Hey Trish,

I know that Jenny McCarthy has been talking a lot about how diet helped with her son's autism. I think the diet her son is on, while extremely tough, is one that would help all kinds of behavioural problems, not to mention allergies, etc.

I am also not into medication, so I'm interested to see if cutting out processed foods would work in some ADHD cases. We are eating way more sugar, white flour and processed foods then we were a generation ago. It's hidden in a lot of foods. Have you tried anything like that with your son?

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Nadine,

Actually, I have experimented with various food combinations to see if my son might have any food allergies or if certain types of food made it worse. A few months ago, we cut out all fast food, all takeout and I cooked everything with natural ingredients and we are attempting to go organic. I have noticed a big difference, mainly in his ability to manage his behavior and control his anger. His sleeping patterns also improved. I was surprised it made such a huge difference.

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I have a 10 year old stepson who is ADHD this is my first experiance with the medication,teachers and so on. So far I do not think teachers have enough patients with him and his situation. I would like to learn more about the diet you spoke of in your e-mail.

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My 15 year old son was diagnosed with SEVERE ADHD when he was 6. Because he is more like Ty Pennington on a good day, I chose to medicate him. He has been on medication for 11 years and it was, and continues to be, the best decision I've ever made. ADHD is a brain disorder. It is seen on brain scans. It isn't something you choose to acknowledge and hope to treat with crazy diets and biofeedback. It's neurological. Kids with ADHD are unable to process information in the same manner as neurotypical kids. To pretend that it's not really a big issue is, in my opinion, doing your child a huge disservice. If your son isn't doing well in school, and you're denying him the medication that he needs in order to properly focus and function, why is that good parenting? Would you deny your diabetic child insulin? Your child with reflux GERD medications? Why is it OK to withhold medication for a neurological issue?

Nothing, but nothing, ticks me off more than people who suggest that diet will cure ADHD. If your child sees results from diets, then the ADHD is misdiagnosed. If you have not had your child's brain scanned, then the possibility for a misdiagnosis is huge. Many people trust a psychologist or psychiatrist to diagnose ADHD without bringing their child to a neurologist. It's a NEUROLOGICAL problem. What better specialist to see than a neurologist that knows how to test for, and then treat the problem?

My son sees a psychiatrist and a psychologist. But his main ADHD doctor is a neurologist. With the meds offered to him (and Ritalin is not amongst them as it's an old fashioned and rarely prescribed drug these days, proving that you don't even know what modern doctors are using to treat ADHD), and the therapy he receives, he's able to do well in his chosen school classes.

When your child gets older, the schools won't let you intervene like you're doing now. And your child will be pissed and resent you if you try. So what are you going to do then? Still pretend the problem can be cured by helicopter parenting?

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Margalit, what works for you doesn't have to be the right answer for everyone else. I don't see the need to be unkind here. Nobody is attacking you or your choices.

There is plenty of evidence that diet helps with ADHD, at least in some cases. Diet also helps with diabetes, and can, in some cases, make the difference between needing to medicate or not, or to what extent. Same with lots of other physical disorders. I don't think anyone is saying that ADHD isn't a real disorder because diet can mitigate its manifestations.

Personally I see diet as just another layer of influence on any child's behavior, ADHD or not. A certain type of diet would help any child to be more calm and think more clearly. For those who don't have ADHD, maybe it's easier for them to get by with any diet, but for some with ADHD (and other disorders), it can make the difference between success and failure. I largely follow this type of diet with my kids even though I have no reason to think they may have problems - because I believe it is helpful regardless.

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One issue with medication is the potential for side effects, as well as misgivings about putting too many chemicals in a developing person's body. If the symptoms are manageable in ways other than medication, why go for medication? I don't take a painkiller every time I have a headache, only when it is a real problem for me. Of course ADHD is a brain problem, but the brain is such a complex system that so many different things can influence it. WHat works for one person may not work for anyone else in managing it. But if other lifestyle changes influence the brain enough to manage the symptoms for a child, then I think whatever choice that family makes is fine. Sometimes medication is a better choice, and sometimes it is the only thing that will manage symptoms in a paricular person. I have 2 younger brothers, both diagnosed with ADHD. One was able to succeed in school without meds, while the other needed them. Both graduated from college. As with so many things, you do what works for your child, and medication is not necessary every single time for every child.

