6 Year Old Boy/ ADHD

I taught kindergarten and found that problems with aggression and concentration tended to be motivational. Does he like his teacher? Is he happy? Does he act this way with you or someone he really loves to be around? Just a thought. Maybe, too, it could be an activity-level thing. Is he getting enough exercise? Try to change what you can about his environment...

My son was diagnosted in kindergarten as well. I guess I was lucky to have a pediatrician that believes in home remodeies instead of medication so when he prescribed vyvance for my son I did not question him. They have websites and phone numbers to help you understand the product and your child as well.( www.adhd.emedtv.com/vyvanse/vyvance.html )this should help answer alot off question and my son does so much better in and out of school and his health is alot better, also try to see about a chiropractic that helped alot to, his dose is alot less than what it was in the begining.

V.,

I know someone who can help you and it is all done naturally. Her website is northtexasdynamichealth.com. Information how to contact her office is on her website. She is quite successful getting positive results therefore it can take 2-3 months to get in as a new client. However, if you call them to get on the schedule they may be able to tell you some things you can do in the meantime in order for your child to remain drug-free.

TS

Hi- I am the mother of 3 boys, my first is now 20. We had the same problems with him at a young age and we also have had problems with my now 6 year old. Get the book "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp, MD. We treated our son without drugs and just managed his diet cutting out anything with high fructose corn syrup and red dyes. Try it, you might be surprised by the results.

Good Luck
L.

Fish Oil for children can be found in a health food store. Google it and you can read all about it. It works wonders for my 6 year old boy in kinder. His teacher said he was one of the calmest boys in the class...which is NOT my ADHD child!

We have a 6yo boy who has been on meds for a year now and it is wonderful to have him be able to focus and attend. We started out by talking with our pediatrician about his attention problem. He suggested going through the public school system (all testing is free and required if you ask). Once we learned that he did have a learning disability we took him to a wonderful neurologist who tested him and was able to give a correct diagnosis of ADHD. We initially didn't want to do the meds either. We spoke with my mother in law who has a PHD and has worked with children with disabilities. After speaking with everyone and hearing from all the professionals that he did have a disability we chose to put him on meds. Our neurologist put him on Focalin which is supposed to be the closest to an herbal med there is. It was beyond words what this did for our beautiful, extremely intelligent boy. Within one day of being on the med it was a huge turnaround for him. This was a child who could not attend to most anything in Kinder and was at risk in all subjects halfway through the year. Every teacher who came in contact with him throughout the day was overwhelmed by the change in him. We kept it a secret the first few days from all but his homeroom teacher. We wanted a true reaction from all the others. Within the last year we have been on 3 different meds because it does take time to find just the right one for your child and the correct dosage. We are now on one that is working wonders and couldn't be happier. He's in 1st this year and only at risk in 2 subjects, both to do with reading. However, he is improving every day and we have no doubts he will continue. It's a painfully hard decision to put your child on meds when you really don't want to, but, here is a piece of advice we heard from all the professionals we talked with. He will not reach HIS full potential unless he can attend to learn the things he needs to. He cannot attend if he does not recieve help. I'm not saying meds are the correct thing for your son, I'm saying ask the people you trust who know about this and listen to them. Then listen to your heart and go from there.
I wish you lots of luck and patience with this.

I just started reading this book "Healing the Childhood Epidemics" by Dr. Bock and it addresses biomedical ways to treat ADHD (and ADD, Autism, Allergies and Asthma! Yes, they're all related!). I highly recommend reading this.
My son's been on a gluten-free/casein-free diet for over a year as well as going to acupuncture and taking supplements (Glutathione, Melatonin, Omega 3s, and chinese herbs from the acupuncturist). He was recently diagnosed with Sensory Integration disorder, so he's also in OT, and it seems like everything together is really helping. I think you have to approach these things from many angles. Best of luck to you and your son!

