Have you seen marked improvement in your ADD/ADHD child without using drugs?

[walkermamaof4]

Can you share? 

 

DS9 is dairy free, gluten free, egg free, free of other items that an IgG revealed sensitivities to, and we have tried rounds of consistent vitamins/minerals/supplements including Biology of Behavior. We did one $6000 round of Brain Balance faithfully and did some amount of Brain Gym exercises afterwards. He manages to obtain dairy and items with dye in it weekly despite our massive attempts to thwart this. He does everything in his power to obtain it if he can as he craves it so badly. We buy him and make him treats he can have. It doesn't seem to help. Every time I know by his behavior before I discover the offending food. I am at my whit's end, and may resort to drugs (for him-lol). But I wanted to check if anyone can suggest anything else first. Thank you!

[Ottakee]

have you seen any big changes with the diet?  One thing we did that did help some was add in the fish oils---Omega 3 Mood.

 

General things that help:

 

Daily outside playtime/exercise

regular sleep/wake cycles

getting the Vit. D levels up

diet higher in protein and less refined carbs

 

That all said, for us medication made a HUGE difference.  It was something now I wished we would have started earlier.

[Laurie4b]

Occupational therapy helped enormously for sensory-seeking behaviors. Just a different kid. Cogmed made a significant difference as well.

[rmtzc2009]

You have tried a lot, I'm sorry your not seeing better results.  We do see a big difference since going GF & Dye Free.  Ds10 can occasionally cheat with dyes and the reaction isn't near as bad as the 2 times we've cheated and let him have wheat.  The only extra things we do are supplements.  We use Barleans Flax Oil as recommended by our Ped.  She said it has the highest amounts of Omegas which ADHD kids need.  It has 2620 mg Omega 3, 760 mg Omega 6, and 850 mg Omega 9.  She also has him on a probiotic.  How long have you been doing the dietary changes?  If you are consistent for a period of 3 months then I think you will clearly see the benefits, or lack thereof, that your ds has from the diet changes.  My ds does better when his sleep cycle is consistent, he gets moderate exercise daily, and with a check list of his daily work for him to see.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

We do fish oil (Barleans omega swirl) frequent physical activity, and a consistent sleep schedule. Diet didn't make much difference but we do eat fairly healthy already.

 

But honestly the meds have made the most difference.

[walkermamaof4]

We've done this for two years. We don't eat processed foods any more, eat most things organic, etc. We did fish oil in large quantities per recommendation until recently bc/ it is such a huge fight to even get him to take it and all supplements. About 5 days out of the last two years have been better. I think I'd attribute that to his weekly attainment of dairy/candy/etc from any source possible. It seems like we could keep him from it. But we try hard and social events have proved impossible. I won't pull our family out of all social life just for this. I "think" the diet would work if he cared to stick to it. But who knows?

[walkermamaof4]

Laurie4b - how did you decide to do OT? I hadn't heard of or considered that. How much does cog med cost? I haven't heard of it either!

[Tiramisu]

Any kind of visual or auditory processing issues will look like adhd. With auditory processing issues, I think you'd notice it, but not so much with visual issues. We use our auditory and visual system to interact with our environment, so if either of them are compromised in any way you will see symptoms similar to ADHD. Have you ever had a full evaluation to make sure there's nothing behind what looks like ADHD? I have kids that sometimes look like they have ADHD but none of them have been diagnosed with it but with other things instead. 

 

Cogmed is proven to improve working memory and ADHD is a working memory deficit. Cogmed has a website that lists providers. I think it costs at least $3000.

 

An OT evaluation can help screen for visual, visual-motor, auditory, and sensory issues that can look like ADHD, and can do some therapies to address them and/or refer to other providers for more thorough evaluations.

[shawthorne44]

We've done this for two years. We don't eat processed foods any more, eat most things organic, etc. We did fish oil in large quantities per recommendation until recently bc/ it is such a huge fight to even get him to take it and all supplements. About 5 days out of the last two years have been better. I think I'd attribute that to his weekly attainment of dairy/candy/etc from any source possible. It seems like we could keep him from it. But we try hard and social events have proved impossible. I won't pull our family out of all social life just for this. I "think" the diet would work if he cared to stick to it. But who knows?

