Alternatives to medication for ADHD

[lancsphys]

My son, aged nine, was diagnosed with ADHD by a paediatrician last week. She offered ritalin-type medication. When I asked if there were any alternatives, she baldly said no. But the NHS website seems to suggest that there are various therapeutic options. Does anybody have any experience of this, or has anybody been in a similar situation/have any advice?

It doesn't reduce the symptoms though - it increases the ability for the person to manage them so the perception may be that they're reduced - they haven't been, it's that the tolerance/coping mechanisms have improved.

Like you said yourself 'allows the individual to develop in such a way that their symptoms are well hidden'

That's not a reduction in symptoms - that's increased ability to manage those symptoms which is invaluable for a lot of people. I won't say it isn't.

ADHD is a neurological condition which when genuinely diagnosed is a condition present from birth with symptoms being obvious (DSM- V criteria) before the age of 12 and may persist well into adulthood.

You cannot reduce or resolve symptoms through therapy or coaching. You can increase the individuals coping mechanisms and skills which results in a reduction in distress or anxiety but you cannot reduce symptoms in themselves.

The symptoms are still there - the person is just better at managing them.

If the symptoms are not manifesting nor have been seen to be manifested in YEARS then surely that is a reduction of symptoms. To dose with medicine only reduces symptoms by means of chemical method. For some in order to access the therapy they may require medicines. But ultimately how sustainable is long term medication?

1. I am not saying that ADHD does not continue to adult hood. I live in a house hold where there is a high proportion of the occupants with ADHD most are adults. Symptoms are controlled and generally you would never know.

My very ADHD sibling as a child would very very much disagree with you on the fact that the symptoms are still there. She has different symptoms (eg serial multi-tasker, has to have more than one sort of thing on the go (writes, performs..) etc) but the symptoms that manifested during childhood no longer manifest nor are something that she has to apply strategies to, nor would anyone ever know that this was an area that the adhd manifested itself in the past. Surely that is reduce and even resolved. Or are you referring to no longer having ADHD when you say reduced and resolved?

With DD we have not seen any advantage of food changes but she hardly gets processed food or fizzy drinks so we may do a "hidden" exclusion by default with her.

We found that at school she is fairly calm, still has attention problems but she is less hype and anxious. We think it has a lot to do with the predictable structure a school day offers. Every time there is an uncertainty (two weeks with supply teacher for example) caused issues, the school now talks to her in advance (if possible) to pre-empt problems.

We also found relaxation CDs make a difference, we use Relax Kids with her. A friend suggested Yoga which worked for her DD but we haven't tried it ourselves.

With my son it was foods most people would consider "healthy", fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and milk not processed foods or fizzy drinks that were trigger foods.