EMAILNOTICES>noIn a book titled The Hyperactive Child by Domeena C. Renshaw, M.D., Dr. Renshaw reports a study by Schnackenberg who substituted caffeine for methyphenidate (Ritalin) in eleven children who were on the latter medication for their hyperkinetic symptoms. She remarks that his results with two cups of coffee (equivalent to 200-300 mg. caffeine) per day were as satisfactory as the amphetamines, at one tenth of the cost. In another book about ADHD, an adult ADHD autobiography (Inattentive type), C. Thomas Wild and Anita Uhl Brothers, M.D. report several FDA (100 mg caffeine) approved alerting agents/caffeine compounds which temporarily worked well to reduce distractibility, increase attention span, and increase focus. Apparently coffee/caffeine compounds work well for perhaps 3% or less of those with ADHD; the remainder 97% respond better to other medicines/treatments.: But the amount of caffeine you would have to give a kid to
: approximate the effect of Ritalin would be A LOT of caffeine.: I don’t know how much effectiveness there really is to caffeine even
: though I understand the theory. The bad news is it might not work.
: The good news it can’t do tremendous harm.: Different physicians feel differently about Ritalin and medication
: for ADD children. If your friend doesn’t like the caffeine idea,
: she can always change physicians.: My friend took her child to a nuerologist today for an exam and