ADD/ADHD help for Child & support for Parents

[sevans29]

I have been working through the healthcare system for the last 6 months trying to get help & diagnosis for my 7 year old. This was an extreamly hard thing to do, even our doctors and school couldn't point us in the right direction. Eventually, we found out the route and I have to admit, I was disgussed with what I found!

1st - Doctor refferal for a Pediatrician
2nd - Pediatrician calls to book an appointment - 6 months from now
3rd - Pediatrician sees your child for the next 6 months to review what teachers & parents are seeing
4th - Referral to ICAN - 3 month wait to see ADD/ADHD specialist for diagnosis
5th - Diagnosis OR No Diagnosis given
6th - School gets funding and extra support for child - BUT NOT UNTIL THIS POINT CAN THEY EVEN GIVE CHILD EXTRA HELP
7th - Child gets either a behavioral plan &/OR Individual Education Plan which will be reviewed and modified each year.

This is the free help available OR you can do this....Which costs $1600 and only takes aprox a month....

1st - Get a refferal from your family Doctor to the Okanagan Abilities Clinic
2nd - Spend the day at the clinic under observation they diagnos and come up with a plan to help the child right there....

I have to mention both include several interviews with Child, Parent, Teacher, & whom ever else is involved

Our family was luckily able to afford the second option, but it made me sick hearing other parents beside themselves needing help but couldnt get anything into place until after the diagnosis.

These children need help, and the parents need some "training" to help their child, potencially change their parenting style, and get the education to help all of them succeed!

I have been thinking about tring to get some parents together that would be interested in starting a support group in Kelowna, as well as helping new parents get the information, they need during the diagnosis & testing stage which can be horrible!

I would really like some thoughts on this, and to know if anyone is interested.

Thanks!

[sevans29]

I have posted an add on Castanet and started a Facebook page for anyone interested in Learning about help available or interested in starting a support group for Kelowna.

Castanet:
http://classifieds.castanet.net/showpro ... 76/cat/648

Facebook:
removed. please contact op for link via pm/Trip
Please take a look!

[sweetwhisper]

When my sons were younger, I was told they were both ADHD. There was no way on this planet I was going to give my 7 and 9 year old babies powerful drugs just so they would sit still. I found a Dr. who was working with the idea that foods maybe the problem and I followed his advice and both of my kids were calm and happy in 4 weeks. NO DRUGS, just a change in their food.

Heres what we changed....
If the label says "food color or dyes,' don't feed it... sometimes there are #'s but not always..
Remove all sugar and caffine,,,, now I was not giving my kids coffee so I did not think caffine was an issue, but when you read labels you'd be suprized how many foods have hidden stimulants. Thats zero pop,,, zero fruit juices (whole fruit is fine). No diet pop either, aspertame is crazy bad for kids. Make iced tea with lemon wedges or serve water (think back to the before pop days, what did they drink?) get creative. Make popcicles for them as treats with unflavoured yoghurt and pureed fruit.
Get a book on the meditaranian(?) diet and the whole foods diets and see what they eat and follow it. Mix and match.
Give them a hearty breakfast, everyday, and not an eggo meal or any other product that comes in a box (cereals ect),, I'm talking poached or scrambled eggs with toast and honey, sausages with pure meat only and a glass of almond or soy milk. Cows milk will wreak havoc on the digestive system and make the child uncomfotable. Goats milk tastes the same as cow without the same reaction, best choice of all.

No cheese unless it is goat or cottage . Feta was a huge favorite. And if the label says sodium nitrite leave it at the store. Check every label, even some 'health, natural' foods have nitrates and food additives. Just becaquse it says natural does not make it heathy,,, arsenic is also a natural product.....Read the labels... Watch for MSG, nasty crap..If it is processed, it is a dead food..
Make salad dressing with olive oil or grape seed oil, a hint of coconut, garlic, parsley, and raspberries, in the blender, awsome. Bottled will last 2 weeks. If needed a touch of sea salt

Stay out of anyplace that has a drive through, period. This should be a no brainer.

Convenience is out the door with this plan but it works. Your child will calm almost instantly.
YOU will have to cook decent meals. Gone are the days of pizza and alphagetti. Meat, veggies and whole grains are in. REAL foods.

