What Can I Do About My Child’s ADD/ADHD ?
My previous blog focused on diagnosing ADD/ADHD and I ended it with the question most parents ask me about ADD/ADHD – “What do we do about it?”
The answer to this question is also not straight forward as there are numerous directions parents can look – but each option has both positive and negatives and many unsubstantiated claims.
Your conventional options include:
- stimulant medications
- parent training
- family therapy
- educational accommodations
Your alternative options:
- homeopathy
- herbal medicines
- supplements eg. zinc, magnesium, iron
- essential fatty acids
- dietary modifications
- anti motion sickness medications
- anti fungal medications
- neurofeedback
- meditation
- chiropractic skeletal adjustments
- karate
- massage
- single vitamin megadoses
- vestibular stimulation tricyclic ant-depressants
- and many more
Treatment options for ADD/ADHD are loaded with controversy. There is considerable empirical evidence supporting the conventional treatment options but many parents are philosophically opposed to using stimulant medications. There are no “slam dunk” behaviour management tricks that are universally successful but there are many parenting tips that are beneficial. There is widespread misunderstanding and in some cases reluctance in schools about how to accommodate ADD/ADHD students. Many parents tell me that getting teachers onboard is their biggest problem.
Empirical evidence supporting most of the alternative treatment options is limited although there is ample anecdotal evidence supporting some of them as effective. I advise caution when moving this direction because medical and mental problems that are poorly defined, chronic, troublesome and lacking in clear solutions are fertile ground for speculation and exploitation. ADD/ADHD are all of those things.
Regardless of the directions you end up going, I suggest that you have in place a plan to honestly and accurately evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. Behavioural Management Systems can assist you in developing an objective way to know if you are moving in the right direction.