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Overcoming ADHD Without Medication: A Parent and Educator's Guidebook
What is ADHD? What are the symptoms? What can parents do to help children overcome ADHD? How can this be accomplished without medication? What drugs are being used for ADHD are they effective? What are the side effects? What can educators do to help? What about childhood depression? Can anything be done to help children naturally? These and many more questions are answered in this new 94 page book. Concise and practical, it assists both educators and parents to help children to succeed. There is much that parents can do to help children overcome ADHD symptoms, and medication rarely provides a solution. Through practical measures and lifestyle changes, parents can help children be successful. This brochure provides many resources that can help parents, as well as ideas for teachers, principals, and special education teachers. Five years of research went into the production of this book, it is thorough and accurate and represents the latest educational and scientific information.
128 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2009
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February 13, 2014
I am a firm believer that kids should not be medicated. I thought this book would go in depth on different interventions to use. What the book actually is is a brief (sometimes very brief) list of ideas. I say ideas because the author just says in every section, "one study suggests...". I guess I wanted something more than a 125 pg meta-analysis; I wanted the meat and potatoes.
August 16, 2012
Association for Youth, Children and Natural Psychology. Overcoming ADHD Without Medication: A Guidebook for Parents and Teachers. Newark: NorthEast Books and Publishing. 2012.
Taking as its premise the idea that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is currently too frequently diagnosed (the authors tell us that three to ten percent of children in every state are diagnosed with the disorder) and that medications, specifically stimulants and antidepressants, for the condition are over-prescribed, Overcoming ADHD Without Medication argues that the disorder can be treated and even possibly prevented by carefully attending to children's educational, spiritual, dietary and parental needs. In presenting sobering statistics from current research, such as the possibility that up to forty-two percent of ADHD patients who take medications for the condition do not respond positively to them, the authors leave readers hungry for alternative solutions, which they supply in abundance. The authors do go over basic information concerning the more commonly prescribed medications and discuss their side effects, although they do not dwell on the negative aspects of medicating for ADHD as a scare tactic.
One theme heavily present throughout the first few chapters concerns the relationship between media and ADHD. Children's increasing reliance on video games, particularly ones involving violence, and television for their daily entertainment (and some parents' apathetic resignation to allow this trend to continue and manifest itself in the symptoms of ADHD), the authors assert, is contributing not only to the ADHD epidemic but also to poorer scores in math and reading. Though the authors do not present any one solution as a panacea (and it is understandable that they would not—they admit upfront that ADHD is brought about by a still misunderstood combination of genetic, social, and environmental factors), the authors provide a more realistic and palatable constellation of ways that parents and teachers can actively combat ADHD symptoms and perhaps prevent their onset.
Good parenting, the authors argue, is key to confronting ADHD symptoms—with the right amount of one on one attention and unconditional love, parents can create an environment that will allow their children to thrive—in fact, all of the specific solutions offered in the text follow from this basic principal that every child requires and deserves the devotion of at least one dedicated adult in his or her life; without such attention, the stage is set for ADHD, as well as depression, to develop. The authors share one particular conviction: reading on a daily basis and participating in art will help children focus and learn well as give them a needed benefit of quiet time, which is something that children with ADHD need. Additionally, the authors recommend that parents reconsider their children's often high-sugar diets and replace them with a “restricted elimination diet”. “Green time”, activities such as camping, playing in a park, and jogging, is also touted as a means of getting children to exercise outdoors and learn to enjoy nature. An impressive list of online and print resources (for introducing children to art projects, for example) is offered with every solution, which gives parents and teachers avenues for more practical guidance. The authors also provide a helpful annotated bibliography of sources related to treating ADHD, and the index and bibliography is an invaluable resource for parents and teachers who wish to read further about a range of ADHD related issues, including clinical trials and sources concerning “green” therapy. Though the authors acknowledge their bias towards treating ADHD without resorting to the front line drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, their presentation of the material is balanced and offers the audience numerous citations within each chapter to allow readers to conduct their own outside research. Overall, the text offers a nice combination of theory, science, and practical guidance that optimistically and credibly argues for an alternative to medicating children with ADHD.
Taking as its premise the idea that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is currently too frequently diagnosed (the authors tell us that three to ten percent of children in every state are diagnosed with the disorder) and that medications, specifically stimulants and antidepressants, for the condition are over-prescribed, Overcoming ADHD Without Medication argues that the disorder can be treated and even possibly prevented by carefully attending to children's educational, spiritual, dietary and parental needs. In presenting sobering statistics from current research, such as the possibility that up to forty-two percent of ADHD patients who take medications for the condition do not respond positively to them, the authors leave readers hungry for alternative solutions, which they supply in abundance. The authors do go over basic information concerning the more commonly prescribed medications and discuss their side effects, although they do not dwell on the negative aspects of medicating for ADHD as a scare tactic.
One theme heavily present throughout the first few chapters concerns the relationship between media and ADHD. Children's increasing reliance on video games, particularly ones involving violence, and television for their daily entertainment (and some parents' apathetic resignation to allow this trend to continue and manifest itself in the symptoms of ADHD), the authors assert, is contributing not only to the ADHD epidemic but also to poorer scores in math and reading. Though the authors do not present any one solution as a panacea (and it is understandable that they would not—they admit upfront that ADHD is brought about by a still misunderstood combination of genetic, social, and environmental factors), the authors provide a more realistic and palatable constellation of ways that parents and teachers can actively combat ADHD symptoms and perhaps prevent their onset.
Good parenting, the authors argue, is key to confronting ADHD symptoms—with the right amount of one on one attention and unconditional love, parents can create an environment that will allow their children to thrive—in fact, all of the specific solutions offered in the text follow from this basic principal that every child requires and deserves the devotion of at least one dedicated adult in his or her life; without such attention, the stage is set for ADHD, as well as depression, to develop. The authors share one particular conviction: reading on a daily basis and participating in art will help children focus and learn well as give them a needed benefit of quiet time, which is something that children with ADHD need. Additionally, the authors recommend that parents reconsider their children's often high-sugar diets and replace them with a “restricted elimination diet”. “Green time”, activities such as camping, playing in a park, and jogging, is also touted as a means of getting children to exercise outdoors and learn to enjoy nature. An impressive list of online and print resources (for introducing children to art projects, for example) is offered with every solution, which gives parents and teachers avenues for more practical guidance. The authors also provide a helpful annotated bibliography of sources related to treating ADHD, and the index and bibliography is an invaluable resource for parents and teachers who wish to read further about a range of ADHD related issues, including clinical trials and sources concerning “green” therapy. Though the authors acknowledge their bias towards treating ADHD without resorting to the front line drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, their presentation of the material is balanced and offers the audience numerous citations within each chapter to allow readers to conduct their own outside research. Overall, the text offers a nice combination of theory, science, and practical guidance that optimistically and credibly argues for an alternative to medicating children with ADHD.
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