Is there anything natural that works for inattentive ADD?

[summerreading]

I'm just starting to research ADD thinking about my smart but spacey 13 year old. When I start to look up natural supplements, I read a lot of people saying don't bother. If you or your kid has inattentive ADD, how do you treat it? Is there anything natural worth looking into?

 

thanks

[gardenmom5]

I have an asd child.

 

He sees an ND, and is doing very well on supplements.

 

What works depends upon the cause. Mthf 1298 can be a factor in both asd & add.

[Happy]

Not exactly what you are looking for, but ....

 

A shot of expresso would calm him for hours. Not kidding. We discovered this when he was 14 or so. Coffee remains good for him even today-- (he is in his 30s now)

 

We always said around our house that ten minutes of vigorous jumping on the trampoline meant we could do school for an hour.

 

Sugar was (is) a huge trigger for bouncing off the walls. Limit intake.

[AK_Mom4]

DD22 self-medicated with caffeine. So does her dad. She started drinking caffeine around age 13 when the zoning out really started causing problems with schoolwork and activities. Caffiene calms them both down and helps them focus.

[meena]

More than adding supplements, we looked into foods that we needed to eliminate. We used the Feingold diet as our starting point, which has been immensely helpful. My child also functions much better with regularly scheduled intense physical and mental activity.

 

We have tried various supplements, not necessarily for ADD but more for overall health, including fish oil, vitamin D, and multivitamins. In our experience none of them helped with attention issues.

[fdrinca]

Came to this thread to suggest caffeine as well. It may take work to find the sweet spot. Caffeine is a diuretic, so be aware and offer extra hydration.

[itsheresomewhere]

DS's doctor suggested 8oz of caffeine. It worked well for us.

[MistyMountain]

My pediatrician said that fish oil with high amounts of omega 3s especially EPA can be helpful for about 30 percent of children with ADHD and caffeine can be effective in about 10 percent of children with ADHD. I reasearched it afterwards and found similar info. I used nordic naturals ultimate omega with my kids for a while but I did not notice much difference. I also mostly eliminated preservatives, artificial flavoring and food dyes for a while. I did not notice a difference with elimination but I do see effects when they have food dyes. They get very hyper when they have food dyes.

Edited May 18, 2016 by MistyMountain

[MomtoCandJ]

I self medicate with coffee and Mt. Dew. I also take a multivitamin but that's more general health than ADD.

[Laurie4b]

Time outside in nature. 

Vigorous exercise. 

Something to siphon off the excess thoughts bouncing around (e.g. listening to music while doing work)

If not in a position to get vigorous exercise, anything that gives muscle-joint input will help: chewing gum (jaw is working), chair push-ups, etc.)

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by Laurie4b

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

:bigear:

 

Any suggestions on how to get caffeine into a kid who hates coffee and soda? 

 

Also, OP, you might check into the book The Mood Cure. I just recently listened to some of the audiobook, and I know the author mentioned ADD/ADHD, but because it was in passing and I was listening for different info, I can't recall exactly what she recommended. I have a hard copy coming, but it's not here yet, so I can't give you more specific info, but if you can get your hands on a copy (Kindle would be super fast, of course), there might be something there to help you. I think she suggested that parts of her "master supplement plan" are effective for treating the neurological issues that are at the heart of ADHD, but that's all I can come up with from memory. (As for the book itself, I used its recommendations in treating depression and anger years ago and they helped me A TON, so I do trust the author. It might just be a matter of pinpointing the correct supplements with a little trial and error.) 

 

ETA: Here are some links that might get you started:

 

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/10694-3.html

http://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/adhd/7-types-adhd/

 

I have used 5-HTP with very positive effects for myself, but it was for depression. I know I was able to get my head together better during that time in general, but I don't know if that was a result of decreasing the depression or boosting the serotonin directly or something else. I wasn't paying too much attention to the ADHD stuff at that point! I'm going to be adding tyrosine, tryptophan, and GABA back into my own supplement regimen this week, so I can try to update in a week or so with results.

Edited May 18, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[kroe1]

No meds or supplements at our house. No one has time to mess with it. But, for schooling these things really worked well for DD15:

 

1. Wheels. Start the school day in her Rollerblades or chairs with wheels or skateboards.

2. Eliminate the idea that I would teach to a stationary object.

3. Change subjects every 15 minutes even if we were not finished yet.

4. Do a quick chore or go outside after most subjects.

5. Daily science labs, a quick piano practice, flash cards while outside playing basketball, and other similar breaks from just textbooks throughout the day.

