Children with ADD/ADHD?

I need some advice from ppl with ADD/ADHD. My brothers daughter has ADD and we are curios to know what its like considering she was just diagnossed yesterday. Her doctor and my brother are debating the meds. Are the side effects to Ritalin,ect. really as bad as they say? What medication would be the safest and most effective? She is a girl age 12.

Please Help! Thanx

I know two people who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when they were younger. One of the parents used meds. When he was on meds, he would be completely zoned out. It was very weird, almost like he had no personality whatsoever. He would just stare off in to space. The other parents struggled with finding alternatives to this, including diet, exercise, social activities. They have had fairly good success, although it has required a lot of work. That is why most parents do choose meds. It is so much easier, but I don't think that makes it right. I think they should exhaust ALL alternatives, give 100% to their child, and if everything fails, then consider meds. This isn't a situation that is easy to resolve without meds. It is something that will take work every single day for a very long time. But I think it is the moral choice and that drugging someone up on ritalin or whatever isn't helping them in any way. These children need to learn how to cope with having this disorder, not mask it with meds.

I have worked with a number of children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD in children's homes, resource & reception centres and residential schools. I currently work in the psychology department of a young offenders prison. I have real problems with most of the diagnoses. I do not dispute that in a small number of cases a child does display real symptoms of ADHD and I personally believe you know it when you see it. Too often though GPs and other professionals label children with this disorder without considering other factors such as unresolved psychodynamic conflicts, problems at school, bullying, goodness of fit problems with the family, problems with expectations etc. I always think a good starting point is to sit and talk to the child and ask their opinion and try to find if they know why they are displaying certain behaviour. However, this has to be done in a sensitive way without putting pressure on the child. Work with a child centred counsellor is also a good option and the GP may be able to help with a referral to the Child Adolescents Mental Health Service. The side effect of many ADHD drugs include sleeping problems. This can sometimes make the child more distressed through lack of sleep. Regards, Ian

My husband and I have this also. This is what we have tried and it works great. For one it is probably something that your daughter is eating that is causing this. It might be MSG is known to cause problem. Try taking this additive out of her diet and see if this helps. You will have to do a google search on all the different code words they use for MSG.

Start giving your daughter flaxseed oil and see if this helps. You can also give her wild caught fish(not farmed raises) to eat. You should do a google search on a natural cure for ADD.

Good luck to you!

I'll say Ginko Biloba, its a safe herb @ 30 to 90 mg (or a max of 120 mg)..include bananas because it has nutrients that help make you smarter and fish too (boneless because of no bones, safe) and avoid red#40 and yellow#5
PS; ADD is caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals that make it harder to focus/concentrate/learning, I know by experience (I am trying to pass college)