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Margalit, my son was diagnosed with a borderline case of ADHD when he was 6. It was considered a mild case, not extreme. He is also 15 now. Even his pediatrician did not want to begin medication without exploring other options, such as behavior modification and therapy. I think the treatment options vary, depending on the problems the child is having. I'm not against medication in every circumstance, I am just against prescribing medication without clearly identifying all of the causes of the behavioral problems.

However, if my son's case was considered mild, I do understand a parent's choice to medicate their child in an extreme case.

What works for one child does not work for all. I'm glad medication worked for your stepson. It is necessary in some cases. My son is also 15, and he is not resentful at all because he has seen everything I have done to try to help him manage his behavior. He is actually doing quite well compared to where he was 5 or 6 years ago. I do not know if medication would have been a better choice at that time, but at this point, based on his current behavior and academic performance, no doctor would agree to prescribe him medication.

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Wow margalit, I’m not really sure who or what your so angry about. There are very, varying degree’s to ADHD. Both my boys had it and were as opposite as can be. My oldest son would start on spelling and get stuck and go to math, get stuck and go to history, on and on and get nothing accomplished. He got so bogged down and he’d start one thing and go to the next and so on and so forth. He wasn’t diagnosed until he was 14 because he had NO behavior issues. He just kind of blended in the classroom. Now my youngest…..He was diagnosed very early. He had a very high IQ and the school wanted me to put him three grades ahead when he started kindergarten, which I felt emotionally for him, was a really bad idea. He was squirrelly and could be very disruptive. Not being “bad” but things like shooting rubber bands at the ceiling and sharpening his pencil a gazillion times. My oldest grandson has been diagnosed as well and is on Aderall (not sure of spelling) just so you know, I’m not against medication for all children. Some need it, some can be helped by other things.

I didn’t medicate either one of them. With my oldest, I felt he was to old as “back then”, it was the time they were trying to wean kids of Ritalin by 15 or so. AND yes, I do know it’s an “old fashioned” drug but this was 16 years ago. As Trish stated, which you took wrong, she said "back then" as in, not now!!!" He was doing okay and I wanted to let him have a say since he wasn’t really a child at that point and he didn’t want to be on it. We just worked with him and would help when he got distracted and it seemed to work okay. My youngest was a lot more work. Because he was doing so well grade wise and had straight A’s, our pediatrician wouldn’t even consider putting him on any medication. He said if his school work and grades would have indicated it, he would have but he’d known my son his whole life and would NOT do it. Who was I to argue with that? So we worked with the school, I guess you could say we “HELICOPTER PARENTED!” He wasn’t even in special ed. I made him cards each day and tracked his behavior and we made it through okay but I did a lot of work. By jr high, things seemed to work themselves out since by then, he had to work a little harder with his school work. I really do think part of the problem was he was just to smart for his own good. It takes a really commited set of parents to do this and make it work and I feel bad for the children who don't have this and just take the medication option over any other method of making it work. Medication for me, was the last ditch effort since it wasn't a life threatning illness and we did it and my boys are well adjusted men now.

Now for the diet. I hate to disagree with everything you said but come on. I wholeheartedly agree with SKL on this. Food can contribute to a whole lot of things. Cure anything, probably not but it can really help. That was the first thing our pediatrician told us. Watch sugar, watch dairy products. Just watch what he’s eating and act accordingly. It can NOT cure it by any means but it can HELP. Your son has this really bad but there are different degrees to it and different options for it. You act like there is only one thing you can do.

Just one more thing and then I’ll shut up. Just so you know, if your son/daughter is in a public school, you CAN “intervene” all you want up until the day they graduate. I’m not sure what you mean by that but they can’t do one thing about/with your child that you don’t agree with. It’s your child! You have to sign everything and agree to it. It would be on their IEP or their special ed assessment. I really do think your words and your treatment of Trish were out of line. She wasn’t acting like she was ignoring any issue, she was asking for advice and help. You are mad at someone, I’m just not sure who.

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Hello, my name is Jennifer and I have ADD.

