Why are the so many kids diagnosed with ADHD and Autism? Why are children being treated with so many medications? Why not try alternatives to medication? Our children are a product of our environment and it's affecting our kids and future generations!
Feeling Frustrated
Believe it or not I agree with you. Everything seems to be treated with medication. For what seem to be 50 different pills to treat ADHD. So, they're all taking pills Why is it so hard to get ABA THERAPY. I had to practically beg our DR. for a PRESCRIPTION referral for therapy. We're on a year's wait list for the children's hospital colorado. I tried other therapy places too, but I got a lot of run around about getting a specific diagnosis, getting him to use a specific phrase for insurance purposes.
Check back here often, you may get a different reply or maybe even a better answer.
I ask that same question all the time. Majority of the moms I know, their 4-6 year old children are being diagnose with ADHD and other disabilities. I'm still researching and trying to figure out if its all true that it's neurological or is it a combonation of so many vaccinations, unhealthy food, pollution, etc... It's very strange. We chose ABA services before trying medication. She has gotten better (6yr old daughter) from the time she was diagnosed at 3yrs old.
Only tried low dosage medications. We took a 3 month break to try the all natural route (holistic). We are continuing ABA therapy only once a week because they see some progress. I only give her the low dosage 5mg of Focalin tablets. She was switched over to this one because there was a recall on liquid Quillivant XR and her doctor and insurance stated since it was a recall on that medication, we can no longer use it. I never contacted the company who produced the meds to find out whats wrong with it and why was it recalled.
Thanks for your input, my son will be 13 on Saturday and I only started medication a year ago. He went from Aderol to Conserta and now on Vyvanse and Guanfacine. It was only after he said he wanted to try the medication because he was frustrated and wanted desperately to do better. I felt so hopeless and wanted to help him. He's also seeing a therapist. I've always kept him active in sports, karate, and dance. It seemed to help but as he got older it wasn't as easy. I've never heard of any therapies for children with ADHD thanks for the info and definitely try to find out why there was a recall for that medication.
Believe me we tried all kinds of alternative herbs, counseling. Nobody wants their kids on medication but they made a difference in my grandson's lives.
I wouldn't I want them to get in trouble all the time just so they don't have to be on medication. Their mother was on medication all her life. We went through lots of periods of instability but she now has a master's degree. She didn't end up in jail or worse.
Thanks for sharing this. My son will be 9 years old, and he was diagnosed at age 5 with ADHD & ODD. I have the “natural” alternatives a short try, but as a single mother, it’s a lot to do. There’s foods to add and eliminate, lots of research and time and patience .... oh and very costly. I saw a small
Difference but in the mean time, my son was still suffering in school from behavior issues, lack of self control, impulsiveness, and not being able to complete any work. And Home
Was no better. He’s been on meds little over a year now and it’s really helped him. While I hate the fact that he has to take medication to really get through school, it helps him. I’m always afraid however he will become dependent on it, & never grow away from
The meds. It’s good to hear however, you say that your daughter was on meds her whole Life and did good as an adult , holding a masters degree. So it tells me , as it kills me to give him meds each day, maybe meds aren’t so bad......
What makes you say that “everyone” is putting their kids on medication? The national rate is something like 7%. Historical accounts confirm this is an affliction that has been around for centuries but only in recent time has their been any effective medical treatment for it. I’m very grateful that our society has a solution for kids who would otherwise fail in school and in self image. Please don’t add to the hysteria when concerned parents are having enough trouble as it is following their doctors informed medical advice.
ADHD is a neurobiological disorder. Brain structure is different and there is a chemical imbalance. In my son’s case, a stimulant medication is a very essential component of his multimodal treatment plan. Medication enables him to excel in the gifted program (straight As), succeed on the road to Eagle Scout, play mainstream baseball and flag football, perform in his school’s variety show, be receptive to and make significant progress from ABA, CBT and social skills therapies. We engage a child psychologist, psychiatrist and a master degreed behavioral consultant to guide his treatment plan.
Are some medicated unnecessarily? Of course, but that makes no difference in what a choose for my son. I perceive that the ones over prescribing our MDs without a speciality in psychiatry.
I'm glad the medication and therapy is working for your son but as you know every case is different. My son never had an issue with getting good grades his teachers always told me he is very intelligent the problem is his behavior and I have yet to hear about any kind of therapies. I've only heard of medication and he also sees a therapist. He's always been active in all kids of sports and that's the one thing that has helped.
Thanks for your input.
Perhaps you should seek out the therapies on your own. CHADD and ImpactADHD ad well we universities and SELPAs are excellent resources. My son is impulsive with very low frustration tolerance. Medication minimizes both of those issues so he can excel. My son’s IQ is exceptional. He doesn’t have any learning disabilities. He is often bored. My son also has an anxiety Dx, which is not treated medically.
awesome. This statement is very true. Medication alone is not the answer. It comes from. Multimodal treatment process. I am
In the midst of doing this now. My son takes Vyvanse and it’s mAde tremendous difference. I am still trying to stomach the whole Medication thing, but it gives me ease to know and see it really helps him a lot. He’s almost a straight A Student, whereas off of medicine he cannot complete a single simple short assignment. He attends therapy once a week, but I do think he needs a different type. It’s been over a year and I see no help from it. I think the therapist is sweet but it’s just not her specialty& my son dreads going and therefore gains close to nothing but an hour to chat. Any suggestions you may have on choosing and finding the correct therapy. I am still learning and researching.