6. Devoting my day to just teaching her so that I could help control the focus. I also learned when to move her on to something else when I could see she lost interest.

7. Breaking subjects down into increments. For example, language arts was broken down into reading, spelling, grammar, and writing. So instead of spending an hour on language arts at once, I could give her 15 minutes each of four different subjects with other things in between.

8. We lucked into learning theater and other performing arts as a great outlet for her.

 

I am extremely thankful to the homeschool moms who suggested this approach to me. Now that she is older, she has the skills to embrace her very fast thinking mind.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Minniewannabe

[eternalsummer]

:bigear:

 

Any suggestions on how to get caffeine into a kid who hates coffee and soda? 

 

 

dark chocolate :)

[Carrie12345]

My daughter believes coffee gives her a little bit of improvement.  I don't know or care if it's a placebo effect.

 

I live on coffee. I'm not willing to experiment without it!

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

Caffeine does help, because it is a stimulant just like Ritalin. It is also addictive, requires increasing amounts over time, and the withdrawals suck.

 

Fish oil high in EPA helps attention, you need the EPA to be 600+. The EPA level is key, it won't be as good as meds but it helps.

 

 

I have three people in my house with ADD, all very different. In the end, traditional medications for ADD work the best. We've been dealing with ADD for 20+ years now in this house. We've tried a lot of different things.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

My pediatrician said that fish oil with high amounts of omega 3s especially EPA can be helpful for about 30 percent of children with ADHD and caffeine can be effective in about 10 percent of children with ADHD. I reasearched it afterwards and found similar info. I used nordic naturals ultimate omega with my kids for a while but I did not notice much difference. I also mostly eliminated preservatives, artificial flavoring and food dyes for a while. I did not notice a difference with elimination but I do see effects when they have food dyes. They get very hyper when they have food dyes.

 

The EPA levels in kids formulas are usually too low to notice a difference. They need to be 600+ EPA.

 

I think even their ultimate formula for kids is too low, if I remember right.

[maize]

Caffeine does help, because it is a stimulant just like Ritalin. It is also addictive, requires increasing amounts over time, and the withdrawals suck.

 

Fish oil high in EPA helps attention, you need the EPA to be 600+. The EPA level is key, it won't be as good as meds but it helps.

 

 

I have three people in my house with ADD, all very different. In the end, traditional medications for ADD work the best. We've been dealing with ADD for 20+ years now in this house. We've tried a lot of different things.

 

Yeah, I'm surprised at the number of people recommending caffeine, personally if I am going to go for a stimulant I would look into a formulation designed specifically for ADD. Caffeine, like any drug, is not without side effects. ADD meds have been formulated among other things to minimize any addictive potential.

 

This is pure anecdote, but as a lifelong ADD-er I have found that adding high quality B vitamins has made a difference in my ability to focus. I chose my supplements based on some genetic test results from 23andMe showing that my body doesn't recycle B-12 very well and following a recommendation to us a specific form as a supplement. I'm not sure I would go this route without the genetic testing though, the recommendation for which vitamin form was different for my husband than for me as he has different gene variants.

[maize]

The EPA levels in kids formulas are usually too low to notice a difference. They need to be 600+ EPA.

 

I think even their ultimate formula for kids is too low, if I remember right.

 

We haven't done the kid versions because my kiddos happily chew up fish oil capsules. I haven't looked at EPA levels so will have to do that next time, but Trader Joes brand taste pretty good.

[Mbelle]

I have an asd child.

 

He sees an ND, and is doing very well on supplements.

 

What works depends upon the cause. Mthf 1298 can be a factor in both asd & add.

 

Do you know more about the Mthf 1298?  I have one copy of A1298.

[MyLittleBears]

We did Dianne Crafts Biology of Behavior program and it helped to heal the gut lining. Most of the time it is gut dysbiosis. After that we continued with maritime pine plus (pycnogenol) at least 500mg of DHA fish oil, and a liquid calcium magnesium supplement. I can totally tell when this child has missed a few days of the cal/mag supplement. We also eliminated food dyes and greatly reduce the amount of sugar he consumes.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I'm just starting to research ADD thinking about my smart but spacey 13 year old. When I start to look up natural supplements, I read a lot of people saying don't bother. If you or your kid has inattentive ADD, how do you treat it? Is there anything natural worth looking into?