My siblings and I were diagnosed when we were 7, 5, & 4 (though how my brother made it to 7 w/o being diagnosed is a wonder- we will blame it on the fact that it was the early 80's.) Yes, we were put on Ritalin but it was as low a dose as possible and it was only during our school day, my mother believed that as her children it was her job to deal with us as we were (bless her!) My brother & sister had ADHD while I had ADD. My brother led the way in behavioral issues while my sister had dyslexia added... I flew under the radar and was a great student but I did have concentration issues. My siblings had considerable help in terms of behavior modifications and mom learned some of the big food triggers and avoided them (red dye 40 is a HUGE known trigger-to this day my brother cannot drink Hawaiian Punch as he gets manic.) We were weaned off Ritalin as we entered high school (though as my dad was in the military and medical care is not the same as in the private sector it was more like cold turkey.) Oh, how I wish that had not happened! We coped but barely. I am now 30 and have adult ADD. At this time I am unmedicated (partly because I am not sure I want to go back on meds, mostly because I am pregnant and they aren't really an option right now.) I have a difficult time getting things done. My poor husband has learned to remind me numerous times about various tasks I need to do. I also am lucky in that my current cell phone has a calendar feature which allows me to set multiple alarms with notes saying what tasks need to be done.

Every child is different so every treatment option is different. It is a very personal choice and the ONLY time it should be criticized is when a parent opts to do NOTHING, which unfortunately happens a lot. ADD and ADHD are neurological disorders but as is the case with many disorders they are exasperated by the environment. Each case is different and every little thing can help. Trish, I wish I could say that schools have come a long way in how they deal with students with learning disabilities (ADHD & ADD in particular) but in many instances that just isn't true. (In fact, my sis is sueing her law school for readmission based on discrimintation of her learning disabilities.) As a parent, I am sure, you are doing amazing in making sure that your son gets the help that he needs. My mom, aka the dragon lady, was and still is our biggest champion. Stay the course and hold your head high. Your son is lucky to have you.

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My son has ADHD. It showed when he was around 4. While in pre-school i went to find some help. I didnt want to to put him on meds, I ended up having him in counseling. We worked on techniques, changing his diet, and writting
things in a journal. At 4 that was kinda hard but it seemed to be ok. Things were a bit better.
Then he went to kindergarden. They have behavioral colors. Each day in their folders our kids would be sent home with a dot that represented your childs behavior for the day. Green is good, yellow is had to be talked to, orange was had to be talked to twice and go to a mediated session, and red was talked to twice the mediated session and then still got in real trouble. Well my son rarely had a green day, once or twice had a red day. But mainly yellow and orange days. The teacher talked to me about options and getting him some help and I informed her that we were already taking those messures and I did not want my son on those meds.
In the early spring that year she sat me down for a conference and showed me some particular school work that she had saved. I knew my sons work was sloppy and different but I thought it was his pace and we were working on it. When she showed me these papers of assignments and described how these assignments came about it was clear I was going to have to at least try the meds and see if it helped. The one assignment she described that stuck out to me was, he was supposed to draw a helicopter, Which he apparently did, nice and neat in the center of the page, and showed the teacher. She told him to take it back to his seat and wait for everyone else to be done. a few minutes later she collected them and saw that you could no longer see the picture he had originally drawn, the page was completely covered in other drawings. She also told me that when he did things that recieved him a bad mark she would ask him why he did it and he would cry and tell her he couldnt control his body he felt like he had to move or talk or something.
We got him on adderall xp 5 miligrams slow release, at the end of his kindergarden year. In that last month of school his behavioral records changed drastically. And he is in first grade and doing wonderfully. I dont give him the meds on weekdends or on holidays. It makes my doctor mad. He says the meds dont work right if they arent given everyday. But i found, threw my brother, that you can easily build a tolerance to it and then need stronger doses. the side effects can be lack of hunger, insomnia, and zombie like behavior. And medicines when taken on a regular basis can be traped in body fat, and continue to slowly be released as the fat is burned.

No matter what the dotors say trust your insticts, do research, and you can consult other doctors. Remember that you are the one in charge of you childs medical treatment not the doctors they cant do anything unless you give them the ok.

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As a teacher, I felt the need to make a small comment regarding this issue. I fully support parents of children with ADD and ADHD. What parents need to realize is that teaching a class full of children is not like teaching a child 1:1. There is an ENTIRE class of children with needs. A student with ADD or ADHD that is not being properly treated either with meds. etc... can cause a disruption or many in the learning of all the other students. Children with a disability deserve the right to be treated for their condition so that they can survive in the mainstream classroom without disturbing others and can be offered the opportunity to do their work to their best ability. Anyway, kudos to those parents who are willing to help their kids and who realize that their child isn't the only one in the school who needs to learn. Thank you:)))))))))))))))). Teachers need to be supported too.

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I have two gr8 kids, that I'm not sure at this time if there just not overly active or if other driving developmental issues are a factor; . "One appreciative parent"

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