 

Have you tried the Coromega packets for the Omega-3?

It tastes a bit like Nutella in a squeeze packet a little larger than a ketchup packet.  

[Luanne]

My daughter is now 25, but back when she was a child we tried diets and behavior modification and such and quite honestly... I'd have to answer your question with a big NO.  Without drugs I saw very little improvement in behavior and impulse control.  She was able to have a much better childhood with certain drugs.  If I had it to do over again, I would never have tried it without the drugs.  She has been off of them for several years and has improved with age though.  I did not see any major side effects that would have kept us from giving her the drugs.  The benefits were WAY better than the risks.

[Lolly]

Yep. not from diet. not from suppliments. from age. Just plain old learning to deal with it. It is still there. As a youngster, change in expectations and methods helped the most. Dc learned a lot while riding a bike or standing on head. That type of thing. 

[EKS]

A protein breakfast (specifically eggs in our case) gave the same improvement as medication.  It was amazing. 

[plumshadow]

After years of trying nearly everything we went ahead with meds for my DS. He is ADHD inattentive so there was no change in his behavior but the first week he was over the moon when math was "easy".  We (us, the school, therapist) just used the time he was able to give undivided attention and helped him hone skills that could help long term.  He only took them school days and for about 3 years then he felt he could manage without them.  I wish their had been a more natural route that had worked but his self-esteem improved tremendously so I will never regret our decision

 

 

 

ETA The only thing that I ever felt got at least some results were these tables from whole foods called calmed child.

[Mandylubug]

We attempted for years to alter diet, add exercise, add supplements and still hit a wall when it came to math. We literally made NO progress for a year, no matter what curriculum and tactics we tried. Finally we gave medication a trial run. My son had tears of joy with how much better he felt with medication. We have had some side effects and we are tweaking his meds again right now. We only medicate during school days. My son says it is night and day when he has his medication. Without it, he says numbers just swirl around and he mentally just can't focus on the right answer. He can't focus on reading. He is inattentive/impulsive. Not hyperactive type, though. Oh, and he has caught up his math to where he is supposed to be for his age!

[Lady Florida.]

We have not. That's probably not the answer you're hoping for but without meds ds has a very difficult time with both school, other responsibilities, and social situatons. At 16, he's able to exert some impulse control and is much better in social situations than when he was younger, but academically it's still very difficult without meds.

 

He pretty much wasted his entire 9th grade year. He had been on ADHD medication since he was diagnosed at age 6, and he wanted to try to control his symptoms on his own. We discussed it with his doctor, who said that's a common desire for teens who have long been on meds. Maturity starts to kick in and they want to try on their own. Dh and I let him give it a try but it had a huge detrimental effect on his schoolwork. One day I asked him to take his medicine (we didn't get rid of what was left when he stopped taking it) just to see if it made a difference. When we discussed it the next day, he realized just what a difference it makes when he takes his medication. Now he takes it daily. On weekends and non-school days I leave the choice up to him. Most of those days he does take it. He had to spend time not taking his medication to realize it is important for him to be on it. I don't regret allowing him to go that route because it gave him a much better understanding of how his brain is without meds.

 

We have tried many things over the years but medication has been the only truly effective treatment. My son's official diagnosis is Moderate ADHD, combined type. YMMV depending on the type and severity of your son's ADHD.

[Barb_]

I think certain things will help depending on the level of severity. With one child, I was able to get by with fish oil, protein, an excellent diet and a whole lot of patience and support. Nothing helped the other much at all until we gave up and tried Ritalin when she was 9. The jury is still out on my youngest. She is a little more hyperactive/impulsive/emotional than the older one but isn't quite as ditzy and confused as the younger. We'll see how it goes as she ages. I think that's why you're going to get such a range of responses. Every child is different.

