OT: ADHD Issues...Need Help and Advice

[tnahid]

Does anyone have children with ADD/ADHD issues? What do your children take? Has anyone tried the homeopathic medicine called Synaptol? My 10 year old is most definitely ADHD and it is affecting his ability to learn. I have been against meds all these years, but I am really struggling with how to best help him. We have changed diet many years ago, and take supplements. That all helps, but just not enough. He is REALLY struggling in Math. No retention...sigh... It is so hard, because I was horrible in math as well growing up and I think I struggle with ADD symptoms also. Any help would be greatly appreciated on this subject. I would love to hear other's experiences and advice.

P.S. If this post is too off topic, I am sorry! Please feel free to take it off, I just thought others might have some advice or help. But this might not be the best place to ask...
Thank you!

[Kims]

I do not have one with bad Add but we do have some tendencies here. I am not a big advocate for medicine but I have two adult friends who are on medicine now and they say how they wish they had been on it as a child so they didn't feel so dumb and worthless. (Not saying at all your son feels this way I just wanted to share their perspective with you)

[psreit]

My dd has attention problems and her pediatrician even said she is probably ADD. I know that diet can make a difference, along with using a different method of teaching. That is one reason why I chose HOD. As far as meds, I think it is overdone. Yes, there are some who truly need some intervention in that way, but many who are using it do not. The danger of using meds, other than natural resources, is that many will become dependent on it. A relative of my brother-in-law said years ago that a lot of the patients in the drug rehab where she worked started out on Ritalin. There are many side affects when taking that kind of stuff. There are many natural ways to help.

I talked to Carrie at our convention back in the spring. She said, some kids just aren't mathy. That does not mean they need to be labeled. I think math will always be a weakness with dd, but I will help her go as far as she can. I would never medicate because she can't do her math. Meds are not an option here.

[Tansy]

My dd1 needs a multi sensory approach to retain most things. Esp in math!!
For math I do a problem reading it aloud and speaking my way though it. Sees it in action Connects eyes + ears
She does the next one. This also makes her feel less overwhelmed She doesn't' have to do 15 problems just 8.
She reads it + says everything out loud... Says it Connects mouth + eyes
She writes it does it Connects eyes + mouth

Playing brain training games with her (luminocity) also will help them exercise those muscles in a fun way.

I find for my concrete thinker if she acts out the word problem she has much more success at it.

We only use magnesium and trace mineral drops, She is on phase 3 of the Spectrum Balance Protocol diet (free unlike Finegold) which has made a huge difference.

After a bad start this am she is just now finishing up her therapy/school work with her QT and she is happy calm and quiet.. go figure

[water2wine]

I am going to pm you because I think my reply goes beyond the place of this board. But take a look in your in box.

[Starla]

I am good friends with a Christian schoolteacher who taught 2 years in a special needs classroom. Her son is also ADHD. My boys are VERY active, and especially my mild asperger's boy can be a handful. She suggested an herbal remedy and she uses it with her boy. I tried it with my kids for awhile while they were in her classroom last year and it seemed to help. It's called "Calm Child" and you can get it in health food stores. "Calm child" is a larger tablet and may be hard for some kids to swallow. There is another called "Calms" (although I'm not sure exactly what it was called because we finished up the bottle) which is easier to swallow. But they are both basically the same. Chamomile seems to be the main ingredient. Don't know if you want to go the herbal route, but seemed to help with both her child and mine.

[doubleportion]

We have done dietary changes, and that has helped. The Lord just led me to a new diet for ds called Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet and he has been on that for about a month now. It has contributed to even greater improvement for him in behavior and focus, memory retention etc. You can read about it more at my blog http://quietlyrunningtherace.blogspot.c ... -gaps.html My mom takes Melissa officinalus aka Lemon Balm for ADD and find it helps her a great deal. We are very much against medicating so we have never gone down that road. We did have him assessed, but left it in God's hands after we got the results.

My ds is 5 and now our ds 2 is starting to demonstrate similar behaviors as his older brother. Allot of the ADHD is tied to allergies both food and environmental for my boys. When we started addressing those issues the symptoms significantly improved.

Edie