Alternatives to Ritalin

My son is 7.5 now and was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5. He hasn't been on medication (although we are open to the idea if we need to.) He also has sensory integration disorder, so he had about a year and a half of occupational therapy, and the exercises and therapies were very helpful. We sign him up for lots of activities and get him outside and active as much as we can. We have to work really closely with his teachers, and work to keep his environment as good for him as possible (he's disorganized and reacts poorly to change.)

So - yes, we've seen amazing results. He's a smart kid and academically is doing great. But he still has a disorder, and things are harder for him than for other kids. Social interactions and norms are hard for him to grasp. I don't know how much medicine can help with that. Like I said, we aren't closed to the idea of it. But I'm glad we've worked with him and that we've been able to help him with some of the issues that are within his control.

I think no matter what you decide to do about the medication, you should learn about the behavioral changes and changes you can make in your household to help support her. Personally, I don't think fidgeting and not paying attention at age 5 is a reason to medicate, if that's the extent of it. If she is miserable, if she can't learn anything because she's not paying attention, that's a different story. I think it would not hurt to look at her school environment and how supportive her teacher is first. My son improved so much when he switched from a preschool class with a new, inexperienced teacher to his Kindergarten class, with a wonderful teacher - it was really amazing.

Good luck! As you know, you aren't alone, but it can be a very frustrating road anyway because every kid is different. It sounds like you are doing what you need to do, considering all the options, and learning about how to help your daughter.

Hi A. -
My daughter was also diagnosed with ADHD when she was 5. Her father initially was against medicine (he also has ADHD and had a bad experience growing up with Ritalin), but we were ready for anything to help her out. She was miserable because she was constantly getting in trouble at school and at home, her stepmom was to the point she actually left the house on weekends my daughter was with her dad because she was so out of control, I felt like a horrible mother because I couldn't "fix" it on my own. Along with fantastic advice on what to expect and how to handle many situations (realizing she was not intentionally misbehaving was a huge step...)Her psychologist suggested Concerta for her (once a day in the morning) and we decided to give it a try. I am now SO HAPPY we did this. She is now 11 and still on Concerta (at obviously a higher dosage since she is now "adult" size instead of "child" size), but does either go down in dosage or completely off during the summer months. This year was her first year of Jr. High, and looking back, I can't imagine how different things would have been had we not decided to put her on this medicine. She is well adjusted, happy, very socially active and getting all A's & B's in school. Once a year (usually in the fall), we have her teacher(s) fill out a bunch of paperwork and submit it to our psychologist to help him insure her dosage is still correct. I do know a lot of people are against medicating for ADHD kids, and I completely understand. It seems like an easy out. But overall, I think it makes life much easier for the child. I hope you can do it with behavior modification and diet. I wish you all the luck in the world.

A.:

My son was diagnosed with ADHD a year or so ago after years and years of struggling with his behavior at school and camps. At that time, the school principal suggested medication as the only alternative and was pushing so hard that I felt was living a nightmare. On one side I wanted so badly to have my son behave better at school so that he would be learning more, on the other, I was terrified after reading tons and tons on articles regarding medication side effects.
Somebody suggested fish oil as a dietary compliment and believe it or not it has worked wonders.
Anyway, this year he had a new teacher that didn't really believe on ADHD but that had a passion for teaching and he has worked with my son in such a way that I am begining to believe too that ADHD medication is the easy way out to solve behavior problems.
So my suggestion is that before medication first try changes in her diet, try fish oils (with DHA and EPA) and make sure that all that extra energy those kids have is burned somehow; my son is doing swiming and diving.
This new teacher has shown me how effective guidance can make wonders specially for kids like ours ... sometimes something as simple as having your kid do a daily evaluation of his/her behavior can do the miracle ... and believe me my son used to be labelled as the worst kid in school so I know how frustrating it can get.
Good Luck!!

My son is also 5 and has been dianosed with ADHD. I'm not all that thrilled about putting my son on ritalin, but I didn't know what else to do. He was getting into a lot of trouble at school. Being abusive to the teachers, etc.. I would love to find some other way, but for now its working. During the summer I plan on taking him off of it. I'm sure he having problems because of that, but my ex is fighting me for custody of him. He's being shuffled back and forth, and when he's there the time is mostly spent with his fathers wife. This has been going on for two years and its really affecting my son. He was getting into a lot of trouble at school, and had major temper tantrums that really got violent. Since he's been on the medication every day he comes home excited that his name wasn't put up on the board. I believe it has helped my son a lot. He loves going to school again. I don't know what I would have done without it.

I have a friend that put their child in martial arts with "dad" for self discipline and cut out ALL sugar and it seemed to help. Concerta is an alternative to ritalin w/o the same side effects.