 

thanks

 

If you think it is a real case of ADD ( so many other things can have the same symptoms) I encourage you to go get a full evaluation. ADD/ADHD is a difference in brain chemistry function, stimulants bring it up to normal activity levels so a person can focus again. 

 

 

There are so many other issues that can resemble ADD/ADHD, and those require different solutions.

[bethben]

Our doctor recommended a drug that was milder than the others.  I looked it up.  It was Krill Oil.  I'm not sure if they made it better by making it into a drug, but it's still Krill Oil.  I did buy it for DD and it has helped.  There are still some days that she yells at her brain to concentrate (yes, she literally yells), but overall, her ability to concentrate on school tasks is better.  It takes 30-40 days to get enough into their system though so the results aren't immediate.

[LucyStoner]

My husband wasn't diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive type, until age 32. It's not shocking that he used to drink a crap ton of coffee.

 

I would suggest caffeine as one option. If he has ADD it's not going to have the same effect on him as it does on most people. For one, it won't keep him awake.

Edited May 19, 2016 by LucyStoner

[maize]

Our doctor recommended a drug that was milder than the others.  I looked it up.  It was Krill Oil.  I'm not sure if they made it better by making it into a drug, but it's still Krill Oil.  I did buy it for DD and it has helped.  There are still some days that she yells at her brain to concentrate (yes, she literally yells), but overall, her ability to concentrate on school tasks is better.  It takes 30-40 days to get enough into their system though so the results aren't immediate.

 

What is the name?

[MistyMountain]

The EPA levels in kids formulas are usually too low to notice a difference. They need to be 600+ EPA.

 

I think even their ultimate formula for kids is too low, if I remember right.

I forgot they had an ultimate omega kids edition. I did not use the kids version. I could not remember the amount of EPA that you had to look for or I would have mentioned it for but ultimate omega did have it. I read that a lot of brands have less then they claimed but that was one of the brands you could trust.

Edited May 18, 2016 by MistyMountain

[bethben]

What is the name?

 

http://www.vayarin.com

 

 

If you look at the brochure, it says that they contain Krill oil.  We use Neptune Krill oil supplements.  I didn't buy this drug, but did the Krill oil to see if it would help first before resorting to a drug that was basically a nutritional supplement.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by bethben

[poppy]

Caffeine works.   But I don't think it's more "natural" than ADD meds.  Just cheaper and more accessible.

[gardenmom5]

My pediatrician said that fish oil with high amounts of omega 3s especially EPA can be helpful for about 30 percent of children with ADHD and caffeine can be effective in about 10 percent of children with ADHD. I reasearched it afterwards and found similar info. I used nordic naturals ultimate omega with my kids for a while but I did not notice much difference. I also mostly eliminated preservatives, artificial flavoring and food dyes for a while. I did not notice a difference with elimination but I do see effects when they have food dyes. They get very hyper when they have food dyes.

 

essential fatty acids are required for the development of the corpus callosum - starting during pregnancy.  boys require three TIMES as many as girls.  add type symptoms can be caused by an immature/undeveloped corpus callosum.

dudelings ND has him on Nordic naturals PROomega - which is 1200 mg. 

kiddie fish oils (*especially* the gummies) are utterly worthless.  they dont' have remotely enough to do much.

 

 

Do you know more about the Mthf 1298?  I have one copy of A1298.

 

I have two. dudeling has one (all  my kids have at least one.)  what are your questions?  I am symptomatic - and blame some family medical history going back at least three generations on symptomatic mthf 1298.

if you want to supplement  mthf - go for THORNE.  it comes in 1mg and 5mg. capsules.  you can get it off amazon or a compounding pharmacy. (it's the best.  it's better than the rx deplin. but costs a lot more.)

[LucyStoner]

Caffeine works. But I don't think it's more "natural" than ADD meds. Just cheaper and more accessible.

Caffiene is a naturally occurring substance. It's not less natural because it is societal no-no to give it to kids. It's use also offers parents of young kids who aren't ready to opt for medication a stop gap measure.

 

When I go off caffiene, I get horrible side effects.

