Help for ADHD without medication?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

Oh. my. god. Let the lunacy begin....

That's not fair PP, and we don't respond that way on THIS forum.

Different things work for different people. Your statement was ignorant and hateful.

Honestly, I think if these things work, the child doesn't have ADHD, but rather an allergy. ADHD is a neurological disorder. There are lots of things that have similar symptoms but are caused by different things.

Excellent statement and I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

These can be great suggestions, different things work for different people- but your bolded statement is completely false.

I don't agree with the other poster who chimed in about lunacy, but making statements like the one above can be seen as bad as Jenny McCarthy saying she cured her sons autism with diet... if that were true than they really didn't have the neurological condition in the first place!! Glad it made such a change in your life though pp

[Anonymous]

OP, we are on the same track as you - ADHD with no meds. DS is six years old. What works for us?

1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

2. Cut out sugar as much as possible. No sweets such as candy, cakes, and ice cream. Allow her a treat once a week at most. She wants something yummy to munch on? Here's an apple or a banana or blackberries.

3. Try vitamin Omega supplements.

What didn't work for us:
GF diet. Didn't have any effect on him and he tried it for three months.
Martial arts. At all. Refused to go after 2nd class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

These can be great suggestions, different things work for different people- but your bolded statement is completely false.

I don't agree with the other poster who chimed in about lunacy, but making statements like the one above can be seen as bad as Jenny McCarthy saying she cured her sons autism with diet... if that were true than they really didn't have the neurological condition in the first place!! Glad it made such a change in your life though pp

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

There is a lot of new research showing excellent attention improvements from after exercise. Our older ADHD child likes to do some exercises before starting any homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

There is a lot of new research showing excellent attention improvements from after exercise. Our older ADHD child likes to do some exercises before starting any homework.

So, how does this work in the morning when you need DC to get dressed and out of the house and there is not enough time for exercise and there are designated times for recess and PE at school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

There is a lot of new research showing excellent attention improvements from after exercise. Our older ADHD child likes to do some exercises before starting any homework.

So, how does this work in the morning when you need DC to get dressed and out of the house and there is not enough time for exercise and there are designated times for recess and PE at school?

Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. OUr school had a mini trampoline in one of the special ed rooms where kids would go for 10 minutes on an as needed basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

DH said he had ADHD-like behavior (circa late 70's) and was every teacher's nightmare. He also grew up in a low SES family with a single mom and was fed free school lunch which was packed with preservatives and fat. Once his mom changed his diet to real food and not cr@p, his behavior improved dramatically. Today he can't eat stuff like deli meat and food (like hot dogs) with sodium nitrates else he'll feel like he wants to rip his skin off.

Today he's a successful computer engineer who earned his PhD at GWU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

There is a lot of new research showing excellent attention improvements from after exercise. Our older ADHD child likes to do some exercises before starting any homework.

So, how does this work in the morning when you need DC to get dressed and out of the house and there is not enough time for exercise and there are designated times for recess and PE at school?

Not PP, but my kids take the dog out every morning and run with her. They run laps around the house. Even if its cold. We build that exercise into the schedule.

You can also have them walk to school, if your school and neighborhood allow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are on the same track as you - ADHD with no meds. DS is six years old. What works for us?

1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

2. Cut out sugar as much as possible. No sweets such as candy, cakes, and ice cream. Allow her a treat once a week at most. She wants something yummy to munch on? Here's an apple or a banana or blackberries.

3. Try vitamin Omega supplements.

What didn't work for us:
GF diet. Didn't have any effect on him and he tried it for three months.
Martial arts. At all. Refused to go after 2nd class.

My kid got excellent results from martial arts, but I think it's more important to find an exercise that the kid likes than have them do a specific exercise.

[Anonymous]

OP Not sure if you answered this or not, but how old is your child? Does he/she have the hyperactivity component? Have your child's teachers brought up his/her issues? Is he/she seen as a behavioral problem in class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

+1

Really great advice. We did all of this, and got rid of sugar as much as possible (substituted fresh and frozen fruit for sweet things). We go to a nutritionist and an integrative medicine doctor, who administered the food intolerance test. It's so, so hard to cut out all the processed foods, but stick with it, and you will see a huge difference in your child. You can do challenge trials to see which foods on the food intolerance list seem to affect your child the most, and cut those out. DD can't tolerate raspberries for some reason! But some other things on the food intolerance list (like pork) don't seem to affect her. My child has never been medicated, and is now a great student, great attention, also an athlete (swimming was great for us). Find a sport your child loves, and that will help a lot. Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

These can be great suggestions, different things work for different people- but your bolded statement is completely false.

I don't agree with the other poster who chimed in about lunacy, but making statements like the one above can be seen as bad as Jenny McCarthy saying she cured her sons autism with diet... if that were true than they really didn't have the neurological condition in the first place!! Glad it made such a change in your life though pp

You are woefully ignorant about allergies, PP. They do affect people in a variety of ways, including causing ADHD and other neurological symptoms.

I read Jenny McCarthy's book, and she did not say she'd cured her son's autism with diet. She said that diet was an important part of his recovery, but never said it was the "cure".

My child has been on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet for more than a decade, with fabulous results. She will likely be on the diet for the rest of her life. Diet does make amazing differences in people who have food sensitivities. You don't believe it because you've never seen it, but those who have seen and experienced it know it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are on the same track as you - ADHD with no meds. DS is six years old. What works for us?

1. Sports. Every day. He does swimming three times a week and tennis twice a week. He wants to join a competitive team.

2. Cut out sugar as much as possible. No sweets such as candy, cakes, and ice cream. Allow her a treat once a week at most. She wants something yummy to munch on? Here's an apple or a banana or blackberries.

3. Try vitamin Omega supplements.

What didn't work for us:
GF diet. Didn't have any effect on him and he tried it for three months.
Martial arts. At all. Refused to go after 2nd class.

Three months is not long enough for gluten to leave the body entirely. You have to go completely, 100% gluten-free for at least six months before you can judge whether or not the GF diet is working for your child. We saw nothing for three months, but after six months definitely saw an improvement, and even more improvement after we got every single molecule of gluten out of our child's diet. It's not easy to do, but worth the effort. Now our whole family is gluten-free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut out gluten and dairy and all processed foods. Nothing in a box, can or bag, EVER! It is hard to do at first, but works. Also buy Nordic Naturals (DHA & EPA kids supplement sold at Whole Foods) and try to give lots of blueberries. Take child to a naturopathic doctor. Medication is totally unnecessary in most cases. ADHD is a food and/or environmental allergy. Also get the naturopathic doctor to do a delayed allergen blood test (IgG food intolerance test) through Neuroscience Labs and cut out everything in the moderate and/or severe category when you get the results. Follow these steps and you will have a new child trust me

+1

Really great advice. We did all of this, and got rid of sugar as much as possible (substituted fresh and frozen fruit for sweet things). We go to a nutritionist and an integrative medicine doctor, who administered the food intolerance test. It's so, so hard to cut out all the processed foods, but stick with it, and you will see a huge difference in your child. You can do challenge trials to see which foods on the food intolerance list seem to affect your child the most, and cut those out. DD can't tolerate raspberries for some reason! But some other things on the food intolerance list (like pork) don't seem to affect her. My child has never been medicated, and is now a great student, great attention, also an athlete (swimming was great for us). Find a sport your child loves, and that will help a lot. Good luck, OP.

Are there Integrative Medicine Pediatricians? I used to go to an Integrative Internist myself back when I lived in CO but never thought about it for pediatrics.