I just read this thread in regards to Vyvanse for your son and was wondering if it still has worked for him? We are just starting this journey with our 8 year old son--I have been against giving him medicine, but don't think we can put it off any longer due to the stress it has caused him and the entire family. Is this the only medicine you have tried? I've read so many negative opinions to all of the ADHD medicines, so it was actually a breath of fresh air to read something positive and I'm more hopeful that one of them will work. Would love to get your feedback if you are willing to share!
I agree with 22789. This is frustrating that children who actually need medication get questioned. Agreed that there are children that likely don't need to be on medication and it is because of multiple factors include lack of education on alternatives, understanding of testing to determine diagnosis, resources as you stated for therapy, etc. We have done many different therapy modalities and tried alternatives. My child requires medication in order to be successful. It is hard enough to parent a child with ADHD, ODD, anxiety, poor self-talk, and situational depression beginning very early on in life. With stigma and judgement it makes it very difficult for a child to be successful. Children are unique whether they have diabetes, cancer, or ADHD. Judgement of treatment should not be made by those not involved in treatment and make assumptions that atternatives have not been tried
Hi, like I said in my post I want answers and that's why I'm here not to make judgment but to speak to others about their experiences. I feel frustrated because I've only been offered medication for my son and even his therapist at the time was against it.
I'm looking for alternatives to medication to treat ADHD.
As 22789 said, I believe a lot of MD's, not in the psychiatry field are over prescribing. I was fortunate in that my pediatrician was very hesitant to prescribe right away and asked that I seek the advice of a psychiatrist and therapies first. My daughter was 6 yrs old at the time and he felt she was still so very young to be taking meds. Thank God we were on the same page. I was very hesitant to medicate her but had he merely suggested that she "needed" to be medicated I would have jumped on the bandwagon. Which I feel is how a lot of parents end up medicating their children before exploring other possibilities. And I'm sure by that point they're up to their eyeball in frustrations over their childs behavior and/or academic struggles at school and are willing try anything for some relief. What really surprises me in this journey is there are whole families with multiple children "diagnosed" with some form of ADHD, ASD, ODD, SPD, or combination of, etc. Also, in my opinion it may be more expensive for parents to explore other means by which to help their children succeed. For some reason it is quite difficult to get support services for our special kiddos. Wait lists are ridiculous, there seems to be a shortage of the specialty services we are desperately in need of that don't cost an arm and a leg. Neurofeedback has cost me $2200 out of pocket, the play therapist I found cost $125.00 per session, out of pocket because she is out of network. CBD oil every few months is $75 (which has been a game changer for my girl). This is me trying to keep her unmedicated for as long as I can. Am I anti-medicating? Right now, yes. But I am not naive enough to think she will not need it later as school becomes more demanding. As of now my 7yr old almost 8 going on 20 ADHDer w/anxiety is doing amazing. The neurofeedback, play therapies, supplements, CDB oil have helped tremendously. My investment in her future has paid off a little bit and that's more than I expected. Her school has bent over backwards to put things in place as well to help her succeed. Principal, school counselor, district psychologist, RSP teacher and now new demonstration teacher have all poured into her. This is my village.
Also in my case on deleivery time cord wrapped around my son neck heart beat got low then they vaccum
him out suddely
may be its the cause of his delays and adhd
Since I am a public health professional, our pediatrician shared some medical journals with me regarding the evidence behind non medical treatments for ADHD. I also did my own research. There are a few alternative treatments that have shown some efficacy. They are: fish oil supplements (vayarin), no artificial colors diet, and iron supplements if the child has an iron deficiency. The articles showed that the evidence base for those treatments is there....but the effect size is small. So, each of these treatments has a mild effect on ADHD symptoms.
We are now applying each of these approaches for my six year old. (We tested him and he actually does have a mild iron deficiency). There has been a very mild relief in symptoms, but that might just be maturing. The only treatment that has had a significant impact on my child's behavior is removing artificial colors from his diet. I can always tell when he has had artificial colors now because he becomes more obstinate, rigid, and has more tantrums.
The evidence base is much stronger for a relief in ADHD symptoms from three other interventions, two behavioral and one medical. (These are not alternative therapies). The behavioral interventions are 1) parent behavior management training; 2) behavioral accommodations in schools. For parent behavioral training, see the CHADD parent to parent series online. You can also look for ADHD parent trainings in your area -- I was able to find several options in our area. The third intervention is medication for ADHD. Unfortunately, medication seems to have the strongest impact on ADHD symptoms, compared with the other two interventions. At the same time, the effect on reducing symptoms is much stronger for medication + parent behavior management training. The strongest effect is likely to be received from combining all of these interventions, although that can feel like a lot to manage.
A lot of people use cognitive behavioral therapy for ADHD kids but there is no clear evidence that it is effective for ADHD kids to reduce their ADHD symptoms. Nonetheless, it could be helpful for an individual child.
I believe that one reason so many children are medicated today is that the standards/expectations of schools for behavior and achievement are very high. And the behavioral requirements for K-2nd grade have become much higher. Kids used to play more and spend less time on rote activities. Now, even kids with a normal variation of immaturity may not be allowed to be themselves in school, which is just being a kid!. But in the US, our highly artificial diet may also be contributing to these issues.
I believe that medication is important for some kids. My sister did not receive any treatment for her ADHD when she was in school. She made life hell for a lot of those around her (and herself), and her confidence suffered a lot. It probably would have been good if medication could have changed that situation. A year ago, she started medicating her own ADHD child. He has gone from being the 'problem kid' at school to winning school medals for being an exemplary citizen. He always wanted to behave well but his brain wasn't letting him....
We are going to give our six year old some time to mature and then get a full neuropsychological exam done for him once he is 7 or 8. If he is still having problems behaviorally, I do think I will look at medical options since I don't want him to suffer.
Thank you for the information.
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