Need advice for ADHD child

[TIREDMOM]

:? OK, I'll try to give the readers digest version. My 7 year old son has ADHD. I mean, sometimes he gets crazy hyper even on medication. My boyfriend does not agree with medicating, but understands why my son is on it. Without medication, he almost literally bounces off the walls, and he has a tendency to throw very violent temper tantrums. He has hurt me before. :oops: I need some tips. I get to my wits end. How do handle him. I wish he wasn't on medication, but without . . . well, you know.

Please help

Shani

[luvmy4sons]

:? OK, I'll try to give the readers digest version. My 7 year old son has ADHD. I mean, sometimes he gets crazy hyper even on medication. My boyfriend does not agree with medicating, but understands why my son is on it. Without medication, he almost literally bounces off the walls, and he has a tendency to throw very violent temper tantrums. He has hurt me before. :oops: I need some tips. I get to my wits end. How do handle him. I wish he wasn't on medication, but without . . . well, you know.

Please help

Shani
I have 4 sons that I home school and two are ADHD and dyslexic and one also has language processing issues. I guess it helps around here because the boys have their brothers and things are pretty wild a lot of the time with "male" type of activity. But my youngest is very hyperactive. His speech pathologist at Children's Hospital in Columbus said she had never seen anyone not be able to be still for a second! YET....our church does not have Children's church or Sunday school and he sits through an entire church service without acting up. That I attribute to a very diligent, deliberate, focused character training twice a day for YEARS! I read stories to them and we go over manners and role play situations and practice how to behave etc...and have for ALL of Luke's entire life! He is 10! ( neither son with ADHD takes medication)
Don't sell your son short. You will need to make some concessions for him but continue to expect him to behave and train him and teach him and help him practice and discuss what is expected of him in what situations. Patience, practice and perseverance! :)

I have heard that flax seed oil helps so I give it to my sons..don't see a huge dfference. I have seen improvement with maturity and age. They mature slower than their other two brothers...I use a lot of reminders, repeat myself a lot. Pray a lot and I discipline when they misbehave. Instruct, instruct, instruct, pray, pray, pray, discipline, discipline, discipline!

Doesn't sound like a lot of help, does it...but structure is so important and practicing so they behave....other than that I send him outside and let him RUN and put him to work as much as his little body can do....in the winter I would send them all into the garage to roller blade and run of energy.

I get it! :roll: Sometimes I think I am going to lose my mind! And each kid is different. That is just how I handle mine. I ask God for wisdom and pray a lot! :lol: I include hubby and ask his advice too! :D

[tobikay]

I feel like I say this alot, and it is my standard response, but I promise it works.
Have you tried Chirpractic treatment? I know it sounds crazy, but listen for a second, allow me to present my case, then disregard if you want....
Think about the spinal cord...all those little bones are there to protect the nerves and blood vessels that flow between them to every part of your body, and the brain. Now, if one of those little bones are out of place, at that point in the system, there is interferrence, simular to standing on a garden hose, it still flows, but not as well. Imagine if this were happening at several places...some of these nerves and vessels may be going to not only the brain, but also all the glands, muscles, and organs in the body. What a good chiropractor can do (without pain) is to re-position those bone and allow free flow again. I have seen this work. One particular little boy in our clinic, when he first started, he was not passing any classes at school, and the time he was in the office, oh my...let's just say it was a test. But after about 2 months of treatment (2 times a week), there was a noticable difference, he would come in with coloring or papers to draw on. His mom brought in before and after report cards..he even got an A in math and improved a whole grade level in reading. Absoultly amazing.
I guess I see it like this. God made out bodies to function freely, then we do all kinds of stuff to gum out the system, it all just needs to be put back to the way he ment it to be. How do things get gumed up? Well, think about the birth process, these babies are pulled out and twisted by their necks...can that mess anything up? Also, think about falls and injuries..not to mention medications and all the bad stuff in our food.
My suggestion (especally if you are worried about the treatment being too rough or hurting your child), find a Dr. in your area who used a device called the Pro-Adjuster. Basically, this is a computer that will help the Dr. adjust the bones with out all the "popping and cracking". If you are interested, let me know where you live and I will find one for you.

Do you think that I am passionate about this? Only becasue I have seen it work.
tobi

[luvmy4sons]

Tobi,
I had one of my ADHD sons getting adjusted for 3 months reguarly. He also has some mild scoliosis. I found it to be so expensive. And I didn't see a huge change in him. Could be his dyslexia kicking in too, though the chiroractor said it should help that as well. While the reults weren't HUGE, his scoliosis did not reverse and his ADHAD didn't disappear, we still take him every now and then for an adjustment. I would take him every week if we could afford it. It made a believer out of my husband because my son would say how much better his back felt. He used to complain about back pain ALL the time. Now he doesn't and when he does we take him in . He plays football! You can imgaine the adjustments needed then. We take him reguarly during football. His scoliosis has halted...and we attribute that to his occasional adjustments. I just wish we could keep it up on a weekly basis and see what it does for the ADHD and dyslexia, but it is just too expensive and insurance doesn't cover the majority of it!