When my husband went off it, nada except for increased attention issues before he started a prescription.

Edited May 18, 2016 by LucyStoner

[AK_Mom4]

On the non-chemical front, DD22 uses the following supports that make a huge difference:

 

Timers, reminders and alarms on her phone. Lots of these. Her phone reminds her to do all sorts of things - wash laundry, check the oil in her car, stop on the way home to get gas so she doesn't run out. Check lists on her phone for supplies and packing her bag. Playing a video game and has to be somewhere in an hour? She sets a timer on her phone so she doesn't lose track of time.

 

A Place For Everything and Nothing Hidden. All her clothes are either hanging or in open baskets so she can find things. Open storage on shelves instead of drawers. Out of Sight means Lost Forever. Yesterday she found her new frying pan in the refrigerator, clean and ready to go. She has no clue why she put it there. When she lived at home it was common to find car keys and her wallet in the fridge until we set up a table next to the door for her stuff.

 

Lots of physical exercise and fun mental activity. DD is a musician and does better with focus when she is playing sports daily and practicing music several times a day.

 

Limited Stuff. Decluttering is critical - having less stuff means fewer things to lose. She is a natural pack rat, so it's something she has had to work on herself now that she is older. When she was younger, I would prune things down for her to keep it simple.

Edited May 18, 2016 by AK_Mom4

[foxbridgeacademy]

We use or have used at times the following:

Omega 3

 

Vitamin D 

 

Zinc/Magnesium/Calcium

 

K2 (the MK7 type only is important for Vit. D and Calcium processing)

 

Vitamin C (she gets plenty in her diet but unlikely event of toxicity so why not)

 

Dopa Mucuna (didn't seem to make much difference)

 

5HTP

 

SAM-e

 

B Complex

 

Melatonin

 

GABA (didn't work, made her mean)

 

 

 

[FaithManor]

My niece, who was mild, benefited greatly from a half cup of mild coffee in the morning, and again in the afternoon with omega oil supplements. I think her parents used Rainbow brand or something, and it contained fish oil and others. It was flavored so she was willing to take it.

[Serenade]

http://www.vayarin.com

 

 

If you look at the brochure, it says that they contain Krill oil.  We use Neptune Krill oil supplements.  I didn't buy this drug, but did the Krill oil to see if it would help first before resorting to a drug that was basically a nutritional supplement.

 

 

My older son took this for a while.  I'm not sure it helped so much with his focus, but he did seem to be more laid back and less intense when he was using it.

 

[Mbelle]

essential fatty acids are required for the development of the corpus callosum - starting during pregnancy.  boys require three TIMES as many as girls.  add type symptoms can be caused by an immature/undeveloped corpus callosum.

dudelings ND has him on Nordic naturals PROomega - which is 1200 mg. 

kiddie fish oils (*especially* the gummies) are utterly worthless.  they dont' have remotely enough to do much.

 

 

 

I have two. dudeling has one (all  my kids have at least one.)  what are your questions?  I am symptomatic - and blame some family medical history going back at least three generations on symptomatic mthf 1298.

if you want to supplement  mthf - go for THORNE.  it comes in 1mg and 5mg. capsules.  you can get it off amazon or a compounding pharmacy. (it's the best.  it's better than the rx deplin. but costs a lot more.)

 

It's one of the more confusing things to google.  What is a really good website with symptom inforamtion?  My endo has an alternative bent for sure.  He tested for mthfr and said I had one copy.  I just forgot to ask about this last visit.  My thyroid is off for the first time in 10 years and also insulin resistance so I was focusing on that.  He did want me to take complex B with the specific formulation. I just bought it at his office because it was easier than searching myself (Klaire Labs).  What kind of supplement is it from Thorne?

 

I'm wondering if I should get my kids tested.  Crohns is rampant in my husband family, so I'm always trying to figure out things to get ahead of that with my kids.   

[Lady Florida.]

If you think it is a real case of ADD ( so many other things can have the same symptoms) I encourage you to go get a full evaluation. ADD/ADHD is a difference in brain chemistry function, stimulants bring it up to normal activity levels so a person can focus again. 

 

 

There are so many other issues that can resemble ADD/ADHD, and those require different solutions.