[plumshadow]

We attempted for years to alter diet, add exercise, add supplements and still hit a wall when it came to math. We literally made NO progress for a year, no matter what curriculum and tactics we tried. Finally we gave medication a trial run. My son had tears of joy with how much better he felt with medication. We have had some side effects and we are tweaking his meds again right now. We only medicate during school days. My son says it is night and day when he has his medication. Without it, he says numbers just swirl around and he mentally just can't focus on the right answer. He can't focus on reading. He is inattentive/impulsive. Not hyperactive type, though. Oh, and he has caught up his math to where he is supposed to be for his age!

 

The first time DS tried focusing on math while on the medication and his face lit up, it broke my heart. I felt so bad that he was just then experiencing what most of us take for granted. I got tears of joy seeing him believe finally that he was in fact not stupid like he previously insisted.

[bethben]

Homemade bone broth and fermented foods? I have a friend who swears by the combo. The Diane Craft diet doesn't heal the gut problem and will need to be repeated to be effective. The bone broth is easy to make and easy to take. Fermented foods, not so much.

 

Beth

[gardenmom5]

I have an aspie.

 

I've done tomatis - yeah, we noticed an improvement.

I've done chiro - he had four cervical vertebra seriously misaligned.  most improvement was within the first few adjustments.

I've done 12 weeks of glutathione injections daily - other people who had no knowledge of it noticed an improvement and commented on it.

I took nitrates out of his diet

we did some other specific supplements - and when he was regressing, I realized we'd run out of one.  it took a week being back on it for him to improve back to the level he had previously been at.  we dont' run out of that one anymore.

 

even 2dd - who was hearing every day in at least one of her classes about what a rip off the supplement industry is - noticed a difference when I took him off of everything so when an evaluation was done by the allopathic autism clinic -- they'd see "him".  within four days off removing him from supplements she wanted to know when we were putting him back on them.

 

the first clue there was something wrong was how much he'd change his behavior/functioning when I started giving him a good quality vitamin - since he was such a super picky eater.

 

 

[Heather in Neverland]

I tried every medication, therapy, diet and natural supplement known to mankind and what actually helped was...

 

 

Time

 

My ds turns 16yo next week and while I would not say he is "cured" I will say he is light years better and has learned different tricks and coping mechanisms. He is now a well-adjusted, happy guy with good grades.

[Serenade]

Laurie4b - how did you decide to do OT? I hadn't heard of or considered that. How much does cog med cost? I haven't heard of it either!

I'm not Laurie4B, but our doctor recommended OT as an alternative to meds. We did OT for a year or so, but eventually switched to martial arts instead, as it provided some of the same benefits with less cost and more fun. Martial arts are good for motor planning skills, too, which was another problem here.

 

My son was diagnosed at 7, and he has been without meds up until now, and he's 14. HOWEVER, those teen hormones must be working a number on him, because I'm back to considering meds. Whatever we end up doing, I'm glad we were able to avoid drugs for those younger years.

[Serenade]

I tried every medication, therapy, diet and natural supplement known to mankind and what actually helped was...

 

 

Time

 

My ds turns 16yo next week and while I would not say he is "cured" I will say he is light years better and has learned different tricks and coping mechanisms. He is now a well-adjusted, happy guy with good grades.

Just curious, did his symptoms flare when he was going through puberty? I thought my son was getting better and better every year, but then he turned 13, and things have been progressing downhill ever since. Maybe we should keep persevering.

[plumshadow]

Just curious, did his symptoms flare when he was going through puberty? I thought my son was getting better and better every year, but then he turned 13, and things have been progressing downhill ever since. Maybe we should keep persevering.

 

DS is almost 14 and within the last year or so impulsiveness has become an issue even though it really hadn't been in the past. Im guessing hormones might be playing a bigger role than we thought. At this stage we recently considered going back to meds but have been so slow to act trying to see it will work its self out while we drag our feet.

 

[Heather in Neverland]

Just curious, did his symptoms flare when he was going through puberty? I thought my son was getting better and better every year, but then he turned 13, and things have been progressing downhill ever since. Maybe we should keep persevering.

Absolutely. In fact ages 12 and 13 were our worst two years. Just horrible. I thought one of us was not going to make it out alive! But at 14 he started to mellow and 15 has been MUCH better.

