Hello there:

Welcome to the ADDitude forums and thank you for your post. In addition - or in place of - ADHD medications, there are a number of alternative ADD treatments that I would recommend trying:
Behavior therapy
Neurofeedback
Diets high in protein and low in sugar

You can learn more about non-drug remedies in this free special report about alternative ADHD treatments. And I would also recommend this popular article about minimizing side effects from ADHD medications.

Good luck! And let us know what works for you...

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I don't really know of any alternative treatments but wanted to address a comment you made:

>My heart is breaking because I feel like a failure,

As one who has lived with ADD for 35 years (but didn't know it for the first 25), I know what it's like from the inside to know what my potential is and not be able to reach it because I keep getting distracted by shiny things. I've been on Adderall for about six years and it is a love/hate relationship, both for me and for my wife and kids. For that reason, I take it when I need it, and when I don't, I don't.

You see your son on meds as a completely different person, but that doesn't mean he's not still himself. At 6, it's hard to say how much internal frustration there is, but as he grows older, he may feel more frustration with his ADD, and the medication may help alleviate that. For me, the medication changes how I act, but it doesn't change who I am -- it, in fact, helps me to focus on achieving what I am capable of and being who I am wired to be. There are definite drawbacks and side effects, so I don't take it all the time, but it helps a lot.

One example: I do some public speaking and writing here and there. When I'm getting ready for an event, I have to mark out specific blocks of time when the medication is out of my system to write, because the Adderall dries up most of my creative juices. On the other hand, when I actually get up to speak, I am much calmer and focused and generally do better when I have taken my meds.

I haven't experimented much with alternative treatments, but any treatment could probably be substituted for the word "medication" in this comment. The right treatments help make the best of the gift of living with ADD -- they don't make ADD go away. And the wrong treatments can certainly add to the noise and fog.

I just wanted to share my experience that acting different because of medication is not necessarily a bad thing. Your son has a tremendous gift already in that he has a mother who recognizes this early in his education that he's going to need some help, and need to do things differently sometimes. Be his advocate, and his biggest fan, and he'll turn out great.

(And if you stick with meds, just remember that you don't have to take them as often as they recommend.)

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I am a 35 year old woman with ADHD and my son was also just diagnosed. I love my hyperactivity...I own 6 successful businesses and also have energy to keep up with my house and children....my friends and family always say how they wish they had my energy and I would not be where I am today without it. As far as my son, he is excelling in sports. When you have attention deficit you "hyperfocus" on things that interest you...I hyperfocused on opening businesses and my son hyperfocuses on sports (like Michael Phelps did). Make your child hyperfocus on something positive and THAT IS AN ADVANTAGE he/she has over any other. Also I did not put my son on medicine and I was never on it. I changed his diet and am giving him a dietary supplement, because I didn't want him to lose his positive energy. His teacher commented on what a big difference he is seeing. Diet: Omega 3s, just look for this on the labels of food (Smart balance products), high protein low sugar (read the additude diet recommendations) and I use Neu-becalm'd supplements.

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PLEASE do not medicate your child without getting all the infomration you need!!! There are ways to accurately dignose your child with ADHD that the medical community does not use because it does not help the pharmaceutical companies, that in turn pay Doctor's bonuses on the amount of perscriptions they write- it's TRUE. If a psychologist diagnosed your child- ask them what percentage of children do you diagnose ADHD or what percentage of your patients do you recommend medication for- VERY important before you accept a diagnosis or medication. Find someone who specializes in Biofeedback- Get a QEEG run or a SPECT that can correctly diagnose if ADD or ADHD is really the issue- Millions of children are medicated uneccessarily because parents do not know about this or don't have access to it. We are falling pray to the pharmeceutical companies marketing ploy. The childs brain is still developing and NONE of their studies know the long term ( years) side effects. I don't know about you but I refuse to offer my child as a guinea pig. We should not be medicating growing brains- it will damage our children. I feel blessed that I found out about a QEEG and was given correct information about my child- he was not ADHD- evn though I was told he was severly impaired with ADHD. The QEEG shows he just thinks faster than most people and very often does not need you to finish the senentece because he as already figured out the answer. yes, he has some impusle control issues- we used to just call that being a boy.....The description of gifted and ADHD is the exact same in the psychologist books. Think twice before you medicate your child.

