Short attention span-apart from fish oils, do you use anythingelse?

[someoneoutthere]

DS (5.7,asd) has very short attention span according to an assessment he has recently done. The psychiatrist who has done the test suggested that we medicate him to improve his concentration. Both DH and I are against medication. We spent two to three nights a week awake for the last five years, but still avoided using melatonin. He has now finally grown out of waking up at night and staying up at night. Even if he awakes at night, he stays in his bed and stays in his room until he goes back to sleep.

We have been using boots eye-q chews for the last year after reading about it on MN, but don't think it has made any difference to his concentration level. His old psychiatrist does not think that he has ADD as he can concentrate very well with her up to half an hour on one activity. But this new assessment he had done recently to check his suitability for a school placement seems to go on and on about how he had very little attention span and how it was affecting his ability to learn or listen.

We are in a dilemma as to what to do. Last thing we want is to put him on medication. Is there anything else that we can try? Please help.

Being able to concentrate in one setting for one person does not rule out ADD . Has he actually been assessed for it?

The drugs for concentration that I know of are the ADHD family (ritalin etc)

There are people offering 'natural alternatives' to ritalin. No idea if they'd work, of they'd be any safer / better / less druggy than ritalin. Google them and you'll find quite a number of options....

hi there are natural remedies out there you can try. One is called Focus Formula and another is called Brightspark and you can use them together as well as on their own i think. If you google them lots of health food shops will come up and you may even be able to buy them at Holland Barrett. W ewere going to get them for DD1 but never got round to it for one reason or another, but friends have used them both with varying effects. Good luck

Sensory issues:-
I'm working my way through this list, having worked out sound is a real issue for my son. www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processing-disorder-checklist.html. I'm praying I can get him help at the soundlearnng centre this year. The environment is more important for some children than I think is commonly realised and I'd love to see all sen children get a sensory audit of school and home.

Sleep:-
Sounds really sad but the correct amounts of sleep and excercise make a big difference. How much you need is such an individual thing I think it's often overlooked. My lad is waiting assessment for adhd, I'm resistant to this diagnosis as I honestly feel sleep deprivation is a better descriptor for his adhd traits as described by the pros. Quality of sleep is important too, you'll know yourself how you feel after a good night's sleep as opposed to tossing & turning all night. I'm still working on this as what helps seems to change as he gets older.

We use a mummy sleeping bag (texture has to be right). I have no idea why he sleeps better with this, but he does so I'm not knocking it. Some kids only sleep well with pre silk sheets or weighted blankets. Do your pipes make odd noises? Over the years aromatherapy baths before bedtime have helped, as has massage, the right music playing quietly, ocean sounds etc. Light on/off/dimmed. Look at EVERYTHING with info gleaned from the sensory checklist above to give you a fresh set of eyes.

Meditation
Currently i'm researching simple meditation techniques to see if they will help. Whether that will take the form of CD's, or martial arts classes, I couldn't yet say as I'm still looking at all the potential ways a young child can meditate

Excercise:-
I noticed a huge detoriation in my lad's attention span when his hour's run with the dog before school everyday was curtailed to 15 mins cos of the snow last year. I'd known it helped but hadn't realised the impact would be that big. Other Mums rave about the trampoline in the garden. As a child I did gymnastics, swimming or athletics 6 days week. I did cross country every winter as teen, following my Mum taking on walks that went on for MILES as a toddler.

Adhd & add can have periods of "hyper focus", certainly my mob all get that. Read up on hunter v farmer theory. It ticked a lot of boxes for me.

If your lad gets enough omega oils from his everyday diet, fish oil supplements won't make any difference. My lad has them in winter only cos he's dairy free and needs the extra fat but as he loves sardine & spinach sarnies, sunflower seeds, avocado etc doesn't derive any benefit from having them all year round. I'm a scratch cook as I enjoy it but it's amazing what additives sneak into the plainest shop foods, talk to friends with known allergies & you'll quickly see what I mean re staples such as bread.

lastly diet is more than just supplements - is he getting the zinc, magnesium, selenium and b vits from his grub to help him absorb those fish oils? Is he slightly aneamic, (this is really common now yet doc's don't routinely check for it & it affects concentration in ALL kids). I have to ask for a 6 monthly annemia chck for my boy, despite them knowing he's prone to slight anemia, so I don't think it's NHS standard.

