Non-Medication Tips for Parents of ADHD Children
Thursday, March 08, 2012 4:59AM
Dr. Peter S. Jensen of the Mayo Clinic is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist specializing in helping children with ADHD. He has provided information from The REACH Institute, of which he is President and CEO.
This information is provided for entertainment/informational purposes only. This is not a substitute for professional medical or health advice, examination or diagnosis.
Filed Under: Tips, As Seen On The Show
Comments
I have a 10 yr old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD bout 4 years ago. He was on Adderall for 4 1/2 yrs then the doctor suggested a medication called Vyvance about a month ago, because he was having sever outbursts. He was on it for about 1 and 1/2 months when he developed a tic. So he is now back on Adderall and doing much better. The past 3 years have been pure HELL up and down but his medication combination now is working great. He takes three different medications. But my son not on medication would cause many problems, watching his diet alone did not work. Through out the whole time his grades in school have always been A's and B's. Mininal problems at school but medication reall helped that a lot. My son also has therapy sessions every two weeks.
my previous comment said my son was not graduating when in fact it should have said is "now graduating". A typo I caught after the fact.
My son has been taking Concerta since the 4th grade, he is not graduating from high school in May. I did not want him on medication in the beginning and did all the behavior modifications and diet mods as well. The modifications did not help very much. His doctor agreed to try him for 30 days on the lowest dose. The first day he came home and did not have to bring class work as homework because he was able to concentrate to finish in class. Unlike the old Ritalin, Concert is a 12 hour med that does not accumulate in the system. Is my son the perfect child now, of course not, but he is able to learn, retain that learning and function with out the distractions. You must remember every child is different, what works for some does not work for others. Parents must educate themselves and work with their child's doctor and teachers to find the right balance.
I watched your program, I was disappointed because the ADHD treatment is not just treatment with medication or non medication. The treatment option is based on the underlying causative factor which varies from person to person/ child to child. The important issue which is easily forgotten even in the medical community is the fact that most of the symptoms of ADHD arises from lack of SLEEP. This is due to upper airway obstruction(T & A/AllERGY) and fragmented sleep disorder. I am a pediatric neurologist with special interest in sleep. Dr. Jensen should have pointed about this in his appearance during the show. Thanks
I watched your program, I was disappointed because the ADHD treatment is not just treatment with medication or non medication. The treatment option is based on the underlying causative factor which varies from person to person/ child to child. The important issue which is easily forgotten even in the medical community is the fact that most of the symptoms of ADHD arises from lack of SLEEP. This is due to upper airway obstruction(T & A/AllERGY) and fragmented sleep disorder. I am a pediatric neurologist with special interest in sleep. Dr. Jensen should have pointed about this in his appearance during the show. Thanks
Many people have commented that my 7 year old daughter might have ADHD and that she should be put on medication. As a mother I am hesitant to take this course of action. I dont believe a child (unless under extreme circumstances) should be put on any type of behavioral medication. They are still developing and there could be unknown side effects. How many drugs have been released with an FDA approval only to have attorney commercials years later saying that that same drug caused serious if not fatal side effects. I will not take that chance with my child. The attention span of a child is naturally short, especially if its not something they are interested in. A child will naturally have more energy. To say that this behavior needs corrected is to say we should no longer allow our children to be children.
im a mother of a 10 year old who has ADHD.I took him off of his meds because when he was on them he would talk about killing himself or killing other people...now that hes off of the meds he doesnt say things like that...I just have to find things for him to do...he does have a little problem in school but his teacher and i work together to help him with that....
ABSOLUTELY NUTRITION! I am a teacher and also have personal experience with the way the chemicals/preservatives, etc that are being used in our foods and are causing immune disorders, AUTISM/ADHD/DD and their symptoms and probably much more. How many kids and adults are being put on medication, when it could be food allergies/sensitivities...and changes in diet could make profound differences??? As I said, I know this myself from experience and from students I've taught. Just a change in diet....as simple or as difficult as this can be...can make a HUGE difference in symptoms from headaches to control issues to violent behaviors. Check out food and brain allergies online....there's tons of info on it....we need to spread the word!!!!
I am a mother of a 7 yr old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD bout 2 years ago. The doctors suggested a medication called Vyvance. I believe that it really does help him. With out the medication its hard for us (me and his teachers) to get him to sit down and do anything. He has issues with being destructive, and fighting with other kids, and the list goes on. But when he's on his medication he's calm and concentrates better. He's still struggling with his reading and remembering his spelling. but he has received an award for excellence in Math. We take things one day at a time with his medication, sometimes it seems it works better than other times. depends on his mood I guess. But without it I dont thing that he would be able to make it thru school. I am doing this on my own trying to cope with it as much as he is, I know he gets frustrated, but I personally believe that whether or not you choose to have your child put on any medication is your option you have that right.. I just know that for a single mother of two it was my only option to try to help my son do better in school.
Anderson Cooper Show on ADHD – Safe Help for ADHD
Dear Mr. Cooper,
Parents have the right to be told about safe and effective NON-MEDICATION options that really work for behavior labeled ADHD. The success rate of these options is backed by scientific studies which Dr. Jensen chose to ignore on your show on ADHD.
The options listed below are benevolent and effectively address deeper childhood issues such as temperament, environment, deprivation of movement, social and personal stress, and other contributing factors that ADHD medication never address:
- Movement and exercise
- Parental training
- Innovative teaching strategies
- Behavioral modification programs
- Improved classroom environments
- Biofeedback
- Yoga, martial arts, dance
- Meditation
- Acupuncture
- Nutrition and Vitamins
Sincerely,
Marcia Lee, Solutions Without Drugs, Children’s Brain/Body Balancing
http://solutionswithoutdrugs.com
I have a 13 yr old boy who has been once diagnosed with ADHD but told no by other health professionals.Again I would love to know what the change using medication would do for him but as he was old enough to know what it was like for a friend and he and his Father were against it. I agree that kids who are able to go follow there interests would do wonders as my son does when he is not in school but by no schooling like Laurie I was curious did her son graduate from school??? She never mentioned him actually learning Math,Science,History etc.As you said homeschooling is not an option for most to teach our kids the kind of education they need. I can barely help mine with homework. Medication & ADHD will always be a very contrivorsy subject.