What have you done that has helped your ADHD child?

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Our Challenging Children (gifted, ADHD, sensitive, defiant)

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amother

OP ↓

Sat, Oct 12 2024, 10:01 pm

I'm looking for things to try before trying out medication for my 6 year old. Any therapies, supplements, tips etc that worked for you? I'd love any input. Tia

amother

Peachpuff

Sat, Oct 12 2024, 10:11 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm looking for things to try before trying out medication for my 6 year old. Any therapies, supplements, tips etc that worked for you? I'd love any input. Tia

I have a 7 year old without a diagnosis just a strong suspicion. I asked my brother in law who’s a PSY-D and he said def try OT first and a lot of one on one in school. Also there are supplements that really help kids like omega 3. At 6 years old you should try a lot before medicating

amother

Lightblue

Sat, Oct 12 2024, 10:14 pm

Remove sugar from diet. Use alternative sweeteners like silan or xylitol, agave

amother

Sunflower ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:19 am

Nothing helped except a low dose med. There are non stimulant meds you can try first.
Life changing.

amother

Oleander

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:47 am

amother Sunflower wrote:

Nothing helped except a low dose med. There are non stimulant meds you can try first.
Life changing.

Could you name some.
I'm at wits with my son.

amother

Camellia ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:52 am

Regardless of if you decide to try medication or not, you can definitely help things by setting a lot of rules and boundaries and expectations.

All kids need to know what is expected of them but a child who has trouble self regulating needs this constantly.

We had a checklist for before school.
As we walked out of the door, reminders about how we walk to the car. Any time we went absolutely anywhere, reminders, reminders reminders.

A child with true ADHD needs a lot of structure to help them be successful. It takes a lot of work from the parents but it will.pay off.

amother

Steelblue

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:54 am

medication.

amother

Emerald

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:06 am

Did hydrotherapy along with medication. It really helped bH.

samo ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:07 am

amother Oleander wrote:

Could you name some.
I'm at wits with my son.

Yea I second this. You can drive yourself mad trying alternative things bdtd. Guanfasine is a non stimulant that is life changing and something like concerta or Ritalin which are common stimulants is life changing as well. These are medicines that save our family life. There is literally no reason to kick the can down the road and hold off. I actually think the sooner the better as chaos and out of control behavior can make a child feel terrible about themselves.

amother

Lemon ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:09 am

In what ways are they showing ADHD? Each child shows it differently.
My child at age 5 was diagnosed, we did ot, didn't see any changes. She is extremely well behaved but just can't sit and concentrate or finish any worksheets.
We started her on a low dose of ritalin and it was a game changer for her and the teachers (who were amazing beforehand especially dropping the pen that they can give DC a reason to get up in the middle of class etc and pick it up for them. She was clever to realise it's only her being asked to pick it up and the teacher was dropping it on purpose...she didn't like it)
After putting her on ritalin (without telling the teacher about it) her worksheets were filled in completely and correctly, the teachers commented on how she suddenly is able to concentrate without difficulty and her self confidence has nearly sky rocketed. We let them know afterwards, we just wanted to get a true assessment from them and not what they imagined.
If your child needs medication please don't hold it back from them. They are missing something in their brain communication which we have naturally and medication is filling it in.

↑ samo

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:11 am

amother Camellia wrote:

Regardless of boundary setting and reminders, some behaviors are just out of an ADHD child’s control. It’s almost unfair to have certain expectations. With medication, the above interventions are far more effective and allow the child to succeed at them.

amother

NeonYellow ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:33 am

Magnesium!!
I read the book Finally Focused and implemented some of it
But magnesium helped the most. She was on meds and I weaned her off it through using magnesium.

amother

Cerise

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 4:54 am

Ot for reflex integration not just regular ot

What kind of magnesium?

amother

PlumPink

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:10 am

Finally focused has a ton of great ideas I wouldn't go to meds before I read it and implemented what I could.

If your dc is a mouth breather, has tongue ties, a high palate or narrow jaws, addressing that is a must as well.

Treating chronic infections like strep. Treating yeast and parasites in the gut.

Diet: ideally, gluten free, dairy free, msg and dye free, minimal sugar. Can make a huge difference

Craniosacral therapy and reflex integration

Make sure their thyroid is working well.

Plenty of good quality sleep and plenty of movement

LDN

Heavy metal detox

Homeopathy

amother

↑ Camellia

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:28 am

samo wrote:

If course. But many people use medication without behavior modification and in my opinion, if you're already using medication you definitely need to implement behavior modification.

cloudsandsun

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:34 am

If he is having behavioral challenges, highly, highly recommend PCIT. It was a game changer for us.

amother

Ballota

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 5:52 am

Make sure the house is neat and organized. The child's day is structured. Expectations are clear. The child feels appreciated. Give clear instructions and praise for follow through. Has this child been evaluated? The doctors or therapist often have tips. And I cannot say this enough, medication is not evil. Many children who aren't medicated end up self medicating. You simply need to find something that works for your child. I have 2 kids with adhd on very different medications.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 9:18 am

Thank you all. We are very open to medicating but I do want to try some other things first because she is young. There are lots of great ideas here for me to look into. I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

giftedmom

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 10:11 am

CBD helped us for a while. Bh with age came maturity and dc now has more self control and motivation to act appropriately.

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 10:42 am

amother Cerise wrote:

Ot for reflex integration not just regular ot

What kind of magnesium?

Any kind will do, just not oxide. My child was too young for swallowing pills and the only gummies we found with a hechsher were magnesium citrate.

I really recommend finding a natural way if possible, there’s so many things to try. All medications come with side effects.

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