ADHD Moms

Instead of just "allergies" I would also test him for food "sensitivities". Google --Tap Into Balance. It explains it. My kids did not have any allergies but had sensitivites to certain things. I can tell a difference in their behavior when they eat something they should not!

I would also talk to a dietition and look into martial arts training.

I am not sure what your question is, but it seems you are still in denile, which is okay because my husband and I went through the same thing. I tried to find other "remedies" to cure ADD and ADHD, but it didn't work. I even went through an allergy clinic for my son and found out he wasn't allergic to anything, which to me was a waste of time and money along with those costly remedies. These remedies was a waste of time and I had to think quick, because my oldest was getting behind in school. Once the kids were on medication, they were totally different children and a lot happier because they felt they were succeeding in school. These medications are cheaper when you ask for generic drugs and my insurance cover everything except about $10 per child. I did take my youngest to a therapist which helped him alot so he can be able to handle is emotions and learn to concentrate with him on the medications, which took him about 3 months to graduate from therapy. So my suggestion is don't waste the time and money on remedies they don't work. I did find to helpful to cook "homemade" foods instead of processed frozen foods and along with his meds I also give them Omega 3 vitamins.

I am a huge proponent of medication after seeing what it did for our son. However, if you'd like to try some other strategies first (and you'll want to do therapy with medication anyway, so it's a wise move to start there), I would talk it over with medical specialists.

Pediatricians aren't really qualified to diagnose ADHD anyway, so you want to get in with a developmental pediatrician, child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist for an accurate diagnosis. All of these specialists will be in a position to offer you pointers on next steps to helping your son. A developmental pediatrician is probably the best option in your situation since he needs learning assistance and you can rule out co-morbids like learning disabilities.

I highly recommend joining CHADD and reading ADDitude magazine to stay up on the latest research and to receive useful info. about treatment options.

Avoid wasting time on diet changes, vitamins (other than Omega 3s, if you can get your child to stomach those) and detoxing, which don't have anything to do with ADHD. Look to the medical experts for your strategy for helping your son best.

Best of luck!

First thing first- Thank you so much for trying other things before medication. When my mother passed when I was 12 my family automatically jumped me onto Antidepressants, which was stupid cause at that point I was still in so much shock I wasn't upset, then they got mad when the medication backfired and made me angry insted of happy! kept upping me dose till I became a mindless drone, then I got mad again and stopped taking it comepletely.

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was around 5 or 6. I wasn't hyper, but I couldn't pay attention to certain things. Your son may be not be academically gifted, but gifted in some other way. I am exceptionally good at art (Got accepted into an art school when I was 11, but couldn't afford tuition) and now I know I am extremly gifted in science, but pretty decent at my other core classes as well.

I was really good in elementary school and high school, middle wasn't great because of the stress of my mother's death and transitioning to so many homes. Every kid responds differently, but perhaps physical activity? Take a mommy&son karate class. Baseball. Basketball. Even now, I find I can concentrait better on something I'm not to excited about after I've had some exercise. I'm old enough I just go walk or run. Perhaps he'll even find his calling isnt art or school, but sports. and in high/middle school if he wants to play said sport, his grades must be average or better, so thats you driving him for good grades and the coach :D!

If it comes down to medication, be very careful and observant. My antidepressants I didn't realize were antidepressants till a year or so ago (When I quit taking them) because my family told me they were for ADD. My medicine made me angry, and extremly violent. I'm naturally mad, but it amplified things to the point of complete idiocy! (Like attempting to stangle boyfriend for a comment on something, dont even remember what, thank god he understands me!) I honestly think medication is a very last resort.

You could also look into herbal remedies. I enjoy tea and it calms me down. Maybe there are vitamins that could help.

Im sorry this is so long! Just trying ot help!

Oh man, please, please run to www.feingold.org and start there! Especially with the allergy shiners. This saved our family!!! In the past 6 months our life has gone from insane and crying and frustrated all of the time to happy and amazed at the child and husband that I now have. I learned for myself that my allergy shiners were also caused by the salicylates in foods that I eat all of the time. Please look into this before medicine. It is worth all of the work and money...don't ever doubt it for the peace that can come to your home. Feel free to contact me anytime for questions!

H.

Hi there, I have an 11 year old fifth grader who was diagnosed as ADHD/Expressive Language Disorder. He was seeing a counselor originally due to severe grief issues. I lost my first husband when my twins were just 5 years old, and my son was deeply depressed. After working through his grief, I thought things would be fine. However, last year, he started having some real behavior issues at school and his grades started dropping dramatically! After several discussions with his teachers and the counselor, we had him formally tested for ADD. The Expressive Language Disorder diagnosis was such a relief. My son has a hard time with vocabulary and that was part of the problem with his grades. He couldn't find the words to tell the teachers what it was he didn't understand. So of course his grades were falling!

With the official diagnoses, I was able to get him an IEP at school, which means that support accommodations are mandatory. He meets with the social worker and has a special ed teacher assigned to him to make sure he brings his work and books home, and they actually track to see if there are certain times he is acting out. If so, they will give him a task, such as bring something to the office, go pick something up, etc., so that he gets a break. They also gave me an extra set of textbooks to keep at home, so he cannot say he forgot to bring something home. Plus, he sees the speech therapist to help with his vocabulary.

We also worked with our pediatrician in regards to medication. At first, we didn't put him on anything, because we wanted to see if the accommodations were enough. When he continued to struggle, we went ahead and started him on the lowest dose of Concerta possible. It took a few tries with different doses, but we finally have one that has been working. As he grows, we will have to watch to see if the meds need to be adjusted again.

All in all, he has come a long way since the beginning of the year. And he is much more happy. He still has focus issues and some days are more of struggle than others, but overall, we have seen a HUGE improvement.

I believe you need to do what is best for your family. Some kids can function without meds. You just need to be on top of it all.

Good luck to you!

C. S

Another mom referred me to these doctors/organizations. They have an office in Skokie. Good luck.

LEARN, inc.
http://www.learninfo.org/

Psychoeducational Resource Services
www.prsinfo.net

If I had the money, I would try neurofeedback for my son. If it doesn't work, no harm done. http://brainspotential.com/services/neurofeedback/