[kroe1]

DD13 has remained medication free: here is what helped her:

 

1. Her symptoms were mild anyway.

2. She was born when no other kiddos still lived at home. We had more time than most to work with her.

3. We catered to her abilities, I.e. 15 minutes per subject, keeping her on wheels and upright during school, asking for help as needed rather than assigning chores, staying with her to redirect when necessary.

 

I guess one could say we did our own, made up OT. She has never been on meds or diet restriction. Now at age 13, her coping skills are amazing, and we are gradually modifying her school day. Time has been good to her.

 

Hang in there, Big hugs.

[Serenade]

DS is almost 14 and within the last year or so impulsiveness has become an issue even though it really hadn't been in the past. Im guessing hormones might be playing a bigger role than we thought. At this stage we recently considered going back to meds but have been so slow to act trying to see it will work its self out while we drag our feet.

 

 

 

Absolutely. In fact ages 12 and 13 were our worst two years. Just horrible. I thought one of us was not going to make it out alive! But at 14 he started to mellow and 15 has been MUCH better.

Thank you for sharing. This is encouraging! Mine is 14, but he's a late bloomer, so I'm guessing he's a little behind on the hormone track. (He had not officially entered puberty as of last fall). It's probably worth it to hang in there a little bit longer and see if this, too, shall pass.

[Laurie4b]

Laurie4b - how did you decide to do OT? I hadn't heard of or considered that. How much does cog med cost? I haven't heard of it either!

 

I read the Out of Sync Child and my kiddo had multiple indications of sensory processing issues. The OT addressed those and it was a huge difference. 

 

You can google Cogmed. It's a computer-based intervention designed in a research setting, so has several double-blind studies behind its science. I believe it can only be purchased through a professional. I can't recall the cost. It was reasonable if you counted what it would take for therapy for those hours but it wasn't cheap. Cogmed works on improving working memory which is the aspect of ADHD that causes the most significant issues. Some people think poor working memory causes what the appear to be attention problems. My son didn't improve as much as some people do, but it was definitely significant improvement.

[Snow]

Thank you for this thread. Laurie, did you do OT and Cogmed concurrently? Or which did you do first? The effects of Cogmed have been lasting well (at least so far)?

[Elisabet1]

Growing older and not having much computer time helps a lot. A lot more exercise helps a lot too. I have never used the medications when home schooled.

[Katy]

I would argue coffee IS a drug, but it helps a lot. To the point that if someone is acting wacky we ask them if they had their coffee today.

 

Exercise and regular sleep make a great deal of difference too.

[Catherine]

I have the benefit of seeing one kid who is almost 21 now who did not start meds until he was 15, and one who started at age 10. IMO, the downside of waiting was significant. As in, significant behavior issues, which started when he was in infact, but were really horrible in the teen years.

 

Daniel Amen (who my psychiatrist husband considers a bit of a quack-but whatever) classifies ADD into types and "conflict-seeking" is one of the symptoms he lists as typical of ADD. And that quality, as well as the sneakiness, lying, and insomnia, made life very challenging for us and of course for DS. In retrospect, I sincerely wish I had spared him some of this and tried meds sooner. When I saw the same trend in my youngest, we decided not to defer meds (well, we did, but not until age 15) and he is really soooo much happier and more functional.

 

Yes to exercise, martial arts, and protein\fat for breakfast.

[walkermamaof4]

Any kind of visual or auditory processing issues will look like adhd. With auditory processing issues, I think you'd notice it, but not so much with visual issues. We use our auditory and visual system to interact with our environment, so if either of them are compromised in any way you will see symptoms similar to ADHD. Have you ever had a full evaluation to make sure there's nothing behind what looks like ADHD? I have kids that sometimes look like they have ADHD but none of them have been diagnosed with it but with other things instead. 

 

Cogmed is proven to improve working memory and ADHD is a working memory deficit. Cogmed has a website that lists providers. I think it costs at least $3000.

 

An OT evaluation can help screen for visual, visual-motor, auditory, and sensory issues that can look like ADHD, and can do some therapies to address them and/or refer to other providers for more thorough evaluations.

 

Can you tell me how to know who to call to get a good evaluation done? Thank you!