugar no processed diet food. avoid aspartame and artificial sweeteners like the plague.

After a month let me know how you get on.

Answer 7

my son is 9yrs old and was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade. He is currently on Adderall XR 20mg and is not zombified. It helps just enough for him to focus in class, but he maintains his personality. My son is also Gifted, so they have since been giving him harder levels of work and that seems to help him as it challenges him more. A lot of ADHD kids are actually misdiagnosed as lower intelligence because of poor grades, etc when in actuality it is lack of stimulation and lack of focus. They tested my 9yr old and he reads at a 17yr old level !! I wish I would have known sooner, we could have saved ourselves a lot of grief. I know it can be very difficult to deal with, you need to be patient and discuss the issues that are most pressing with your child's doctor. Good luck to you from one mother to another !!

additional:
for those who think that parents are to blame, that is NOT the case. Do not feel that you are alone. My son had "issues" since starting school. His doctor decided to hold off on meds and "diagnosing" him as ADHD until 2nd grade. A well balanced diet with control on any sugar of course is necessary with any child. As well as activity. We still have issues with my son, he is very emotional and has trouble being "picked on" at school. I do not want to over medicate him, so we just keep him on the meds for focus issues in school. He is the smartest in his class, so he continues to be picked on for all sorts of reasons. We are currently working with him at home, trying to identify the behaviors that get him picked on, and adjust them accordingly. It takes time and patience.

Answer 8

My mother would have told the teacher she will fix it and that I won't have the problem the next day. I'm not the type of person that believes in doping your kids up with medicine. How did we deal with it years ago, there never was such a thing. Take control of your child hes only a 5 or 6 years old. Its all in parenting behaviors.

Answer 9

There's a good book called The ADD Answer. It talks about:
# The role of nutrition
# Environmental modifications and bio-cleansing
# Advances in biofeedback and neurotherapy
# The positive effects of counseling and goal-setting
# Crucial strategies to improve sleep
# Getting effective help from schools, therapists, friends and family
# The importance of engaging the family's beliefs and faith

My 7 year old nephew was "diagnosed" with ADD and put on speed (adderall). It's a shame his lame parents were/are too stupid to stop feeding him a diet of 100% sugar, stop their destructive arguing and get marital counseling, and take the boy out to PLAY. He's just a happy, active little boy who needs parents who stop fighting long enough to actually parent him. Instead, they sit inside the house all day smoking, eating Chip's Ahoy, arguing, fighting.. and expect him to sit there in silence... and when he gets wriggly, he "has ADD".

Answer 10

Change his diet. The feingold diet is really good. Make sure he is getting plenty of exercise. Give him a good vitamin and mineral supplement. (most are junk).