Any parents found effective alternative to AD(H)D medication?

Question

If you have chosen not to medicate your child for ADD/ADHD, what else are you trying that has worked? Exercise? Diet? Sensory diet? Please include your child's age and gender.

I am a special education teacher and I would like to have some suggestions to offer parents who struggle with this decision.

Answer 1

I have tried all the "other" methods in the past, and found that those ideas do help to some degree, but the medication does sort of seal the package for us. The medicine is beneficial in our case, but not in all.

Our pediatrician suggested that we modify the environment before we make "internal" changes in our son. We did this by:

changing the diet -- change meal time, along with the content of meals. Keep mental track of what he is eating a lot of, and see if it is a "trigger" for the behavior. I know of an instance where a child was triggered into bizarre uncontrolled behavior due to consumption of cheese. It ended up that he was allergic to dairy products, and the reaction manifested itself into these bizarre behaviors. Of course, you could eliminate the over abuse of sugars, but sometimes the natural sugars, such as in fruit, are more concentrated than the candy and such. And of course we can't eliminate fruit, so I guess that is a battle we can't win.

modify the routine -- bedtime was always a chore. He used to watch TV until he fell asleep. That was eliminated. We bought a night light, and allowed him to listen to SOFT music throughout the night. Of course, the first few nights were terrible, but it makes a huge difference.

modify the learning environment -- kids with ADD/ADHD learn in different manners than other children. Find the way this kid learns and capitalize on it. Of course, you will have to do some serious work to figure out the learning method, but it is way worth it in the long run. Mine learns through senses -- doing it -- over and over and over. Of course, we have to change it up. You know, first do flash cards, then do a fun game, then write it, then read it, and so on. Finding out this path is KEY to making learning a SUCCESS.

Finally, make sure that the learning environment, more specifically the one at home, is quiet and the least disturbed by traffic place in the house. There is a desk on our back porch specifically where my son sits. No traffic, no TV, no noise. It works perfect.

I am four years into this game, so I have tried a lot of variations to these. If there is any one that I can help, feel free to contact me.

I know this is a very hot issue with some people...some say medication is WRONG, some say medication is vital to success of these children.

I say that it depends upon the child. Many are misdiagnosed; I have a friend whose child took the medication for two years, only to find out that restless leg syndrome was keeping the child awake at night, and thus setting the tone for the whole day--making her grouchy, unapproachable and inattentive.

So, each case needs to be weighed out individually. Lots of children who have these issues also have other things going on. These kids need individual consideration. There is no way that a blanket idea can truly be effective in educating these kids.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I took a Health Psychology class and this topic was covered. Basically thanks to the increase in media many people start to question different things. For example a commercial for Paxil might say "do u feel like tired or withdrawn?" when all the person should do is exercise. It also seems like the easy way out... there are some medications that curve appetite, why can't someone just be more cautious about portion sizes?

Answer 3

http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/chiropractic/adhd.htm

Someone was telling me about a new belief that ADHD could be a result of birth trauma in the spine and that research was being done on this with chiropractic care. I found this article from a chiropractic website. I don't know if it works, but it's definitely worth researching for the parents that would be interested.

Answer 4

I'm a 16-year-old girl in high school. I've been ADD meds since I was 7 years old, and although I really hate it, it's the only that helps. My brother is 22 and he's been taking it since about middle school. It "went away" as he grew up and learned to control it. He still takes the meds because he can't focus without them. It didn't go away, per say, he just, as I said before, learned to control it. I just don't like feeling like a zombie, but I know that I have to take it to function. There really is no other alternative. Unless the parent wants to "force" the child to focus, medication is practically required.

Answer 5

Exercise. Lots of exercise. When I was a child we had recess in the morning (monitored, but not forced activities) and recess after lunch and before the end of school. I have a masters degree today. I am very hyperactive and if I didn't have the chance to have all that recess, there is no way I would have listened in school.

Answer 6

I've heard about a dietary treatment developed in Chicago. Sorry I don't know more.

Answer 7

There are alot of reasons not to medicate. Misdiagnosis being a major one. I was told by school officials and a doctor my son was ADHD... was given ritalin to give him... was harrassed by the school. Guess what... he wasn't ADHD.. he was ODD and they don't medicate that.

I would sugget you contact a specialist in the area of ADHD and ADD and see what they can offer. Look for one who really understands it and tries to avoid medicating. They will be your best guide on the variety of things you can offer parents who do not want to put their child's health and welfare at risk by medicating their child with medications that many times have not even been tested for use on children.

Answer 8

As a mother of a child w/Asperger's, I would just caution that the child who has Asperger's *may* not have the same results w/meds as ADHD kids. If the meds work, they should go for it.

I have tried the wheat free/gluten free/dairy free diet with mixed results.

If they have trouble sleeping, they can try melatonin--that works.

You are so needed and have such a responsibility. Thank you for your hardwork and for asking.

Answer 9

I don't understand why a parent would choose not to medicate! If their child had diabetes would they refuse to give insulin, since its "medicating"? The brain of a child with ADHD is not producing the proper chemical/nueral stimulation, and they NEED medication to be able to operate like other childern. To not medicate is to punish a child for behavior that is beyond their control.

... stepping off my soapbox....sorry....

Answer 10

I have a 6yr old son with early onset bipolar disorder he is on abilify, concerta, and clonidine. A childs illness mental and physical should be treated proplerly if the doctors put them on meds its for a reason and you have no right to second guess that. (no offense im not trying to be rude)

Answer 11

I absolutely wouldn't medicate my children. That's just terrible. Children have been active and giggly and have had short attention spans since the beginning of time. These days, parents just don't feel like dealing with it, so they sedate their children with drugs. I think it's disgusting. There was no ADD or ADHD diagnosis when I was a kid. I have a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with ADHD back in second grade because a teacher filled out a checklist, which she gave to the school nurse, who gave it to me to show to my son's doctor. I took it to the doctor who gave a diagnosis from that checklist and promptly wrote a prescription for Ritalin. This just isn't good enough for me. I know that teachers have a hard job, but if you don't want to deal wih hyper, giddy children, DON'T BECOME A TEACHER. My son's classes, which I have gone to the school and sat through, are ridiculously boring. No wonder he can't pay attention or sit still. I had to get up a few times just to stay awake. In my mind, a good teaher would be able to find a way to keep these kids interested without expecting them to be drugged for their convenience.

Since then, my son has been playing sports year round (baseball, football, wrestling). This has helped a great deal. We are also careful of what he eats. Only 100% juice - no Kool-Aid or Hi-C and we try to eat fruit instead of sugary fruit snacks. I have a friend who also had the same thing happening and all she did was remove Kool-Aid from her son's diet. It seems that the dye in Kool-Aid causes some kids a great deal of problems.