Are there other parents out there with ADHD children without medication in elementary school?

My son is ADHD and in school, third grade, and I feel targeted because I stopped giving him medication. I know I'm not the only parent out there with a ADHD child not on medication. How have your childrens schools dealt with behavior/distraction problems?

My son is in therapy and has been for years. He also has been on almost all the add medications and has adverse violent aggressive behavior on them. And I am not against medication but these meds are METH and they do have serious side effects such as sudden death.

My son had ADHD and the medications were not nearly as readily prescibed, then. In fact, I had a teacher tell me he would outgrow it over the summer. I had my son checked for food sensitivities and found out how I could manage things through diet. I eliminated sugar and other things he was sensitive to, as well as peanut products - a real problem for some children in regards to the behavior issues and compliance, tantrums. Try looking up ADHD and food sensitivities, ADHD and candida, ADHD and leaky gut. Try eliminating sugar and things with sugar in them, possibly dairy and possibly wheat products. The rule of thumb is that whatever the favorite foods are, may well be the problem foods. Try Omega 3's. Read books by Dr. Doris Rapp. Additionally, try very hard, to praise and notice the things your son does well. ADHD children so often hear all the things they do wrong, it sometimes gets easy for them to just fall into that trap. Rather than pointing out the bad things, point out whatever good you see. It will pay off. Spend time talking to him, too.

I have ADD, and there's nothing wrong with medication, as long as it's used in conjunction with therapy. If your child had any other disability, wouldn't you give them the medication that would help? ADD is a chemical imbalance that can be rectified using medication- just like diabetes, and you wouldn't dream of trying to fix diabetes without insulin (a chemical). Trying to fix a chemical imbalance without adding chemicals just doesn't make sense. I knew a lot of kids growing up whose parents didn't "believe" in medicating their ADD children, and the kids suffered for it. They just couldn't concentrate in class, and were socially awkward. It was so sad knowing that even a low dose of medication would help them become much more confident and successful.

You may have decided to stop medication because your child had a bad reaction to it. I had bad reactions to some medications. Ritalin, for example, made me jittery and got rid of my appetite entirely. Adderall, however, helped greatly.

You should go to an ADD/ADHD specialist and talk to them. They can help you come up with a plan to help your son, regardless of whether you decide to continue with no medication or not. You can also look for a local chapter of CHAADD (Children and Adults with ADD). They have support groups for both you and your son.

I really hope you change your mind on the medication front, but let me just clarify that I don't think you're wrong or a bad mother or anything for refusing medication. I just think that medication for ADD has gotten a bad reputation recently because it's over-prescribed and given to children that don't actually have ADD, which causes bad things to happen. I hope I helped.

I don't have a child with ADHD, but I think not medicating is best, so kudos! It just means he needs special attention to deal with his problem, not a pill. They are targeting you because they think you're making it harder for them...don't let them get to you. And if they give you any crap, just tell them you have to raise your son until he's grown, they have to learn to teach him for a year. If you can learn to do what he needs, surely they can. KUDOS!!!

so how does he do without meds? have you restricted his diet? no processed foods, no sugar - that will have a direct impact on behavior. does he get enough sleep? diet and sleep will help with behavior issues.