I am an occupational therapist who works with children with the same problems. Alot of the wiggling in his seat and being easily distracted comes from the fact that his body is "craving" movement and pressure more than other children. Unfortunately, as he seeks this at inapproriate times, it is mistaken as bad behavior which he is punished for, which then leads to aggressive and "acting out" behaviors. At home, make sure to give him lots of activities that will prvide this movement and pressure for his body in fun ways (making a sandwich out of him with pillows or cushions, walking on his hands as you hold his ankles, deep hugs, pushing and pulling activities...) In therapy terms, this is called a sensory diet. Hopefully, being consistent with this will allow your son to focus more and decrease his aggression. Feel free to consult an occupational therapist if you have questions!

Good morning V.,

We have run across a mineral/vitamin supplement which has helped our grandchild. It is called Vemma. Our grandson was having the same problem but since we have given him one ounce of Vemma every day he is now able to focus and concentrate better. His behavior is calmer. He is actually able to sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time. Let me know if you would like more information you can look it up at www.vemma.com.

a grandmother,
T.

I'd try to do a lot before starting meds.

Take the kid to the doctor and get a physical. Eliminate any medical condition. Then talk to the doctor and see what he/she says.

Next -- take him out and let him run. Wear the kid out. Many boys have a lot of energy and no where to get rid of it.

Second, he might be grieving about break-up and can't express it.

He needs to learn how to express anger properly. I suggest that you teach your kids when they are mad or upset to take a pillow and scream into it or hit it until they are tired. Make a game out of it. Let everyone take turns seeing how loud they can scream into the pillow or how hard they can hit it.
Develop a code-word for the family (let the kids pick it) that signals that child needs a chance to get alone and calm down.

My daugher used to get overstimulated and not be able to calm down. I used to have to sit her down and stand directly in front of her and hold her arms and say "BREATHE" and we would take 10 deep breaths together. Sometimes it worked.

At night, I'd use sleepy time tea and some bedtime music (there are many classical cds for sale) and read her a book then rub her back until she could finally calm down. I also tried LAVENDAR oil and put some on a small facecloth (very soft one that she chose) and let her breath that in.

When we had "monsters" I made a "magical" potion and let her keep it by the bed to "eliminate" any bad monsters. It was made with some lavendar and other essential oils and was diluted so it could not hurt the furniture. She sprayed it everywhere. She kept it by the bed.

I tried anything that anyone suggested. She still has trouble falling to sleep and she still drinks sleepy time tes and listens to classical music.

Try to avoid processed foods. Encourage him to let lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Many people think that the dyes in our processed food cause probelms.

Also, sugar in our processed food may contribute to his high energy.

Ask him what he needs in order to concentrate.

He might need something and can't tell you what it is. Make sure each child gets some special "mommy" time alone without the other kids. It might be one hour but that is HIS time and the other kids cann't come into the room. Then you do what HE wants for 1 hour. Do it for all kids. Then learn to take turns. It can be something silly like hot chocolate. My daughter loved to make "special potions" of many kids of liquid soap for her bath. It was cheap and easy and it ended bathtime fighting because she used her "potion" and no one else could.

To get her to eat, I began to let her season the food before we cooked it. She got to choose what we added or did not add. She really could season food -- even at 4! Again, it stopped fighting at mealtime.

Perhaps he needs a signal or a word that only the teacher and he knows that says "wow! calm down". Then he might feel special if he has a secret with the teacher.

Many of my daughter's teachers wanted her medicated.

Finally her 4th grade teacher said take her off all meds and I'll work with her. The teacher was wonderful and taught my daughter how to work with her disability. This teacher had problems when she was in school and she was able to perform miracles.

My daughter eventually developed a way to study that worked for her. She had to sit on her bed with the t.v. going and all the lights on in her room with the door closed. Since she was making A's I learned to trust what she needed. I don't know how it worked but somehow it made her be able to study for school.

One temp. teacher in high school joked about my daughter to the entire class that she had a learning disability! I had just gotten out of the hospital from having surgery and looked like hell and I ran to the school. I was livid! My daughter was soooo happy that I showed up and she just hugged me for soooo long. That was all she needed and I never had a bit of trouble with the temp. again.

