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Our 5 yr old adopted son has been diagnosed with ADHD and hubby is having a hard time agreeing to medication. Our son starts Kinder next month and I think it will take him struggling a bit for my husband to see he needs the meds. In the mean time, he's willing to try a natural supplement to see if that will help. What would you recommend?
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Strong black coffee laced with skim milk (no sugar, obviously!) worked well with my oldest. Caffeine does NOT act as a stimulant in children with ADHD. It worked well with my oldest -- she had coffee every morning and a 5mg Ritalin at lunchtime and nothing in the evening (so she could sleep).
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Strong black coffee laced with skim milk (no sugar, obviously!) worked well with my oldest. Caffeine does NOT act as a stimulant in children with ADHD. It worked well -- she had coffee every morning and a 5mg Ritalin at lunchtime and nothing in the evening (so she could sleep).
I would recommend going on the GFCFKids yahoogroup and asking this question there. Of course most of the people on there have their kids on a GFCF diet, but they also have a tremendous knowledge of supplements that can help kids to be calm. The pecanbread and GFCFRecipes groups could also be very helpful for the same reason. Meds are helpful and necessary for some kids but these groups may give you some ideas to try instead of or in addition to meds. You might also want to look into the HANDLE program for ADHD. I'm trying to scrape together the money to try it with my autistic kiddos and it's supposed to be excellent for ADHD, TBI, and all sorts of other things. It really helps them to regulate their nervous systems and is a fun therapy for the kids to participate in. I don't have their website handy but if you google HANDLE ADHD I'm sure you'll find it. :)
Hi, first-time poster here.
I am surprised your child has already been diagnosed with ADHD at five. If your child is a boy, our kindergarten teacher used to say ALL five year old boys are ADHD!!
But if you trust the diagnosis, put him on the lowest dose of meds possible. Otherwise the side effects kick in... heck, they kick in anyway, but not as bad.
Our son (now 18) started with concerta at age 8. But I did a lot of consulting first and got the best (in this area, Champaign-Urbana, IL) ADHD specialist to look at him.
The doctor, Charles Morton, is VERY supportive of ADHD parents... he's been down the road himself.
He has done research on the correlation between ADHD and iron deficiencies. These won't show up on regular tests.
So have your child tested specifically for low iron, and if it checks out, put him on the recommended dose of iron supplement (ferrous sulfate, I believe).
I know there are many who would say no meds, but for us, and after doing a LOT of research, the meds enabled him to focus more at school.
And if you can keep your sanity, lay off the meds on weekends and holidays.
Good luck to you!
p.s. not to alarm you, but from experience and professional consults I have found a correlation between ADHD adoptees and later propensity to drug addiction. I am not saying this will happen, but I wish someone had told me early on that problems would crop up much later, problems that I had never anticipated. My son smoked his first joint on his 18th birthday, and did a downward spiral for almost a year until he agreed to get professional help. He is in a great facility in Springfield now, and we have high hopes for him!
I only mention this because many counselors and mental health professionals have told methat kids or teens especially with ADHD first take pot because it actually does help them calm downand feel more focussed.
Unfortunately, that's not all the drug does! So just be aware to inform your youngster as he gets older to avoid drugs. (We did, too, but teens are not prone to listen to their elders!) He (my son) also had a genetic history of bipolar and alcoholism, none of which was disclosed to us at time of adoption.
With all of this, of course, we still feel totally blessed
(if a little ragged, sometimes)!
God bless,
Heart51 Kathy
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I've heard Omega 3's.
I've been giving my daughter an adult dose of Omega 3 - 6- 9 as well as niacin since March. She's made huge progress since then, but I can't say if those are the reasons or not. Don't want to stop them just in case, though!
She came to us diagnosed with ADHD, but I think anxiety (caused by trauma) are the root of her issues.
What do your doctor suggest? Be careful giving supplements to a five year old unless advised by doctor. I can relate to your husband hesitate about meds for a five year old. Try the food diet first and see if there is a change in his behavior. The teacher will let you know also if there are issues.
Look into Cogmed Therapy. Its a computer program thats monitored by a cogmed coach. It does not have to be done in conjunction w meds.It works on attention to task, impulse control and a slew of others. We found it for $1200
RhondaBear, second the suggestion for HANDLE. The HANDLE Institute -- Leader in Treating Autism and the Autism Spectrum[/url] "Holistic Approach to Neuro-Development and Learning Efficiency. It's truly amazing, have seen it make a huge difference for many children.
Diet can help, if your child has sensitivities to chemicals or food dyes, hyperactivity is a common response. Read some before/after stories at The Feingold Diet Program for ADHD . The easy thing to do would be to pull stuff out of the diet, and see if it makes a difference.
Fish oil, Omega 3, can help (most of us, actually!)
Last update on May 4, 1:32 pm by Miriam Gwilliam.
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I have had pretty good success with Chamomile Calm by Herbs for Kids, Calms Forte 4 kids / or A+ Attention. I prefer calms forte to all of them because it is very easy to take and seems to work good. I do use chamomile and calms forte together before there is an activity that involves concentration and focus. Give them a try. I have ordered them online at iherb.com & luckyvitamin.com;)
ForeverDad
I don't think anyone has a pharmocology degree, but what about caffeine with Vyvanse and Depacote?
I would like to know about this too. Our almost 9yr old takes Vyvanse but it wears off by the afternoon. I would like to try coffee ( if he will drink it) to see if it helps calm him the rest of the day.
mothertwo
What do your doctor suggest? Be careful giving supplements to a five year old unless advised by doctor. I can relate to your husband hesitate about meds for a five year old. Try the food diet first and see if there is a change in his behavior. The teacher will let you know also if there are issues.
This.
I fail to see how supplements not regulated by the FDA-- or at least not fully clinically tested --- are safer than tested, doctor-prescribed medications.
Avoiding certain foods can help a little, but only to a small extent.
CBD is an easy and effective way to help manage adhd. is a great resource for learning how to start cbd, trusted brands to use, how much to give and discussion resources to talk with other parents.
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