: Anyway, what concerned her is that since she said she wasn’t keen on
: medicating her with Ritalin just yet, the doctor recommended she
: give her caffeine instead. She told her to have her drink a can of
: soda or even coffee in the morning. Is this an alternative course
: of treatment that I haven’t read about yet?: JackieI have studied ADD/ADHD for years, first because my brother was an extreme ADHDer which radically effects the whole family dynamic and then because I seem to have so many ADD/ADHD people in my life path. When my brother had it, there was a name but no info available. I kept studying because I was fascinated and heartsick over all the new info that kept coming to light…. heartsick only cuz it came so late for my brother. In the days that he was diagnosed they still believed you outgrow it…..and that’s sooooo NOT true. Anyway, I now have 4 ADDer kids without Hyperactivity. All four absolutely different in their ADD types and needs. So the study continues for me. Someday when the kids are grown I’d like to go into this feild as a school psycologist….so finally there might be some help in the school realm where it’s really needed. Anyway, I’m babbling now but I do have a point, LOL! I strongly believe in medication when really needed as in the case of the diabetic needing insulin….we don’t call those kids drugged. I further believe in this because kids who don’t get treatment tend to self medicate in teen years or through adult life. I’ve seen it, read it, and firmly believe it. But in the case of my daughter needing it for ADD-without H, I was skeptical, scared and she was not a statistic. I didn’t know then that meds can be effective in the same way as ADHDers. So I tried coffee first, for my observation and fears before trying meds. coffee a stimulant, did give me enough of a feel that she very well could benefit from meds and I did then give into a trial period of meds. Which has worked out beautifully for her, and me.So, if your friend wasn’t keen on trying meds, this may have been a suggestion to give her a glimmer of an idea without as much stigmatized risk.