She's now in college and she still complains about having trouble studying.

After we had my daughter tested, my ex-husband went on medication and he began to read books. I never saw him read a book in the 15 years we were married. He has been on medication for years and he said it truly changed his life. He never knew that he had a problem!

let me tell you my success story about using medication...

i was conflicted on what to do with my son. once he started kinder, i noticed he was, not wild, but really chatty. he couldnt use self control. he was constantly being in trouble for just being social. his grades were good but i thought they could be better if he could just behave. i was told to go to the dr to see if he had adhd or something. then on to first grade. same thing. he had good grades but he was just super chatty and a bit uncontrolable. i thought it was because he was so smart that he was bored and you know what happens when kids get bored. they start playing with the things in the desk and chatting and etc. second grade was a real eye opener. his behavior was uncontrollablle and the teacher that year was horrible. she gave up on him and made me feel like my child was beyond repair. this summer, i was refferred to a dr that would not just put him on adhd medication if he didnt need it. there were extensive studies on my child with lots of paperwork for me and my husband to do. after that whole day being in the dr office, we found out he was truely adhd. the testing was not bad, because the dr made it fun for him. we started on 18 mg concerta, i felt it was not enough so next month we tried 36mg and the next month we are now on 54mg. i could definately tell a diffrence. what a blessing it is to have found a dr to work with. if he was not adhd, she would have told us no and it was a dicipline problem. she would not have given us medicine, instead help us create a dicipline rutine and work with us on behavior. i asked about herbal things like fish oil pills but said that it really wasnt effective. i did not want my son to be a zombie with these meds. it has worked out awesome and my baby is now in 3rd grade and brought home a report card with all a's!! he still gets a little chatty but it is not as bad as he was! let me know if you are interested in a dr and i can refer you. i think i heard her say she takes all insurance.

good luck to ya!!

Hello,

I am a Speech Pathologist specializing in Dyslexia. AD/HD coexsists with dyslexia about 1/2 the time, so I have researched some about it. A Developmental Peditrician in Lubbock recommended a natural supplement you can buy at your health food store. It is Attend or Focus Factor. You HAVE to also give a Kid flavored Fish Oil to make it effective. I've had quite a few clients take it and it has made some good improvement. Go to www.brightsolutions to read research on ad/hd. Great website. L.

A medicine that I highly recommend is Strattera, it is a non-stimulant drug. It has done great wonders for my daughter who is 9 years old and has been dealing with ADHD since she was 6 years old. We tried many herbal medicines before I finally took her to the doctor because I was afraid she was going to turn into a zombie child, but he understood my fears and I love the decision to give her this medicine. We have never had to change her medicine, the only thing we had to change was her dosage amount. But as your child gains weight as with any medicine the dosage will have to go up. I promise you will be so happy with this medicine.

Hello V.
I will said to you go and see the doctor for your child, remember is your baby and you want the best for him, take your time to see the specialist on behavior modification they will provide you with the technique and hopely they will recomend an specialist. take care N.

My son is in 1st grade and was recently diagnosed with ADD. His doctor put him on a very low dose of Adderall which helped enormously, but we also made diet changes and added melatonin at night. Also he takes omega vitamins. I have found that checking for food sensativities is very helpful. If you don't want to have a doctor prescribe medication, I would suggest trying melatonin at night to help get sleep and cutting out red dye or see if cutting out dairy or even gluten helps. Do the food elimination diet. Just a note though: ADD is an ORGANIC issue in the brain... where a part of the brain is under-stimulated. Often, medication works so well because it is designed to stimulate the portion of the brain that needs control. I hope you have success in whatever you decide!

