Alternative treatments for ADHD? What works?

[snomnky]

We are starting to explore ADHD treatments for DS. What little research we have done has brought up DHA supplementation and diet. This is the site I have been reading thorough. http://www.add-adhd-alternative-trea...n-add-adhd.htm

We already eat all organic fruits and veggies, dairy, meat, and eggs. He eats cheese occasionally and drinks about 9oz of milk a day. He eats a ton of fruit. We do very little candy, he does get organic lollipops sometimes. We avoid HFCS, MSG, GMIs, and heavily processed foods. Taking dairy out would be fairly simple, have others had any improvement with that?

DS is doing OT and we have many sensory activities for him at home.

What else has worked for your kids?

[milkmamamerina]

Have you read up on Feingold? www.ADHDdiet.com
We had a big behavior change when we realized which preservatives to avoid (BHT in even "healthy" breakfast cereals like Wheat Chex and Shredded wheat.) avoid milks that list Vitamin A Palmitate as it is frequently preserved with BHT but not listed on the milk carton.

Fruits with Salycilates can cause problems for some so the Feingold diet eliminates them for a time and reintroduces them one at a time.

The webpage has lots of info available, but this PDF book helps because all the info is in one place. http://www.feingold.org/pg-blue.html

I can't speak highly enough of the program. If you do the paid membership, it is very worth it because you get so much help and support that you don't have to go it alone or feel like you are reinventing the wheel.

[snomnky]

I have read about the Feingold program. My concern comes from the fact that we don't eat processed foods and we don't eat non-organic. It looks to me like the help you get is based in these foods we already don't eat. Am I misunderstanding?

[columbusmomma]

Do some research about neurofeedback

[k13]

Not claiming to know what works because I'm just starting to explore our options myself but I found this interesting web page critiquing CHADD's handout on "alternative treatments" :

http://borntoexplore.org/chaddisbiased.htm


I found the book: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics... by Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth to be very interesting.

I also like to go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/ and search for adhd to see what the latest studies are coming up with. I find many of our "normal" pediatricians/doctors are behind on the latest research and much of it comes out in support of "alternative" ideas...

As for us we are going to see a naturopath and have some testing done before starting any diet stuff but will probably end up trying at least GFCF.

[milkmamamerina]

Organic produce still contains salicylates because it is naturally occurring in things like apples, berries, grapes, some spices, and more. Not all kids react to them, but you have to eliminate them for a time to find out. Also, even organic products (especially breads, crackers, milk) can have preservatives that come from secondary sources such as the pan spray they purchase or the Vitamin A that is added back into reduced fat milk. The labelling will not tell you this. You do have a better chance of avoiding the preservatives by always choosing organic, but Feingold has a group of volunteers that contact manufacturers in order to verify what does (or rather does not) go into making the product.

It's more like an allergy than a nutritional problem. So if your child reacts to something in your bread, for instance. It may take 4 days for the effects of eating that bread to clear. If your child has this bread twice a week, then you will see no change. So that is why Feingold's approved foodlist is so helpful in determining what your child specifically reacts (or does not react) to.

[glorio]

I've heard good things about therapeutic listening. I work with kiddos on the spectrum, and the 2 boys I work with are doing this program right now. One of the Mom's brought home paperwork and let me read it. I am now thinking of looking into it for my ds to help with sensory seeking, auditory filtering problems, ADHD, and sleep issues.

The local Children's Hospital has an attention training program that we hope to also explore, maybe yours has something similar?

I might also consider checking ferritin levels. We found out ds's ferritin was *very* low when a doctor at the sleep clinic wanted it tested in relation to sleep. Since then I've read a lot about children with ADHD or ADHD like behavior having low ferritin.

[vocalise]

Going casein-free definitely reduced some symptoms for my ds. He takes an omega 3 supplement each morning. And exercise, exercise, exercise (or, worded more specifically, outdoor time, outdoor time, outdoor time) is huge for him.

I'm saving up for neurofeedback, too. It's quite $$$, though.