[tobikay]

luvmy4sons, I don't know anything about your financial situation, and I really can't speak for sure for you chiropractor, but in our office, when the price of adjustments presents a financial burden on a patient, to the point of choosing between continueing care or stopping, there are arrangements that can be made. This is legal and all, and you may have to show proof of income, but we have patients who qualify for even $5 a visit (of course this is an exception...but a significant reduction in your payments is possible)..
I also am sorry that you haven't seen the expected results, but at least the scoliosis has been held at bay, that is a huge thing, and could of course hinder the ADHD resolution.

Can I ask another question (sorry for hijacking the thread, but it is kinda on the subject), when you take your son to the MD for his sports physical, does he say anything about the scoliosis and football?
Thanks for the information
tobi

[TIREDMOM]

Wow! I love some of the things you are able to do with your kids. I am a single mom, so my time with my kids is limited to evenings and weekends, unfortunately. I do have a wonderful babysitter who works with him, also, my mom gets him sometimes and he is pretty good with her. I have noticed that a few foods affect him. Any red dye, (like kool aid, popcicles, etc.), eggs after a few straight days of having them for breakfast. You should have seen him yesterday. In summer school his teacher gave him a red popcicle, then he had chocolate cake at the babysitters for a birthday party. By the time I picked him up after work he was going a hundred miles an hour; :shock: talking non-stop, in and out of the house, all over the funiture. . .he wore me out just trying to keep up with him. and he kept it up the whole evening. but for some reason he didn't fight with his brother as much, probably no time :lol:

Any body else with some words of wisdom?
Oh yah, I pray a lot about this. and we have a lot of talks about his behavior, usually at bed time when he is actually calm. But he doesn't remember these things when he is "in the moment".

[JoyLynn]

Oh, my goodness, Shani! I was reading this whole thread and thinking I would post in the most humble posture possible. When I read your last thoughts... :shock:

I feel humbled even talking about this because none of mine have ADHD, but my oldest brother did. He had it SO bad, it's hard to describe. He was a totally obedient child with a sweet temperment, but he sometimes acted like he was TOTALLY strung out on drugs!

He would pace the floor like a mad person, all the while shaking his hands violently, and humming really fast. This could go on four hours! We had a very peaceful family and my parents were at their witt's end.

My brother did have to be on medication. If he didn't take it he would roll back and forth in his bed at night and couldn't sleep for even one minute. It was awful. Poor guy. :cry:

My mom started working with different foods, looking for food reactions. While he was on medication he could concentrate and function, though he wasn't necessarily "like" everyone else. He's a random thinker and relates to people differently than anyone else I know. To me he's just "Jay". Alot of people would just like to take him to the outskirts of town and leave him for dead! :lol:

Anyway, if he had anything with artificial colors in it, he would be like someone on speed. He also couldn't do artificial flavors or artificial preservatives. He'd be "high as a kite" as my mom would say. Sugar wasn't good either, but especially in large amounts. A little wouldn't be too horrible, but a cookie, or God forbid a Hostess treat... :shock: "Have a nice TRIP! See ya when you come down!" :lol:

It was hard on him and the family. Oh, and his teachers used to threaten to quit occasionally. :? :)


Joy [welcomewave]

My nephew has this and takes the medication but sometimes this doesn't help him either. He is 9 now and my sister did a LOT of reading up on food and how it contributes to ADHD - so he had his diet overhauled and she has to watch what he eats and apparently if he does eat something and starts up... she will give him some bicarbonate of soda.

There are a lot of good books on managing the disorder via food (along side medication) - even simple things like the wrong type of bread will start him off - she has to buy preservative free bread ....

So she manages him with the medication and the diet. If you are interested in this I can ask her the book she used to manage his diet.

I just remember what he was like as a smaller child before he was diagnosed and the difference the diet and medicating has made... so I know she is on the right track because he had been thrown out of two daycare centres and suspended from school with threats of expultion - so he has been a bad case!!! Thankfully now, even though he can have usual attacks of naughtyness and obnoxiousness he is A LOT better.

xox Aussie MUm

[luvmy4sons]

luvmy4sons, I don't know anything about your financial situation, and I really can't speak for sure for you chiropractor, but in our office, when the price of adjustments presents a financial burden on a patient, to the point of choosing between continueing care or stopping, there are arrangements that can be made. This is legal and all, and you may have to show proof of income, but we have patients who qualify for even $5 a visit (of course this is an exception...but a significant reduction in your payments is possible)..
I also am sorry that you haven't seen the expected results, but at least the scoliosis has been held at bay, that is a huge thing, and could of course hinder the ADHD resolution.