 

:iagree: ADHD (which is the correct term even if the person doesn't have impulse control problems and hyperactivity) is a medical condition. It doesn't always need to be treated with medication, just as diabetes and high blood pressure don't always need to be treated with medication. However just like diabetes, high blood pressure, or any other medical condition, it should be diagnosed properly. 

 

If the diagnoses does end up being some form of adhd and if it's mild enough to treat without medication, I second the caffeine suggestions. 

 

My son has moderate adhd combined type, and takes medication for it. However, he also will sometimes drink a caffeine beverage (he doesn't like coffee much) as a booster to his meds. I can't count the dirty looks I used to get for letting him have caffeine drinks when he was younger, but they all came from people who didn't understand.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

:iagree: ADHD (which is the correct term even if the person doesn't have impulse control problems and hyperactivity) is a medical condition. It doesn't always need to be treated with medication, just as diabetes and high blood pressure don't always need to be treated with medication. However just like diabetes, high blood pressure, or any other medical condition, it should be diagnosed properly.

 

If the diagnoses does end up being some form of adhd and if it's mild enough to treat without medication, I second the caffeine suggestions.

 

My son has moderate adhd combined type, and takes medication for it. However, he also will sometimes drink a caffeine beverage (he doesn't like coffee much) as a booster to his meds. I can't count the dirty looks I used to get for letting him have caffeine drinks when he was younger, but they all came from people who didn't understand.

 

LOL Starbucks always says "you know that had caffeine right?" When I get ds13 something with coffee. "Um yep I do"

[poppy]

Caffiene is a naturally occurring substance. It's not less natural because it is societal no-no to give it to kids. It's use also offers parents of young kids who aren't ready to opt for medication a stop gap measure.

 

When I go off caffiene, I get horrible side effects.

When my husband went off it, nada except for increased attention issues before he started a prescription.

 

To be clear, I'm not anti-caffiene.  It's more, I'm not anti-meds. 

 

What about chocolate covered coffee beans?

[LucyStoner]

To be clear, I'm not anti-caffiene. It's more, I'm not anti-meds.

 

What about chocolate covered coffee beans?

I'm not anti-meds but we do prefer to wait until they are the last available options because of the side effects of longtime use starting at a very young age. Ideally my husband would have started them in high school. My younger son though has a mild enough case that his pediatrician and his whole crew of HCPs (he also has ASD) think we can reevaluate the need for meds regularly until he's closer to adolescence. When there are times he needs to be ON a cup of Barq's root beer or some black iced tea can be a huge help.

[iamonlyone]

Our doctor suggested DMAE. It didn't help our teenaged son, but it helps the doctor's adult son a lot.

 

BTW, our son also has homogenous MTHFR C667T mutation so takes (or should take—he is on his own now, so don't know if it's happening) methylated B vitamins.

[gardenmom5]

It's one of the more confusing things to google.  What is a really good website with symptom inforamtion?  My endo has an alternative bent for sure.  He tested for mthfr and said I had one copy.  I just forgot to ask about this last visit.  My thyroid is off for the first time in 10 years and also insulin resistance so I was focusing on that.  He did want me to take complex B with the specific formulation. I just bought it at his office because it was easier than searching myself (Klaire Labs).  What kind of supplement is it from Thorne?

 

I'm wondering if I should get my kids tested.  Crohns is rampant in my husband family, so I'm always trying to figure out things to get ahead of that with my kids.   

 

mthf = methyltetrahydrofolate. it's a particular folate.  the mutation can reduce how much your body will absorb and be able to use from the food you eat.  which affects  a bunch of other things.

dudeling and I each see (different) naturopaths who do a lot with mthf.

 

mthf.net  (he's done a lot of research, but he sells his own brand of supplements -  and so I do take some of what he says with a grain of salt.)   here's a page that does list some of the effects of 1298.  scroll down and irritable bowl is linked.  and he has a page to explain  the difference between  the different molecular  forms and why they are not all the same.

mthfrcure.com

there is one woman who has also pulled together a lot of research, but I don't remember her name.

