As seen in the earlier chapters, the symptoms of ADD form a related cobweb which is not easily untangled. The only strategy making sense in my eyes, is a combined strategy whereby all the influencing factors are addressed as a system.

Therefore, we will have a look at the different sub-systems which form the matrix of possible help to relieve the symptoms related to ADD:

4.1. Diet

4.2. Environment

4.3. Internal stress levels

4.4. Supplements

4.5. Prescription drugs

4.1 Diet

The diet to follow is relatively straight forward, but especially in the beginning not at all easy. When your child is still young,it is not as bad, but for an older child who goes to school and has money, the temptation of buying sugary sweets can be very hard to resist. Everything which effectively is poison for his ADD-prone brain, is widely available, and especially in the first couple of days in the new regime, his body is asking for sugar and additives. What is know in scientific circles, but not to the public, is that sugar is very addictive, even more than alcohol, probably just as addictive as tobacco. Your child will have withdrawal symptoms during the first 48 hours , but after 48 hours you and he will find an enormous change in how he is feeling and behaving. Children normally feel so much better when they have experienced being “clean”, that they develop a self-motivated willpower to stick to the diet.

Read labels of any ready made foodstuff carefully – the industry puts deliberately sugar in many products, to make them more attractive to our sugar-addicted population.

It helps if you make alternatives available: 100% fruit juice which can turn into home made icecream; Jam without sugar made from 100% fruit (no artificial sweeteners! Most products for diabetics are even worse than the products with sugar!), Home-made cookies made from apples and whole grain flour.. You will find that you develop a clear sense of what will be tolerated well by your child. In our family, we all follow the diet more or less. I find that I feel much more energetic and my immune system is working much better when I follow the no-sugar diet.

Keep a foodstuff diary: Write down what your kid eats, and how he is behaving. make a list of his common symptoms of ADD (take the list above as an example). You will find important clues. Some foodstuffs will give reactions due to sensitivity or allergic reactions, even the ones we suspect least. Yeast, herbs, grains, there are many foodstuffs which can be upsetting for a sensitised and unstable organism.

4.2. Environment

Keep the noise out! No radios and television sets playing in the background during the day. Make sure that the last hour or two before bedtime are spend paying board games, reading or chatting with the other family members – no TV watching or computer games. It is amazing how much time you will have to spend with your children, so any attention gap gets filled at the same time. Your child can watch some TV, but make sure that he only watches programs which are not upsetting or agitating him. Nature films, some children’s series, but not all! Watch what your kid is watching, you will be seriously shocked what program makers dare to present as children’s programs. Start being VERY picky. Hire a DVD on a certain day of the week to watch as a family, if you really want to use your TV set.

Make sure that the teacher at school understands the nature of your child. If necessary, look out for another school with smaller classes, or opt for home-schooling, at least for the first few years.

Enrol your child for activities which are not noisy or aggressive; Choose music lessons instead of soccer, ballet instead of karate, small groups instead if big groups. Put yourself in your child’s shoes, and help him decide what would feel good to him. In the beginning he will not be aware of the difference it makes, but the more he gets into his new self, the more he feels that different environments have a different impact on how he feels and reacts.

4.3 Internal Stress levels

The Most Important: Teach your child how to cope with stress.

A very easy to use and fun tool is Tappy Bear, who will even help teenagers to manage their daily stress. Tappy Bear is based on the technique called EFT, Emotional Freedom technique. This is an ultra effective tool for stress management – traumatic memories, physical pain, anger, sadness, depression, they all dissolve into nothing within a couple of sessions. Because it is a self help tool, it is easy and cheap to apply. Go to http://digg.com/u19cMV for a free manual, and check out http://digg.com/u19cMf or http://emoparenting.com for more information on Tappy Bear.

4.4. Supplements

Many people give omega 3 fatty acids to their children. Our grandmothers were not that far of, giving our parents cod liver oil: New research backs up it’s effectiveness. It is thought that the fatty acids in fish oil are necessary for vital brain functions and thus will help children to concentrate. Dr Sven Ostlund, from Goteborg University in Sweden, did research among children aged between 8 and 18 years, who took daily fish oil. Within six months, a least a quarter recorded a reduction in symptoms of ADD and ADHD..

Dr. Ostlund says: “It was very surprising. We decided to research it because a lot of parents will say they have tried natural products instead of medication and we wanted to see if it would work. In Sweden, we don’t put children on medication first. We think doctors (here) can now try Omega-3 first and then medication later.”

Josh gets daily fish oil supplements in addition to her sugar free diet and the changes in environment we made. I don’t think the fish oil does the trick all alone, but it certainly helps.

You can buy Omega 3 fish oil at Amazon for example:

Kirkland Signature Natural Fish Oil Concentrate with Omega-3 Fatty Acids-400 Softgels

4.5 Prescription drugs

Well, obviously if none of the before helps enough, you might want to consider prescription drugs. Be very aware though, many doctors take the easy road and prescribe Ritalin and it’s counterparts without having a thorough evaluation of your child’s symptoms. ADD can mask other problems like depression and anxiety, as you have read in chapter 3. be very cautious before you give your child drugs with heavy side effects. If it is really necessary, sure, it has to be done, but only go this road if it cannot be avoided. Children are reported to get into heavy depressions and even become suicidal when they have been on Ritalin for longer than a year, and many doctors even prescribe more drugs at that moment, like Seroxat, an anti-depressant for adults! Seroxat also gives side effect like an increased percentage of suicides after more than 12 months of use, so it is clear that it is a dead-end road taken.

If you don’t see another solution, do a thorough search yourself on the internet about the side effects of the available medications. Find the one with the least severe side effects, and be responsible yourself: you are the parent, and no one in this world is as concerned about the well-being of your child as you – even not his family doctor!