The ritalin generation was 'made' and the kids we drugged over the last 2 decades are a mess. This is a food illness and nothing less. My kids were swinging from the rafters on balogna and cheddar and miracle whip sandwiches. (cows to NOT give orange milk, so why is there orange cheese???) That will be food coloring. They were put on the bus with pop tarts,,, no wonder they were out of whack,, non of it was real food... But we didn't know better, now we do and there should be no more ADHD, but sadly this is a fast paced world and people are to busy to eat right,,,,FAST FOODS, FAST KIDS... so sad...

[prairieflower]

Thank you for posting such a reply full of COMMON SENSE!!!

Too many parents hear the words ADD/ADHD and rush out to drug their children.

Many parents have taken to the "dietary" way of dealing with hyperactive children and yes it makes grocery shopping longer at time, but in the end, it is totally worth it.

[Triple 6]

A lot of it depends on the severity of add/adhd. My step-daughter takes meds. We tried a lot of different approaches and the medicine works best for her. We skipped the pediatrician and went right to the phyciatrist, where we got results quickly. Again it depends on the severity. Our child is ADD and there is a huge difference between the two.

[kbens]

I too have a daughter with ADD. We spent the better part of a year figuring out what was going on, including allergy testing with a naturopath and extensive dietary changes. Ultimately the dietary changes made little to no change in behavior. There IS a difference between an allergy or toxic overload reaction that LOOKS like ADD/ADHD and true ADD/ADHD. True ADD/ADHD is genetic, you can trace the behavior through generations. I found out my daughter got it from me, I got it from my dad and grandfather. The diagnosis has explained a lot in my life, and I can see the effects of the ADD/ADHD in my dads and grandfathers lives. My daughter is on medication now. Contrary to popular belief it does not make her into a "zombie", it simply makes her able to focus and make choices instead of reacting with impulsive behavior. She is still happy, energetic, creative and cheerful. I am also on medication now (although different from the one my daughter is on) that makes my life much easier as well. It would be good to have a local support group of some kind to help parents figure out what is going on with their kids and what they can do about it.

[mekathy]

I did not want to have my son labelled, nor did I want to give him drugs. I spent so much time and money on naturapathic alternatives, special diets, no sugar, no food colouring, eliminating this adding extra fish oils, you name it we tried it. Finally when he was in grade four we accepted the reality and sought help. We decided against the long wait to see a pediatrician in order to start the process and my family doctor suggested the ministry of family services route. We were able to get in almost immediately to see a children's psychiatrist and also work with a terrific councellor who worked on the anxiety issues that my son was facing that seems to accompany ADHD. The medication worked almost immediately and my son was able to focus, and demonstrated exceptionally improved control and social interaction. Once we were able to delve into things further we discovered that I have anxiety issues and my husband is also ADHD. My son is almost 17 now, and the choice to take his medication is his. He is a very physically active boy, spends very little time indoors or sitting in front of a computer and is a healthy eater by choice. He is very careful of what he puts into his body. He has tried to go off his medication but has made the choice to stay on it while he is in school as he finds he cannot concentrate without it. I agree many people are taking medication that do not suffer from ADHD or ADD, and for those perhaps diet etc will dramatically change their behaviours,

[sevans29]

Thank you all for your comments. We have changed our diet, we never were much of a fast food family so the change was very easy for us. Unfortunatly though it has made no change for my son, our next stage is trying some occupational therapy which we are working on now. We may have to turn to drugs but we are using this as our last resort as he is so young.

If any of you are interested I am creating a website of resourses and information, it is up and running but not everything is up yet. It will take me at least 2-3 days. Any input from parents that have been dealing with this for a while would be appreciated so we can all help each other!

So far the responce for a support group for parents has been great! Looks like we all want to talk to each other to find out what the other is doing!

The website is: www.addadhdkelowna.com
If you are interested in the support group you can send me a message though the site and I will contact you shortly!

Thanks to you all again!

Sam

[teamderksen]

There is a support group for parents and caregivers of children with ADHD in Kelowna. Email [email protected] to find out more. The group meets the first Tuesday each month. It is an excellent source for information and resources. I have meet some wonderful parents who fully understand the challenges and frustrations.

[email protected]