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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#BestBubby

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:48 pm

Caffeine works similar to Ritalin.

Maybe try 1/2 c of caffeine coffee ☕ in the morning.

Also get enough sleep 😴

amother

Winterberry

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:18 pm

mediction and coaching to help me deal and understand my child

RG2

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 7:32 pm

Red light therapy for brain inflammation and neurofeedback. Undiagnosed ADHD. After about 6 months the teachers were noticing significant change.

amother

Orchid ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 7:37 pm

It really depends what symptoms you're trying to target. Inattention? Impulsivity? Hyperactivity? All of the above?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 7:38 pm

amother Orchid wrote:

It really depends what symptoms you're trying to target. Inattention? Impulsivity? Hyperactivity? All of the above?

Impulsivity is our biggest challenge right now.

amother

↑ Orchid ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 8:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

Impulsivity is our biggest challenge right now.

Oy, good luck. Impulsivity is extremely difficult to manage without medication. I know kids who are literally in tears over their inability to control themselves without meds. Kids with adhd have about 2-3 year delay in the maturation of the prefrontal cortex. So a six year old will have the impulsivity of a 3-4 year old. It's just where the brain is holding developmentally and they truly aren't capable of much more.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 8:29 pm

amother Orchid wrote:

Yes my poor princess just wants to be good and is feeling so bad about herself. She's a people pleaser so this is really hurting her.

amother

↑ Sunflower

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 8:34 pm

While medication can have side effects (low appetite, trouble sleeping if they take it too late in the day) it is absolutely life changing.
Yes diet, exercise, OT etc are helpful to manage the day and some symptoms but if it is true ADHD then it is a biochemical issue and medication is a massive help. Just like asthmatic who stays away from triggers may need an inhaler, diabetics even with perfect diet need insulin- kids with ADHD can need meds. It isn't something that says anything negative about your kid. It is just how Hashem made them.

You can also start/stop meds if it doesn't work for them.
We do a stimulant in the morning and guanfacine in the afternoon (non stimulant so they can sleep, it stays in the body so it can give help the next day as well).

With it my kid can focus in class, does the best they can (not a perfect student but at least this allows my kid the ability to try!), and helps with self esteem.

It is a remarkable thing. It doesn't mean I am a bad parent or have no structure, control, routine etc. It doesn't mean they are problem kids. It is just how Hashem made them.

amother

Seashell

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 8:45 pm

Many great ideas have been posted. I've tried many myself for my kid and I used to proclaim "skills, not pills"
Ultimately, these interventions take a lot of time, cost a lot money (OT, Chiropractor, Supplements) and are simply not as effective as medication. We need to be able to function in the society we live in. If you can homeschool and manage the environment for your child then maybe you don't need meds for a few more years but most ppl can't do that and the kids suffer without the right help.
You'll get your kid back with the right meds.
Lastly, Use a psychiatrist who really understands adhd, kids, and how the medications work

amother

↑ Orchid

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 9:11 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes my poor princess just wants to be good and is feeling so bad about herself. She's a people pleaser so this is really hurting her.

I understand! No one wants to see their child hurting. I have no skin in the game. But I'm a huge advocate for medication. It prevents kids from becoming at risk teenagers and literally saves lives.

amother

Amaranthus

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 9:17 pm

There is a great book called "fire child water child" it divides adhd into 5 types and how to treat each naturally.

I've also done Nuerolinks for 2 kids and saw great success.

Diet also plays a major role in adhd kids.

amother

Anemone ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 9:24 pm

As an adult who finally tried medication at age 40, and finally feel like I'm LIVING...It's fine to try a thing or two, but if your child is unhappy, please offer her medication to help.

I have two kids diagnosed with ADHD. I waited a few years before medicating my first. When I finally did (in second grade), it was because he came home miserable. He had no friends -- he had alienated all the ones he'd had beforehand. His siblings were scared of his impulsive outbursts. His teachers were at their wits end...and honestly, so was I. So in his mind, the whole world was against him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was miserable.

Looking back, I can't believe I let it get to that point. He was in therapy, we'd cut out certain foods and dyes, tried fish oil...I was trying so hard. But I was holding back the one thing that would really help him.

