What can you give a adhd child instead of medication?

thanks for any info on this matter.

Diet is the first place to start. Cut all refined sugars from the diet. Natural like in fruits and vegtables are O.K but juice is pushing it and sodas or chocolate milk should never be considered. Also throw the kid in a sport. Doing something active while taking instruction will burn off extra energy so your kid will learn how to learn. Limit T.V and couch time. My mom tried me on some of the drugs when I was young then put me in football and changed my diet, that did much better. As a teen I had to jog 3-5 miles before school or I couldn't concentrate at all. I think that is why I did so well in the military, I was always tired.

I have been told I had adhd but I don't believe in it at all. There are just some people that have extra energy laying around. My wife can just sit in chair all day but she gets so mad if I don't get in my morning work out because I get so shaky and i'll make funny noises out of nowhere just because. If I work out that morning though its all good, sometimes I need an evening workout too.

O yeah the biggest thing you need to explain to the kid is why they have to burn off the extra energy, especially early. The quicker they learn that if they want to be like everyone else they are going to have to do it the quicker they will.

A lot of attention , activities and patience. Some ADHD Children I have worked with, loved playing with water or sand in a sensory table. This activity calms them down and keeps them busy. I had a child who used to run in and out of doors. I gave him a lot of activities to keep him busy, like painting and shaking musical instruments. I also had another child who would kick or yell at me . I would calm him down by letting him know that it isn't nice to kick people and when he was ready to talk to me, I would be there for him. I would then wait for him to walk over to me and then talk to him about what made him so
angry. Sometimes ADHD children can get out of hand but it is so worth it trying to figure out what triggers their behaviors. I am not a doctor, but a loving caregiver. Give them a chance to show their true being. Understanding and patience is a must. (f the child's ADHD is uncontrollable, then the medication should be given)

First of all, this is for the EFG comment:
go f@ck yourself. You have no right to call any parent who has done everything to help their child, including numerous testing, counseling, activies, twice weekly trips to the psychologist and psychiatrist, etc. LAZY because when all else has failed, they have had to resort to medication to help their child. Obviously you're not a parent or your child isn't very severe.

As for the question above: there are numerous all natural vitamins and herbs out there that you can try, also diet; a lot of children are actually reactive to red food coloring. You can keep them busy with numerous activities, but that doesn't help much at school.
My son was severely ADHD and we had tried everything. He was playing football and baseball at 5, very busy at home, very intelligent, but always in trouble at school for being so out of control; I finally broke down and took him to the psychologist. Right away they knew he was ADHD but they wanted to do further evaluations. We did counseling and everything they suggested because I told them up front I didn't want medications, but after trying everything; we had no choice but to put him on medication. I made it very clear though that I did not want something that was going to completely alter his personality and put him in a zombie like state or deplenish his appetite and stuff. We found a great medication called FOCALIN; it is a time released capsule, taken once a day. It is awesome, no bad side effects or anything. So if you have tried everything and nothing is helping, then please, talk to a psychologist; they're not going to suggest meds. unless they feel it's the only thing that will help your child.

My son has ADHD and when he's not on his meds, he has overexcessive energy and cannot focus on anything. I have to repeat everything zillions of times and make him repeat or look at me in the eyes so that he gets it. Basically, on those days he has many building toys to play with. Many boys with ADHD are mechanically inclined so he likes to build things. We will also go swimming or do something outside like bike riding or going to the park. He needs to just run wild outside. His friend will come over and they play outside or he will go to their house. Luckily, his friend has ADHD as well so the parents are very supportive b/c they go through it.

He likes to play video games as well so he gets busy with that. However, no matter what i give him to do, he gets bored fast and ends up doing many things at once or not finishing where he left off his last project. Its very frustrating. I have alot of patience on those days he's not on his meds But the best thing in the warm weather is to go outside and do something where he can run around.

There is really nothing else you can do to help a child with a real diagnosis of ADHD. The medications along with behaviour management is key. My son has had this disorder for four years now and the meds always help during school or when we have to go somewhere quiet or boring for long periods.

I also use alot of positive reinforcement and rewards system which has fast payoffs. this works wonders with kids with ADHD b/c if they do something good, they get a reward immediately whether its food, stickers, points, toys, etc....

I personally am not in favour of giving medication either although I have seen how difficult it is for ADHD students at school with or without medication. I don't know of anything other than medication that you can actually GIVE them.
At home I would suggest providing the child with lots of stimulants (toys, art supplies, etc.) to keep them active and engaged. Try and have enough things so they won't get bored and restless!
In the classroom I have seen a couple of methods used with ADHD children. One I have seen used with an ADHD boy in grade 2 was a sand timer. The sand timer took 5 or 10 minutes for all of the sand to get to the other side of the timer. When the timer was up, he got to go for a quick walk around outside the classroom and then when he came back into the classroom he could start the sandtimer again if he chose to.
Another thing I have seen used (and I'm not exactly sure on all of the details as I was just supplying in this classroom) was for an ADHD boy in a grade 2 classroom again (a different one). He had a device that was called a 'bear hug' and whenever the kids were sitting on the carpet and he was getting restless he would get his bear hug. It was basically just like a vest that he velcroed on nice and tight to simulate a hug I believe. I was told by another teacher that it seemed to calm him down and I did notice a difference when he put it on.
Personally, I also think that it is important to explain to kids with ADHD what exactly it is so they can understand why they seem to be more restless than other kids. Most kids with ADHD are seen to have behaviour problems in the classroom because they are constantly calling out and fidgeting, etc. so I think it is important for the child to know why they are doing that. Like you though, I am not a fan of giving a child medication. It just seems like there is something wrong with that but that's just my opinion! Hope this helped...

*** another tip- make sure he/she gets lots of exercise to get rid of some of that energy and make sure they get proper nutrition. Giving a child with ADHD cookies and candy for lunch is going to significantly enhance their behaviour.

Guidance, Supervision, Education, Patience, Understanding, Nutrition.... or you could just be a lazy parent and give him the drugs, side effects .... dont worry about those, you will be fine.

Omega 3 (fish oil)
children's multivitamin
reduce know food allergens
and good old sunshine.

Strict parenting and actually saying no to the child.

Something to do. Like getting involved in a sports activity.

A swift kick when they get out of control?

Depends. Do you want the kid to get better and to actually be able to manage the symptoms? Then do whatever the doctor orders, including taking the medication. Counseling may be recommended as well. If you just want to putz around and just soften the problem without really doing anything, I hear elderberry and Saint John's Wort helps a little.