Parents of Children with ADHD Support Group

I can completely understand how you feel about not wanting to medicate your daughter. My son first started having trouble in school in Grade 2 (he's now in Grade 4). I spent all of second grade trying different strategies with his teacher (rewards systems, positive reinforcement,etc, IEPs, as well as omega and other natural remedies). Grade 3 was pretty much the same. Towards the end of 3rd grade, I finally had him officially tested and diagnosed with ADHD.

This year I had to come to the painful conclusion that while all my other efforts have helped to some small degree, my son was still struggling so much in school. It was affecting his self esteem (he was being isolated from group discussions etc), his health and well being (due to his impulsivity), his academic career (he was failing due to his inability to focus), and I just felt I owed it to HIM to try meds.

Of course everyone's situation is different, and I understand it's a lot to weigh out. But knowing your daughter is young, and in hindsight, seeing how much my son has really suffered the past few years, if I had my time back I would've done the meds two years ago. Believe me, I SO didn't want to medicate him, but I can honestly say that there has been SUCH a difference since I did. It's like night and day. There's no harm in trying other things first, like I did, but just don't rule it out if you feel in your heart that your daughter needs them, even though it's a painful decision. Our therapist helped me deal with it by saying it's like a heart condition or other physical condition - if our children had something like that, we wouldn't hesitate to medicate them. This, too, is a physical condition, and if it helps them live a better life, then we should at least try it and see if it works for us. Good luck with your decisions.. believe me, I know where youre coming from. ((hugs))

I am not against medicating her. If thats what it takes, then thats what it takes. She's just so young that I would like to try other things first. She's going into kindergarten next school year...she's going in a year early. I don't want that to turn out to be a mistake. I have 3 months to try and figure out if non-medication options are even beginning to work or not. If not, we will medicate.

Medicating her scares me. I have heard so many horror stories about the meds changing their kids, making them zombies, etc. I don't want that to happen to her.

hello,

In my opinion, there are few non medicine methods that work, because ADHD is a chemical imbalance in the brain which is why stimulants work.

my son takes Ritalin, we went with meds right away, but we had tried other methods before finding out he had ADHD to no avail. and yes it is scary with all the rumors out there, just be viligent. We have seen some change, he can focus better and was finally able participate in school.

We started him on the 5mg and yes it did make him zombish, so we began cutting the pills in half and they worked well. now he is back up to the 5mg, but we may switch to something else depending what his psych. decides.


Have you tried play therapy?

We have found one thing that seems to help. Now granted, its only been tested for a few days, but I have noticed improvement. I touch her somewhere, usually by putting both of my hands on her cheeks, make her look me in the eye, and tell her what I need or expect.

Case in point, last night we were at the store and she just took off running down an aisle. Ran the entire length of it..lol. When I caught up with her, I calmly called her over to me, placed my hands on her cheeks, looked her in the eyes and told her that I expected her to behave in the store and to walk, not run beside me. Then I explained that by running she could hurt herself or someone else. I didn't have too many problems after that and the ones I did have were small and not running the aisles (it involved a bouncy ball she wanted to play with).

She goes to the pediatrician on June 9, so we will talk then about meds if thats what the doc thinks is best.

I was the exact same way, in fact, part of me still feels guilty for medicating my son, but on the other hand, I couldn't imagine him being UN-medicated again... He was dx'd with ADHD in Jan. 08 and we also used meds as a last resort; he only started taking them in October, 1 month into kindergarten. Once he started school, we knew right away that he needed a little more than what we were already trying to do at home.

One thing I try to control, and this may sound stupid because I'm not sure if there's actually any medical explaination for this or if it's just in my head... but we limit the amount of foods he has with excessive food colouring in it. Obviously it's extremely difficult to limit ALL foods, but I've noticed that foods with red food dye in them send him bouncing off the walls for hours. Even one piece of red licorice and you would think he drank 10 cups of kool-aid. Once we took the red dyed food out of his diet, that did seem to help a little bit

You mentioned that you put your hands on her face to speak to her sometimes. That is definitely helpful in re-directing her focus. Occupational therapy has been involved with my son a little bit at school, and that is one of their methods to help him focus. If he is unable to sit at the table when he is expected to, a teachers aid might crouch behind him and keep her hand on his shoulder gently. Just that touch is sometimes enough to keep him focused on remaining in his chair. He also wears a weighted vest (more info on this type of therapy here: http://www.weightedvest.com) and when the teacher really can't get him to sit and participate, a teachers aid takes him to do some "heavy muscle work". (basically rolling a medicine ball down the hall, or "helping" the teacher re-arrange furniture) I've found that when he's really wound up and hyperactive, giving him a chance to use some of his muscles makes him feel not only important, but gets some productive use out of his energy.