 

Thorne is a brand of supplements. (available at pharmica or amazon. or about any compounding pharmacy or ND's office.)  they have very high quality mthf - a specific supplement. (considered the gold standard by many naturopaths.)  if you decide to take mthf -start slowly! I can't emphasize that enough. (my "open to alternative do" started me on 15mg. big, huge, mistake.)   if your methylation cycle has been dysfunctional, adding in mthf  will get it to start working meaning a potential toxin dump.  so, go slow.

thorne sells mthf in 1mg and 5mg capsules.

thorne makes a b-complex as well.

there is a compounding pharmacy here that somehow uses the same source as thorne's mthf. so, I can now buy rx dosage levels (7.5 mg and 15mg.) of  thorne quality mthf for less than thorne.  woohoo.  (deplin is the common rx form of mthf - it really is not as good as thorne. it 'feel's' like a step backwards.)

 

I use emerald  laboratories b-healthy. I order from amazon.  (when I started it was like someone flipped a light switch)  they use methylated bioavailable forms.  it includes some mthf. (I need more)  I didn't know much when I started with this, and have been reluctant to try anything  else because I've had some horrible experiences with supplements over the years.  

 

other brands my NDs use:

pure encapsulations

douglas laboratories

[EKS]

Coffee.

[Katy]

• Coffee or caffeine.
• Hard exercise in the morning before school.
• Brief exercise breaks whenever focus is slipping (run 3 laps from the backdoor to the big tree in the backyard, do 20 frog jumps, or do 100 jumping jacks, or go jump on trampoline for 20 minutes).
• Consider the Pomodoro technique - hard focus for 25 minutes, scheduled break for 5 minutes with at least 30 seconds of exercise, here's a page on why it works for ADD. You can do 1 per subject for little kids, 2 per subject for older kids.  As long as they work hard for those 50 minutes total, they're done.  If they procrastinate they run laps, then focus hard.
• More exercise in the evenings after school.
• Automate everything visually - schoolwork to be done today is in one bin, schoolwork that's done & waiting for mom to check is in another bin, we use those in/out bins you can get in office supply stores.
• Time in nature
• Lots of time for creative play
• Limit toys to one at a time or they'll spend more time setting up & procrastinating putting away than they will actually playing with them.
• Open shelving for everything, open closet doors with shelves instead of dressers, everything in an easily visible place without doors to close makes every other routine in the day easier.  Everything must have a place though.  It's highly likely to get angry at a kid with a "dirty" cluttered room for having such a mess, but when you help him put stuff away realize he has too much stuff to put it all away.  Then it's time to purge or add more shelves.
• Limiting sugar and junk food and screen time.

 

[Tammyla]

:bigear:

 

Any suggestions on how to get caffeine into a kid who hates coffee and soda? Would tea work?

 

Also, OP, you might check into the book The Mood Cure. I just recently listened to some of the audiobook, and I know the author mentioned ADD/ADHD, but because it was in passing and I was listening for different info, I can't recall exactly what she recommended. I have a hard copy coming, but it's not here yet, so I can't give you more specific info, but if you can get your hands on a copy (Kindle would be super fast, of course), there might be something there to help you. I think she suggested that parts of her "master supplement plan" are effective for treating the neurological issues that are at the heart of ADHD, but that's all I can come up with from memory. (As for the book itself, I used its recommendations in treating depression and anger years ago and they helped me A TON, so I do trust the author. It might just be a matter of pinpointing the correct supplements with a little trial and error.) 

 

ETA: Here are some links that might get you started:

 

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/10694-3.html

http://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/adhd/7-types-adhd/

 

I have used 5-HTP with very positive effects for myself, but it was for depression. I know I was able to get my head together better during that time in general, but I don't know if that was a result of decreasing the depression or boosting the serotonin directly or something else. I wasn't paying too much attention to the ADHD stuff at that point! I'm going to be adding tyrosine, tryptophan, and GABA back into my own supplement regimen this week, so I can try to update in a week or so with results.

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Would tea work?

 

No, she doesn't like that either, unfortunately! But the dark chocolate might, and I've gotten some other great ideas to try here as well. 

 

Thanks!

[Mbelle]

gardenmom5...thank you for the info!

[summerreading]

Thank you, so many suggestions. I do regularly offer him coffee in the morning. I don't know if it helps. I guess I should come up with some way to measure progress, like 5 points if he hears me the first time without that far away look and saying "whaa?". I bought a supplement for my husband from Native Remedies called Focus Addult, which is mostly ginseng. Does anyone use that? I could try that for a bit. I could try lessons outside, sounds more fun anyway.

[TwoEdgedSword]

What does a professional evaluation for ADHD consist of?