Hi Vannessa,

We did try Attend and Estress made by Vaxa. They did seem to help. Eventually we had to address things with prescription meds but I kept using them with to keep the prescription dosage down. Hope this helps.

i have a 5 year old boy that is in kindergarten that was always getting into trouble getting sent to the principles office and i was getting called 2 sometimes 3 times a day by the teacher and i knew he was probably adhd cause it runs in the family on the father side so i took him down and the dr put him on a low dose of blood pressure meds for the adhd and let me tell you the turn around was amazing he is still alittle high strung but gets all his work done and is nice to others and gets good notes sent home and is great. hope this helps you

First of all --- have him tested - you need to know exactly what is going on -- I just had my 22-year-old tested and fortunately for alot of kids they can outgrow the manage life by the time they reach 21 - but for my son he uses a patch for class and studying - he can focus so well and his brain works right he says. However, I understand the problem everyone has with the ADHD drugs - I have seen enough children in my life have all sorts of problems - behavioral, depression, just giving up in school - but the ones that fared the best had parents that were structured - organized, had rules and expectations, Do alot of reading -- I know the ADHD drugs have been in the news - but as my son's doctor said, they have been around and used since the 1940's but the newer ones have the least side effects- it is a personal decision - but success in school means success in life - through my reading - the gut has as many neurons as the brain and the healthier the gut - then the better the nutrients actually get to the brain. Dr Michael Savage (yes the talk show host) is a Nutritionist, among other degrees and has a book on this very thing - so check his web site out -- People with ADHD have fewer neurotransmitters in their brain and they need all the help they can get to make them as effective as possible. (the medication has the effect of making these neruotransmiters work on a higher basis than they do) One pill or patch won't do it - but a whole body, mind approach will. I have a friend that has tried everything herbal, nutritional, with marginal success - she has learned to live with some chaos, lower than expected grades, and one son who is a daredevil -- I did the same - structure at home, expectations, taught him how to study - kept him in sports, swimming especially, good nutrition, he was not always a motivated student - he is very bright - but finally he decided he needed help with college and he is at a 4.0 and is motivated. He watches out for his nutrition, and still swims - so after all that it is still a personal decision -- but diagnosis is a must. so that way you know what you are dealing with.

That runs in my family. All my sister's sons were on meds. When our son started showing these behaviors I knew I would not put him on meds. Luckily I had started on a nutritional program not too long before that to try to improve my health. Others had mentioned how it helped with brain chemistry. I understand how proper nutrition is vital, especially for boys brains. Anyway, whenever I hear of a child who struggles with that I'm more than happy to help. My son is 5 and in Kinder. He is active, and sometimes gets a little rowdy but he is soo much more controlled. He used to hit us often and beat up on the dog. He can play by himself, quietly for a long time now. He never did that before.

Call or email me,
S.
###-###-####
____@____.com

Sounds like my son when he was in kindergarten! I found alternatives that really work. I am not saying that it would definitely work for your son, but I was desperate for something that would work for my son. I didn't want him on the ADD meds.

I give my son the vitamins and supplements from Melaleuca, Inc, The Wellness Company. It's a great way to shop. I even get my son's vitamins for free a lot of months. They are made with fructose compounding, which allows for a much greater absorption rate than typical vitamins in the health food stores.

Good luck. If you would like more information about getting these great vitamins, just email me at ____@____.com. I don't believe that a juice will cure all, but I do believe in good vitamins. ADD kids don't seem to absorb enough of the vitamin and nutrients that they seem to need. Melaleuca has made a tremendous difference in my son! He is in 5th grade now and doing wonderful! The special education teacher even asked me what we were using because of the great progress in behavior and work that my son was doing.

Of course, I told her!

J.
www.livetotalwellness.com/janislanz

I have a friend with a child that had ADHD. They changed his diet and cut out sugar and yellow dye. I also would check the health food store. I was told that you can give them a supplement of fish oil and others. The store people will be able to tell you all of the options. It will give you a chance to research them online. I started my children on Juice Plus. It is a fruit and veggie suppliment. It is worth it for their health and immunity.

Give him his medicine. He is not the only one suffering from his behavior. His classmates are too!