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Yes there really is an effective all natural alternative to the stimulants now. The name of the supplement is ADD-care and has been proven to be as effective as Adderall in SPECT brain imaging scans at the Amen Clinic. You can see the scans and testimonials at www.add-care.com

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Hi....My name is Heather and my son's name is Alec......He is 10 years old and has entered the hardest year of his life.....10 should not be the hardest year. Alec has always been very intelligent and was tested into the gifted program at the age of 5. Last year we moved and Alec had to start a new school. The type of school that focused only on information retention, organization and state standard test scores.....kind of jamming the information into the children's brain hoping that some of it would stick. Well, after all the years of Alec feeling very smart it all ended in one year... he felt like he was literally retarded. He actually said that to me several times. After watching my child almost have several nervous breakdowns I took him to a doctor who did a battery of tests on him only to find out that he had ADD. Now I always thought that he might have ADD because of his lack of focus, concentration and organization. For several years I was able to get around it somewhat by changing his diet. I also never wanted to put my child on medication because my brother growing up was diagnosed with ADHD and my Mom had him on many medications that made him catatonic and I believe stunted his growth. I am a big proponent of natural remedies, so when I found out about ADD-care I was really excited to see the results. It helped my son right away. He was much calmer, much more focused, able to do his homework and schoolwork.....which was a blessing. He was also able to get back in touch with his emotions and seemed more connected to reality. My mother passed away a year ago and he never cried. He was very close to my mom and a few weeks after taking ADD-Care he found my mother's sunglasses in the car and it triggered her memory. That little boy sobbed for 20mins straight. It finally hit him because he was connected. I am grateful to have found ADD-Care and have already recommended it to a lot of my friends I hope this helps. .......Heather .......Heather@180tohealth.com

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I have a 14 year old son with ADD and have worked with many ADHD kids in the elementary school as a teachers aid. I was fortunate to find a allergist that tests your electromagnetic waves that are affected by foods that you are allergic too. No needles, no blood. With her information and the help of a naturopath, I was able to link my son's food allergies to his ADD.

Once we had the list of allergens we eliminated them and then added them back into his diet to see if there were any affects. Sure enough this is what we have found to be true time and time again in the last five years of testing it. My son's allergy to these foods cause these affects:

Wheat - hyperactivity Dairy - inability to focus Corn - uncontrolled and elevated emotions; baby talk, weepy, clingy, temper tantrums Sugar - diarrhea of the mouth! Uncontrolled talking, blurting out, etc. Dye - arrogant, flippant, rude

When these foods are eliminated from his diet he is a level-headed "A" student that is considerate, caring, average kid that no longer stands out in the crowd as annoying!

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I found this about a 75yr old PHD naturopath on utube interview on Sky Health TV about reversing ADHD, autism & behavioual disorderswithout using drugs. Michael Sichel is a wealth of knowledge. Hope it helps

videos on utube Short version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7aZpPVrkI4 long version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhn9pWtOR8g

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Know that true ADD is genetic. Feeling like a failure that you son has ADD is like feeling like a failure that he has blue eyes. Because it is genetic, it CANNOT be cured! The best someone can due is learn to adapt and cope, Sometimes that includes taking medication for the missing hormones, or whatever it is.

Some others touched on whether the diagnosis is correct. That should be considered before the diagnosis is accepted. Metal toxicity, allergies, sensory processing difficultiies, trashy diet, hearing and vision difficulites all mimic ADD. Even if an EEG shows your kid does have ADD, these issues should be addressed, because they make the ADD worse. Then you can re-evaluate the medication.

You should stall if you feel pushed to put him on meds. But also realize that the meds can make up for what is a physical brain malfunction-where the brain isn't getting enough of what it needs to react timely. And know the meds are short-acting, so they can be taken as needed, which may or may not be every day. It's like insulin for diabetes-maybe a change in diet can help, maybe the insulin is really needed.

Caffeine is supposedly as effective as Ritalin. My oldest says it doesn't affect him. My youngest tried 1/2 glass of ice tea once. It was awful-he immediately hit the ceiling and was aggressive for over an hour. He's had no caffeine since!

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Don't be brokenhearted. You can help your child without medication.

What worked for us was a diet change and supplements guided by a DAN! doctor. (It stands for Defeat Autism Now, but the doctors believe that all of these illnesses from ADD to allergies, autism, etc. are caused by environmental toxins.) The doctors we went to were at the NeuroSensory Center of Eastern PA (www.keystonensc.com). They even took insurance. My son is doing great now!

A great book to read is called "Treating the New Childhood Epidemics: Asthma, Allergies, ADD, Autism" by Kenneth Bock.

Hope this helps.

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My suggestion is just remember that your child will get his/her strength from you. Imagine what will happen if you will lose your strength, everything will change. Medication will help a bit but what really matters is your "will" to survive and the courage for your child's future. Let your child be your strength and vice versa will occur. :)

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