Good luck!

I agree with all the tips.. there are definitely lots of things worth trying.. each child is different and will respond to each treatment and strategy differently.

I've also tried the hand on the face strategy - it really does make a difference when you talk to them face-to-face and on their level. Non-verbal cues work well and we have that in his IEP at school. He also takes breaks and runs errands for the teachers when needed, and we've tried an exercise ball for him to sit on instead of a chair too, which has cut down on his fidgeting. (and he uses fidget toys to play with during class lessons, to keep his hands busy, which I bring when we go grocery shopping etc too, for moments when the fidgeting will increase.)

We've also tried a marble/rewards system which worked quite well, where I would make a list of 'good behaviours', and he would get a marble each time he completed one, or if he didn't, he'd have a marble removed. When he reached a certain amount, he could cash them in for a reward (money, trip out, new toy, extended bedtime, etc.) That one worked really well for us.

Good luck!

Foods are triggers, I have researched this :food colourings RED

Here is what I do.

Restrict sugary snacks, substitute fresh fruit
Watch products with preservatives because Missy is sensitive to them.
Avoid things with red dye, ie Caprisun type drinks.
Give her Omega 3's for concentration (Little Critter brand is a fruity chewable)
Keep a fairly strict schedule for mealtime, playtime and bedtime, adhd children do best in a structured environment.

Missy also takes Straterra 35 mg. Straterra is the only non stimulant on the market for adhd.

Good luck and I suggest reading "Raising a Child with ADHD 10 Lessons that Medicine Cannot Teach" by Vincent J. Monastra. It has a ton of good advice.

My son has recently been diagnsed with ADHD. I've started to educate myself as much as I can. One sugesstion is the Book " The ADD Answer " by Dr. Frank Lawlis.
He has many sugesstions. He says that what works for one may not work for another. They range from diets to certain vitamins, biofeedback to parenting skills.
I am starting my son with a new doctor. I was upset with the way the system worked. My son's Pshycologist diagnosed him after testing and surveys from both teachers and me. Then he sends a letter to his Pediatrician saying he has ADHD. The
Pediatrician, who spends a few minutes with my son A few times a year, then prescribes medication. I searched to find a doctor more qualified. I'm trying a neuorlogist. My friend has had success with a neuorlogist working her daughter.
There are many more diets and supplements. My sister swears by the Feast without Yeast diet. (there is a book by that title) She has cut out foods with malt barley. Most commonly in white breads but is in some wheat breads and other foods such as crackers. It also cuts out foods that ferment. Which would be fruits(including juices) such as apple and pear and vinegar. Vinegar can be in many things such as Ketchup, barbeque sauce, and marinades to name a few.
I have friend that swears by Vitamin B before school for concentration. My pediatrician recommended melatoin. Its to early to know how it is working.
I am really scared to medicate with the knew studies. On The Early Show had a ADHD drug warning this morning. They showed a increased risk to sudden cardiac arrest. ABC news also had a story of a woman that lost her son after being on it for one month. Thats enough to worry me. Not trying to scare you but to inform you of some of the things I've learned.
I've also spent time talking to other mothers that have done the medication route. I've tried to look at both sides.

Just food for thought...

My son hasn't been officially diagnosed yet but when we talked to the doctor about meds, he gave us something to think about. The meds scare me and I hate the thought of it, but what the doc said put it into perspective for me...

Doctor said - these meds have been around over 50 yrs and have been proven to be 85% affective (don't quote me - but it was 80 something). He said - I see these parents come in and don't want to give their child meds because they don't trust them. Yet this child's entire academic and social growth will be impacted where as these meds could keep the child from failing, struggling, and from having peer issues. Yet on the other hand, a parent runs right in when their child has an ear infection. He said the meds for an ear infection are about 65% affective, but the parents don't mind giving them meds for that, when really, an ear infection, while uncomfortable, can go away on its own (I didn't know that).

So that really resignated with me - hearing a doctor say that, and looking at it from a medical perspective. Because really, my son is suffering so much in so many other ways. I really hope that meds will make a difference for him the way I hear they can. I'm still worried because you need to find the right kind, the right dose, but I'm going to try if that is what is recommended.