New here...and in need of support/advice

Honestly, I would try to get some sort of more comprehensive evaluation outside of the regular pediatrician. My kids do not even see their pediatrician for their adhd or anxiety issues. They see a specialist. I really can’t afford it but I feel like it’s very important for the person treating the kids to really know what they are talking about. It was the same when treating my daughter’s asthma. The other thing to consider is that if there are some sort of LD’s involved your pediatrician most likely would not be the one to pick that up! Before you start therapy, especially where LD’s are involved, you may want to have a better picture of what is going on! Good luck!

Hello! I am very concerned that your child has not been seen by a psychiatrist and that no thorough psychiatric or psychologicial evaluation was done, before he was diagnosed with ADHD. It also does not sound like medical tests were run for the mimicking disorders, either. ADHD falls under the realm of psychiatry, and pediatricians should not diagnose it. Pediatricians can run tests to look for physical disorders that mimic ADHD, such as hyperthyroidism, but the assessing and diagnosing of ADHD falls under the realm of psychiatry or psychology. For the latter, I would only let a neuropsychologist diagnose my child with ADHD. Once a neuropsychologist diagnoses your child with ADHD, a pediatrician can supply the recommended medication, if that is the route your choose, for psychologists cannot prescribe meds. A psychiatrist can both assess and prescribe meds. However, before any meds are given to your child, thorough medical testing should be done to look for physical ailments that can mimic ADHD. If you see a psychiatrist, and s/he does not do blood and urine analyses on your child, go elsewhere. Having your child properly assessed, though, is the first and most important step you should take.

As far as the sleeping problems, they go hand-in-hand with ADHD. There is some research out there that says the symptoms ADHD children show may actually be signs of sleep deprivation. It is one of those arguments—which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does the sleep deprived ADHD child act like he does because he is sleep deprived, or does sleep deprivation go with ADHD and, in the end, has nothing to do with the behavior? How you choose to interpret this is up to you. Some parents are choosing to take their children off traditional ADHD meds and put them on Clonodine or Tenex, which are high blood pressure meds that promote sleep.

There are herbal remedies for sleep, as well, such as Melatonin and Magnesium. Melatonin works by adjusting hormones in the body, so you definitely will want to discuss this with the psychiatrist treating your son, before giving it to your son. Many parents of ADHD kids swear by it. Magnesium can come in a powder that you can mix with hot water and drink like a tea.

For any parent of an ADHD child, I strongly suggest daily vitamins and minerals designed for the ADHD child. Particularly important are Omegas. There’s a ton of research supporting the using of Omegas with ADHD kids and how the Omegas are helping to control certain behaviors and increase attention. My son takes a liquid vitamin, which I mix in his juice each morning, that is especially designed for ADHD and contains Omegas. It’s called Liquid Health Jr.: Attention. I have been very pleased with this vitamin, but you have to keep in mind that vitamin/mineral supplements are not a quick fix. It often takes weeks or months, before the benefits are noticed.

Some parents are choosing to use naturopathic doctors or osteopathic doctors to treat their ADHD children. These doctors use specific vitamins and supplements that work on neurotransmitters in the brain. They also emphasize diet and do thorough testing for food allergies and food sensitivities.

As far as therapy is concerned, there’s a lot of research that promotes using therapy in combination with medical or naturopathic treatment. The therapy most recommended is cognitive/behavioral therapy, so if this is the route you choose with your son, I would look for a therapist who uses cognitive/behavioral therapy with ADHD children. Talk therapy by itself is not highly successful, from what I have read and been told.

Hope some of this helps.

My doctor also sent me to the pediatrician. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing? However the pediatrician I took my daughter to is married to a woman who is ADHD and all three of their children also have it. He explained some things to me that I had no idea about and recommended the local chapter of LDAM (learning disabilities association of Manitoba). LDAM is run by the United Way, maybe you could contact them and find out if and where the Edmonton one is or try googling it? I have their web address but not in the house at the moment.

Mom_to _Cordell sounds like it may be time for a new doctor. I would also want somebody to do some kind of testing on him before I accept that diagnosis. My daughter was tested at school by the school phsycologist. She had me fill out lots of paper work including a Connor’s Reed (?) Questionaire. Afterwards she gave me a letter for myself and my daughter’s doctor. The pediatrician got a copy of this letter and said that from her test results there was no question about it. He did some other in office tests and asked me a million questions. He did not however send her for any other testing. Humm, not sure what to think of that. He told me that she had it in at least three streams, I can’t remember what he called them but he did take the time to explain them to me and he thinks that there is a strong possibility that she also has it to a lesser degree in other streams. I have been considering taking her to a psyciatrist for behaviour modification therapy, as it sounds helpful and it’s not drugs.

Mava, what exactly are they testing in the blood and urine analysis?

They test for anemia, thyroid, etc., anything that could cause ADHD-like behaviors.

Thanks for the info!