Please don't wait until you're at that point. I didn't realize we were getting there until we got there. And it took some time to come back from that point. B"H he's thriving now, but I still kick myself when I remember...

amother

Clematis

Mon, Oct 21 2024, 2:06 am

amother Anemone wrote:

What medication did you use? Wondering what to do for my 8 year old son.

amother

↑ Lemon

Mon, Oct 21 2024, 2:52 am

amother OP wrote:

Impulsivity is our biggest challenge right now.

My sister helped me understand my ADHD daughters impulsivity really well. (She also told it to my DD so she shouldn't feel bad about herself as they are CLEVER)
It's not her, she has a monkey in her brain doing it but she has to control that monkey. It's difficult and sometimes it's harder than other times but for her self confidence it's not her per say - they don't have the same control on their brain as non ADHD people.

This is why she is tearing herself up, she knows it's wrong but can't control it like others can

smarty skirt ↓

Mon, Oct 21 2024, 3:57 am

The original question: What to try for 6 yr old. FIRST, pls understand that ADHD is a general term with different types and since it can co occur with other deveopmental issues or actually be a symptom of other issues, you need to do your homework first before medicating. I am shocked that no one mentioned that. My concerns is that some of the so called happy medicators could be masking developmental issues.

There are children that have difficulty focusing due to undiagnosed vision, hearing,medical issues such as tumours even. This is probably a partial list. Let us start with vision, an opthamologist is not the same as a behavioral optomotrist for example. I would recommend on your insurance a behavioral optomotrist evaluation from one that has vision therapy on your insurance, if you are in NY I recommend Dr. Warshovsky at ODA who taught at Suny College Vision Center (the best in NY) for like 34 years, beware of students however that have set up in other areas in NY (our experience and others)

Then I recommend through the Board of ED Dr. Donna Geffner speech therapist and audiologist who performs an enhanced audiology exam including an extra for you: background noise and the audiology tests she recommends for your child like auditory processing.

There is much more that I could say here than I can write but in a nutshell. There can be reasons for lack of attention and you want to evaluate very well first. These are the popular areas for attention defecit. Eye muscle issues are treatable and make a difference with prisms,progressives,vision therapy and audiology issues with its own therapy and equipment. Then you see what you have left to deal with, whether you need a brain mri etc. then go for the neuropsychological through board of ed for what is left after treatment, then you can look at medication after you have had skin scratch test for allergies, done magnesium three months for what is left, you can choose an integrative chemical approach depending on what you want to spend......but please dont do it in reverse order. This is my opinion, it is not written in stone.

amother

Khaki

Mon, Oct 21 2024, 8:46 am

smarty skirt wrote:

What you say is all well and good, and I agree that testing vision hearing etc should be done properly as part of the evaluation and diagnosis process, but medicating wouldn’t “mask” any of those issues. It wouldn’t help. If it helps to the point that the child no longer struggles, the issue isn’t vision or hearing

amother

Carnation

Mon, Oct 21 2024, 10:23 am

For years we pushed off medicine too. BH never had behavior issues but it was definitely affecting how my child was in school and our relationship at home. As the doctor put it, the kid is in a class with 25 other kids, in a city with noise coming through the windows, etc. most kids can naturally filter those distractions out. However, a kid with adhd can’t. The medicine is there to help quiet all that background noise so the child can focus on the tasks at hand, ie: the teacher teaching, the worksheet in front of him, etc.
I still wish we didn’t have to medicate but this kid is much older and now is at the point where he wants the medication himself bc a) he recognizes he needs the extra help during the day b) there are other adhd symptoms that came about and he’s now more mature and self aware that the medicine helps him be able to control them better.
The medicine doesn’t make everything perfect but does enough that he can manage and he can use his own kochos to overcome anything else that comes up.
I think tools and skills are important to teach the kid, but I think often the kid can’t use them effectively without medicine.

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Oct 22 2024, 8:44 am

amother NeonYellow wrote:

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.

Can you post a link to the specific magnesium you give?

Thanks!!

amother

Apple

Tue, Oct 22 2024, 9:10 am

cloudsandsun wrote:

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

What is that?

amother

↑ NeonYellow

Tue, Oct 22 2024, 9:12 am

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

Can you post a link to the specific magnesium you give?

Thanks!!

https://www.iherb.com/pr/chapt.....02062

I give two of these twice a day to my 6 year old. You should start off with one twice a day and build up. You will see if it’s too much if the bowels become too loose

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