Be honest with yourself how balanced IS his diet? Serving greens isn't enough - the little blighters have to eat them too. Periodically I monitor the disconnect between what I serve and what gets eaten. The results can be suprising when you log it in a formal diary, my lad can spot an avoid a chick pea at 20 paces.

BocHead - really great post with lots of great idea in it.

Can I add to your list of things that might help Espom Bath Salts. If you're deficient in Magnesium they should help - and it certainly is an easy way of taking it.

Another random thing which has improved my DDs concentration is reflexology (Chinese foot massage). It makes her more alert and less lethargic. We go for 10 mins once a week at the local Chinese shop.

IndigoBell - great minds! This weeks experiment is epsom bath salts with a couple of drops of lavender essential oil (added at my lad's request). We are trying it as part of the bath, story, bed routine.

It's wonderful to hear you suggest it as you do sometimes have moments when you find yourself wondering whether you really are finally losing the plot as you trial the random latest "bright idea". Now I feel slightly less deranged lol!

Lots of people on here recommend Epsom Bath Salts.

It def helped DS. Don't think it makes much of a difference to DD.

If I have them, I find I have to go to bed straight afterwards. I feel tired like you wouldn't believe. My muscles feel tired.

You can also try epsom salt cream-can buy but you can make yourself (you will find recipe on line). I find it easier than trying to get DS to sit in epsom salt bath which needs at least 20 mins soaking with no added bubble bath or shampoo to be used for proper absorption. Can also soak feet in epsom salt foot bath-very relaxing!!
Extra zinc and selenium also worked here!

Thank you everyone, so many wonderful ideas. I knew there would be alternatives I could try!! Medication is going to be the last resort for us.

I am going to look into Boots to see if they sell Epsom Salts, we live in the U.A.E, so things are not that readily available here. Chundle, I also want to check the natural remedies you suggested.

Indigobell, DS has never been assessed for ADD, he was diagnosed with autism at 2.5, probably why all his hyperactivity was put down to his autism. I know somebody who is a professional foot reflexologist, not sure if DS would allow her to touch his feet though.

Oddgirl, if I can't buy epsom Salt here, I will definitely look into making it, but I am such a terrible cook that it is a case of whether I dare or not.

Bochead, we are also considering soundlearning centre for DS's auditory processing problem. As it will involve us being in the Uk for couple of months (am I right?), it just is difficult to organise considering school, dh's work. Please let me know how you get on as we also think DS has a lot of sensory seeking behaviour which is making him more hyper.

DS's diet is pretty good, he eats a lot of vegs, fish and chicken (he does not like red meat much). Interesting comment about omega-3, he definitely gets a lot of omega-3 from his diet as he loves salmon and seabass. I wondered why eye-q chews never delivered the wonder they promised!!

DS is also very physically active, he does a lot of activities throughout the week, biking, swimming, judo etc. We also have a trampoline although he does not go onto it that often, I will make sure he gets on it everyday from now on.

DS is much better at sleeping through the night now. It's funny but everytime DS had a sleepless night, his concentration level went up according to his teacher. She even made this comment jokingly that we should wake him up at night since he is more tuned in when he is tired!!!

We are yet to have one of this visit to dentists and doctors, may be it is time to have a blood test, since we don't know if he is lacking anything.

I can't thank everyone enough for the wonderful ideas again. I want to try everything in the world first before I medicate DS.

SomeoneOutThere - AIT at the Sound Learning Centre only takes 10 days! not months. So that should be far easier for you to do.

If you can do it I highly highly recommend it. I've done it with both DS and DD and have had amazing results with both of them.

The retained reflex therapy they do (which I also highly recommend - but after you've done AIT) requires one visit every 6 weeks or so. But you could probably space them out a bit more if necessary.