Can I ask another question (sorry for hijacking the thread, but it is kinda on the subject), when you take your son to the MD for his sports physical, does he say anything about the scoliosis and football?
Thanks for the information
tobi
This chiro is a Christian, but though I have put it out there that we aren't coming as much because of finances nothing ever gets mentioned. The physician told me that scoliosis is genetic and nothing I did caused it and nothing he does now will change it. I specifically mentioned football and he said it doesn't matter in the least! Weight lifting has actually helped it. Made his back muscles stronger and his sternum bump not as noticeable. He has only a 10% curvature but I notice it big time.
Shani,
You know no matter how hard it is.. and it sounds like he is a handful...in the end you just keep on loving him and leaning on God. It seems like I have tried every idea anyone has ever mentioned to me and so far there has been no "miracle" answer. I just keep on keeping on. With a mom who is so concerned about him, he's going to be fine. But what about mom? Is there anyone to help you out and give you a break now and then?

[meg]

Wow, it's funny how things work. I hadn't read this thread until now, and guess what? This afternoon I was in the grocery store buying bread. I took 2 loaves, the last 2 of that particular kind. As I took the 2nd loaf, a man commented that it was on sale, and reached down to take a loaf, then laughed and said "You beat me to it!". I automatically offered him a loaf, saying I only really needed one, and for him to take the 2nd. He thanked me but said no, he'd buy a different brand.

Then, he commented that he only buys particular brands that don't have a particular preservative in them, as his son is adhd/hyperactive, and the preservatives really set him off. He said his son, who is 6, has been preservative free for 12 months, and it's made a huge difference. I offered him one of the loaves again, but he said no, it was OK, the kind he picked up was preservative free too. He swears that for his son, staying away from preservatives has worked.

He started to walk away, then turned to me and asked "Are you a Christian?" I replied I was. He asked what church I went to, and who the minister was, so I told him. He said "I thought you were. Two things gave it away. You're wearing a cross (I wear a small gold cross on a chain around my neck), and even more than that, your behaviour. Most people would just be grabbing the bread, but you're trying to give it away. People's behaviour tells you a lot about them." :oops: :oops: I'm just so grateful that God was obviously guiding my behaviour today, as I'm fully aware that without Him, my "human" nature would have been in full evidence!

Anyway, I'm just amazed that after speaking to this man, whom I'd never seen before, that I checked this thread! Apparently the preservative that his son really needs to stay away from is no. 282 which is often in bread, crumpets, etc. Don't know if this would benefit your son or not, but it may help.

[TIREDMOM]

Thanx you guys! This has been great. I think this sight has been a God send for me. You have all been wonderful. I just might check into the preservative thing. It's kind of hard to do though. We live in a small town, so resources are very limited. 1 Safeway grocery store, no specialty shops at all. His physician is actually a Physician assistant, (but he seems to know more than most of the doctors about kids) :? therefore buying special foods, and getting specialized treatment or even seeing a dietician is laughable. But we do what we can with the resources that we have. I can find ways around almost anything. If I need to, I can just start making more foods from scratch. (I love to cook anyway :D )

As far as getting time away for myself, I go to work as a repreive :lol: and every 2 weeks I go get my nails done. Oh yah, and my BF and I have date night once a week. [couplekiss]

Well I better get going, I have SOOO much to do before bed time.
[chorewashclothes] [chorevacuum] [typing] [whatheadagainstthewall]

Thanks again! God Bless!

[tracy]

Wow, I just read through this and am so amazed on everything. I agree with everyone.

My dd has been seeing a chiro since 4 days old and I have seen changes in other kids. I definitely support this. Some people see results immediately, others can take at least 6mos. There are different types of chiros, pm me if you want more info. Side note - luvmy4sons, if you want to pm me I can ask my chiro about another Christian chiro in your area, but maybe you can write a letter to your chiro about your true need, but lack of finances, I know how expensive it can get and sometimes letters get through better. I think our chiro has family plans so it's more affordable.

When I was a teen my mom researched nutritional info - too many side affects from meds, ended up in the hospital. So now I have to watch my diet a little. Think about how many preservatives and steroids are in our foods. There are also supplemental things, too. I.e. St. John's Wort, antioxidants, fish oil... I take fish oil not only for myself, but it helps dd through bfding, too. It sounds like you can get a lot of dietary info from some of the ladies here. That should help take part of the burden.

Focusing on behavior as luvmy4sons does is an excellent idea. He'll get some extra attention that he needs, while learning better behavior.

If possible, I would try to incorporate a little of everything here. I'm sure it'll be a lot of work, but if you can handle things now, I know you're strong enough to do anything.

[meg]

Tracy, I'm glad you mentioned fish oils - that was the other thing the man in the supermarket told me is helping his son - supplementing with fish oils. :)

My nephew is on fish oils as well.

Food certainly plays a big factor in kids even without ADHD, if I give my DD a packet of crisps (potatoe chips) she will act TROPPO, rebellious, silly - so only DH is allowed the potatoe chips and we buy a flavour that only he likes. DS is fine also to eat them. Tea sets me off - not the caffine the tannen !!!

Not sure what the tonic my sister gives him made out of bicarb is though, it is supposedly meant to neutralise the effects of food which has caused a reaction.