Parents of children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) have a dilemma – choosing the best treatment option for their children. With using medication, parents can observe the immediate control of the behavior of their children and improvement in their ability to focus. Meanwhile, concerned parents can also decide to manage ADHD without medication. This can be done by regular exercise, following specific treatments and programs, counseling and diet. All these alternative treatment options will be presented in details below.
The main goal of a stimulant drug is to raise the levels of chemicals in the brains of ADHD children. Fortunately, there are other means of increasing these chemicals without the need to use stimulant drugs.
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- One alternative treatment option is exercise because it has been found to burn excess energy and improves the levels of serotonin and dopamine. Studies found that improving the levels of these chemicals can aid children in concentrating more on tasks assigned to them, improving their memory and reducing their impulsiveness. Experts recommend daily intense exercise for 30 to 45 minutes. These exercises should interest children, including walking, karate and tennis.
- Programs and treatment approaches are also available, which aim to stimulate the cerebellum to improve ADHD symptoms. These include Brain Gym, Balametrics and the cerebellum exercises provided by Dore Centers. But, one downside of these approaches is the lack of scientific data to support their claim of being effective in stimulating the cerebellum to help in managing symptoms.
- Another ADHD treatment method is family counseling. This method can focus on the ADHD children only, or can include the whole family. This has been found to assist ADHD children in learning appropriate behaviors and their reactions to certain situations. The role of the counselor is to aid in looking for ideas that will instill children with the importance of finishing school work. Parents just need to make sure that the counselor is a specialist in dealing with issues affecting ADHD children. This approach is not a demanding one because the family is not required to visit the counselor every week.
- Diet can be a big factor in any treatment approach for ADHD children because several experts have talked about the relationship between the condition and artificial food chemicals. The Feingold Association is a good source of information if parents want to know more about diet and ADHD. This is a nonprofit organization that specializes in aiding both children and adults to enjoy better learning and behavior. Experts agree that eliminating “junk” food while adding good brain food can help ADHD children. However, this advice is not enough to manage them. Other foods that could aggravate ADHD symptoms are food dyes and preservatives.
All in all, parents have the last say in selecting the treatment strategy for their ADHD children. This piece just acts as a guide for those who want to gather more information about approaches used to treat symptoms without using stimulant medication for ADHD. They also need to keep in mind that if the specific treatment strategy does not work on their children, parents can try another because there are many options available to them.