Someone be very careful exploring 'natural remedies' on-line. Be cautious of buying anything when you don't know the true source or the ingredients. There are many black market products being peddles over the internet. I believe the safest way to investigate these would be to see a homeopathic doctor who can provide them for you ... do they have those in the UAE? If not, you could contact one in the UK and discuss options. Really, be careful! Stupidly and in desperation, I purchased such remedies for my son who is ADHD and one of the ingredients was Strychnine (rat poison) which apparently in small doses is fine - NO WAY JOSE !! Also, you could telephone the: Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (homeopathy), 60 Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3HR. Telephone 44 20 3456 7890. They could advise you on what to do for alternative treatments. This website is good and has some articles on ADHD and other developmental disorders: www.britishhomeopathic.org/how_we_can_help/health_and_homeopathy/ Good luck!

Thank you madamsin, will give Royal London Hospital a call tomorrow when the kids are at school. They do have a lot of homeopathic doctor here, I just don't trust them, so we will have to see one when we are in the UK.

IndigoBell, we just booked our place for AIT at the sound learning centre, we are planning to have it done this summer holidays. Thank you for stating it's only 10 days, I can't remember why I had in my mind that it was about 8 weeks.

Great news! Really pleased for you.

Someone had to laugh at your comment about not trusting 'them'. I lived in the Gulf for a while and you could pretty much buy anything on the black market (medication wise) that would have been banned anywhere else on earth .... Let me know how you get on.

IndigoBell, did you do LWS at the sound learning centre? They are recommending that we do AIT and LWS (lightwave stimulation) together? Just wondering how you found it.

Madamsin, we try to bring our stock of medicine (calpol etc) from the UK as we don't want to take risk with the kids. .

Yes, both kids did the LWS.

DS hated it and kept his eyes closed for most of it, and unsurprisingly it didn't make much difference. However it gave him 3d vision for the first time.

(God knows how bad his vision was before - or now)

DD didn't mind it so much. And the report says it made a diff and gave me some numbers. But I'm not really sure how to relate those diffs to the real world.

Seeing as you're coming over all the way to London to do it - you might as well do the LWS at the same time.

Indigo, do you mind telling me a bit more about AIT? My DS's ABA Supervisor is very dismissive of it saying aparently there are good research to show that it's all gimmick. Yet us as a parents we want to try everything that might make a difference. Just thought you might be able to tell me a bit more about how it helped your DD and DS and has the progress lasted? In what way it helped them. DS's recent report suggests that he has severe auditory processing delay which is making him more hyper and he also has undersensitive vesticular(spelling!!) system. Thanks in advance.

It is definately not a gimfick. (Although Dolfrog would agree with your supervisor)

There are studies that show it is effective.

But I more care about the results for my children, rather than the results of a study.

I have done it on 2 of my children. DS has ASD and dyspraxia, and DD has dyslexia.

They did an audiogram of them, and both of them had very similair problems. Their audiograms looked like a mountain range, when it should have been flat, or a slight slope. But the worse part about it was that they both had hypersensitive hearing. I.e. in the normal speech frequency there were getting a result above zero.

This is painful. Like fingernails down a blackboard. But they were getting this in the normal speech frequency!

They listened to specially modified music (created directly from their initial audiogram) twice a day for 10 days.

And then they took another audiogram. In both cases their audiograms were now almost flat. So we had cured their hypersensitive hearing.

This has had a massive impact on their behaviour - because the whole world doesn't hurt anymore.

Neither of them said that their hearing had improved, or that it hurt before. But the audiograms and the change in both their beahviour proves it works.

I think it would be a pretty big co-incedence for it to fix both of my kids if it was 'just a gimmick'.

The progress has certainly lasted. We did DSs one a year ago.

I think the 'mountain range' is what makes it so hard to understand what he's hearing. It means in one ear he could be hearing 's' at +5, and in the other ear at -10, then in the same word he could be hearing 'ee' in one ear as '+15' and in the other ear as '-5'. So it's very hard for him to work out what has been said.

Thank you indigo, we have decided to give it a go, if nothing changes, we could say we have tried.