Reply to 7 yr old ADHD boy; meds vs. therapy?

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[quote=Anonymous]I have a 7-year-old boy diagnosed with ADHD combined subtype. I am not anti-meds but he is not on ADHD meds for medical reasons. We were told his ADHD is severe and I would definitely agree in the inattentiveness realm. From my observations (of him, other kids with ADHD, and other kids in general), I would say that he is somewhat impulsive and that his hyperactivity manifests itself more as fidgeting and slouching rather than large movement. So that is just to give a sense of him.

I think that there are two things that help him enormously: exercise and an extremely consistent routine/household organization. It is evident that when he exercises he is more settled, happy, goes to sleep more easily and generally seems more in control of his body. Swimming seems particularly beneficial. I would love to do martial arts but we haven't been able to find the time.

The other thing that helps him is to create a totally consistent, easy-to-follow routine so that he doesn't have to make too many decisions or think about every part of the activity he is doing or be conscious of his transitions, etc. So I am very protective of overloading him -- he can do one activity at a time (if it is baseball season, baseball and nothing else). I am very rigid about his bedtime and bedtime routine, about the amount of screen time he is allowed. He does his homework in the same place and at the same time every night, in a very clean organized environment. I help him break down the steps but make him go through all the motions (for example, I may have to remind him to put the homework in the folder, may have to remind him to put the homework in the bag but he MUST do each step himself before he is allowed to move on.) I have set up his room so that he can be independent about organizing and cleaning, but it is very easy to do so (lots of labeled bins, cubbies, etc). What I have found with my son is that he can learn new rules/habits/systems, and he is willing to do so, but that it takes an incredible amount of practice before it becomes "natural." I guess I should have said from the outset that making rules and expectations super clear, having him repeat them back, is a must for him (or else he is always shocked and didn't hear...).

I tried some other things and I think they are worth trying though they didn't make a difference in our case, for example, OT and gluten-free diet. We already did eat pretty naturally, preservative and dye-free, so we didn't change anything. We do use supplements as well, though, again, I don't see the effects.[/quote]

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