ADD without meds?

[Ravin]

Can anyone point me to resources I can give a friend of mine? Her son is being evaluated for ADD. He's five. She describes him as "high energy", not an unfair assessment, if you ask me. He attends a montessori kindergarten. He's being evaluated at some testing center for ADD. I've seen this kid play. He can stay engrossed in what he's doing for hours--if it's something that interests him. I really think it would be a shame to dose him with ritalin or its ilk, so I want to point her towards alternatives.

[bestjob]

I don't have any information, but I'd like to ask a question about evaluations for ADD. What kinds of people make the evaluations, and how would a parent know if the evaluator's credentials were valid? My friend's 9 y.o. daughter is being evaluated now, and it scares me to put the child's future in the hands of a stranger.

[candiland]

Have her read "The Indigo Children".

[geekmom]

I would have her try to find a homeopath. I know mine is great and has many resources on add.

[Sherricp]

Well, I would first ask her, very respectfully, why she is having him tested. Personally, I think most parents of truly add/adhd kids know that there is something wrong with their child. She describes her child as "high energy", more like towards one end of the normal range of human behavior rather than actually having some sort of cognitive problem. I firmly believe that a reference for assessment based solely or primarily on the fact that a kindergartner can't sit still and listen for a significant period of time should be rejected. If _she_ doesn't think there's something wrong with her son, I just hope that she knows that she can "just say no" even if the school tries to tell her that assessment can't hurt and that she really should have it done.

Some authors I've read on more natural approaches that include evaluating the environment include Thom Hartmann and Thomas Armstrong.

Sherri

[applejuice]

I second everything that has been mentioned.

I want to add that Scientology has help in the form of its technologies for those who have been diagnosed w/ ADD, ADHD and whatever you have been diagnosed to be drugged into submission.

[dswmom]

I worked on a very large ADHD study for the National Institute of Mental Health while I was employed at Duke. There are certainly alternatives to medication, but meds tend to get used so frequently because symptoms of the disorder are alleviated quickly. I have talked with many parents who used alternative approaches to address their child's issues and it takes lots of structure, patience & so important, consistency. Nothing will break down a system faster than 2 parents who don't work together to help their child.

With your friend, "high energy" definitely does not equate to ADHD. To be diagnosed, you have to have significant impairment in ability to function in at least 2 different environments, (i.e. home and school). Therefore, if child is doing fine in school, but loses it at home, then ADHD would not be the diagnoses.

Anyway, I could go on and on...here's a great website that has so much information about any disorder/disability you could ever want to know. http://www.irsc.org/ then go to the section on ADHD and many more good websites await you.