I have a 10 year old nephew and he also has ADHD and so far they have tried just about every drug for him but he also has some other stuff going on but they seem to work for awhile and then they dont anymore but I am pretty sure they havent tried the herbal stuff yet so I would suggest that because the drugs they have tried also make him very sleepy.

I've never heard of herbal formula synaptol, but I have a son that is ADHD. Also, you're son is only in Kindergarten. Some of the behaviors you are seeing are in that developmental stage, but it's great to use alternative methods to help better his behavior.
Have you heard of using magnetics? There are several testimonies of those that have used it for their child with ADD or ADHD and they would never go back to meds.
Also, I heard that Isagenix helps as well. It's all natural.
If I wasn't a single mom, full time student and working part-time I would totally do the magnetics for my son. I plan on doing it later. Go online google nikken and find out more. To contact someone that sales these products and could give you lots more info. on it go to retiremywheelchair.com
I actually use magnetics for my carpal tunnel. It's great for lots of stuff. Check it out.
M. Ciseros

V.,

Boys and agression go hand in hand. It's completely biological. There are several things you need to look into. One is, go observe the teacher (do not go in the classroom, but stay outside and listen to how she teaches her class). Talk to your son about his day (could there be a bully picking on him, this will cause him to retalitate and escalate agressive behavior). Can he focus on his classwork? If he can not do his school work, and he knows this, then he is at risk for failure. Once he understands that he is a failure, then more issues arise that need serious attention and quick to resolve them.

I know, I've been in psychology for 20yrs. I am a mom of 5 kids. I have done extensive studies on ADD & ADHD. I know Dr's and professionals who take meds for ADD & ADHD.

My sons were diagnosed with ADHD. Once they were put on Concerta, they were able to concentrate on their school work and homework. My older son was being picked on at school and pestered by a female student to become her next victim as boyfriend in the 1st grade. I also evaluated her by imprompt visits and by listening to her teach her class and how she did it. Excellent teacher and by working with her and my sons therapist, things worked out.

My other son was literally tormented by his teacher. She picked on the kids that were not normal. I went to the principal and had him removed. Once removed and with great encouragement (lots of love and attention) his grades and agression improved. His new teacher actually grew to love him and was a great help in assisting in outside homework to improve his grades and skills.

I tried non-medication for years with both of my sons. Behavior modification, diet, vitamins and herbs, etc. I eventually had to have them medicated. I was skeptical at 1st, but both of my sons have improved so dramatically over the past year, it's truly a blessing. No more fights about homework or chores...other than they'd rather watch their fav tv shows or play w/their friends.

One more thing, your child's emotional self is at risk here. Give him your complete love and attention. If he fails at school, then he will always see himself as a loser. Trust me on this or ask various counselors and therapists in your area. We spend more time with our daughters on emotional things than we do our sons. This is a confusing time for them, the sons. Talk more to them about their feelings and have them express them.

Good luck!!

P.

Read the posts from the other request made today by V. D. for natural ADD remedies. She got ALOT of great information. Good for you for looking for a non-drug solution. We have alot of over-medicated children out there, and my 18 year old stepson used to be one of them. I wish I had the information V. D. has received 12 years ago when my husband and I needed it for my stepson!! One thing I can tell you from experience, one drug almost always leads to additional drugs to manage the side effects from the first drug.

hello i also have a 6 yr old son and there for a minute i thought you were talking about my son....who is also sweet loving but having trouble in school as well. i also dont want to put him on drugs so i have tried several different things but the one thing i was told to do that seems to be working the best is his diet...simply watching what i feed him. fruits and lots of veggies nothing with suger including "those good for you kid juices" they contain LOTS of suger as well. but this has seemed to work the best for me is just watching what i give him all day and even at night...sounds to simply right but trust me its working

I tried everything for my son including changing his diet (soy milk, nothing with red dye, no processed foods, etc.)Nothing helped. After almost a year and his failing grades in 2nd grade, I broke down and had the Dr put him on adhd meds. He is now excelling! Best of luck. I was the same way. Did NOT want to put him on drugs! But sometimes you have to do what is best in the long run for the kiddo.