Successful Treatment Planning Strategies from the "ADD ADHD Information Library"

Treatment Planning for ADD ADHD

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Successful Treatment Planning for Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD

What You Should Do If You or Your Child Are Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Disorder - Recommended Steps In Treatment

The following are merely our suggestions, but are based on having worked with over 1,000 children and teens with attention deficit disorder - ADD ADHD. Use your best judgment. Talk with your doctor. We don't want to be accused of practicing medicine across the Internet...

The suggestions that follow will vary depending on your child or teen's diagnosis (such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Inattentive Type vs. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Impulsive-Hyperactive Type, and with or without temper problems, with or without some depression or anxiety, and so on) and also on the time of the year in which you are beginning treatment. See our important article on the Different Types of ADD ADHD.

During Summer Vacation, or Early in the School Year...

During the summer vacation and early in the school year we like to try the "alternative" interventions, such as "Attend," "Extress," and essential fatty acids, or EEG Biofeedback training, first, to keep mild to moderate cases of Attention Deficit Disorder off of medication if we can.

Later in the School Year...

Later in the school year we tend to recommend trials of medication right away for just about everyone with Attention Deficit Disorder, knowing that we have the summer coming up to try alternatives that might be able to cut the dose of medication in half, or eliminate the need for medication altogether. But later in the school year time becomes a larger factor.

But here is our thinking. First we want to do what we can to "salvage" the school year if we only have a few weeks left. Since medications can begin to give benefits very quickly often the child will pass classes that he might have failed otherwise. Additionally, by having a "real world" trial of medication prior to the summer break, we can use the benefits received from the medication as a "bench mark" with which to measure the effectiveness of the "alternative" treatments that might be tried over the summer months.

Also, please remember when discussing these suggestions with your physician or your psychologist, that old saying, "If the only tool that you own is a hammer, then all the world looks like a nail."

Professionals who are unfamiliar with treatment options such as the "Attend" amino acids, or the EEG Biofeedback training, will tend to discount them immediately out of their ignorance. I did this myself for years, and this is where you must decide for yourself how best to help your child or teen with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Step One: Find an EXPERT, and Get a Righteous DIAGNOSIS First!

Getting a Righteous Diagnosis. Do not skimp on this. Find a clinician, a Psychologist, or Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, or Psychiatrist, who have a good working knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD. Most mental health professionals do NOT know much about the disorder, even if they tell you that they do.

Ask parents at your local CHADD meeting about who the best doctor and the best therapist in your area are. Then call your local psychiatric hospital and ask for either the Children's Unit or the Adolescent Unit Charge Nurse. Ask the nurse who the best doctor and therapist for treating Attention Deficit Disorder are. Once you have a name or two, call the professional on the phone and give them a two minute interview.

Keep the phone call brief. They are busy people too. Ask them questions such as, "What percentage of your practice is with Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD children or teens?" "How many years experience do you have in treating ADD ADHD individuals?" "How do you do a diagnostic work-up for Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD?" and "What treatment options are you familiar with in the treatment of ADD ADHD?" Based on their answers you will know whether or not you will want to work with them.

Read this entire ADD Information Library web site. Also check out ADDinSchool.com, the ADD Links Project, and ADD-Products.com.

If they seem to know more than you do (after you've spent time at these sites) then that is a good sign. If they seem to know less than you now do, then that is a bad sign.

Why pay someone who knows less than you do?

Find the Expert -- do what he recommends -- and pay him what he's worth.

Have a thorough assessment done, including a parent interview, child interview, rating scales, and TOVA testing as appropriate.

Emotional conditions that could also be causing ADD ADHD - like symptoms must be ruled out. See our section on Diagnosing Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD, and review that information now if needed.

If the diagnosis is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder what should I do?

Never give up YOUR responsibility as your child's parent to any professional (medical, psychological, or educational). If they are experts, get information and opinions based on experience from them. Trust their judgment and learn from their wisdom. But YOU are the parent. Once your child or teen has had a good work up, and you have a "righteous" diagnosis you will have a lot of decisions to make regarding treatment.

Always remember that YOU are the parent.

It is YOUR job to get all of the information that you can from the experts and make the decisions regarding your child's treatment.

No professional will ever love your child as much as you do. Educate yourself until you are an expert! Read lots of books, talk to lots of people who know what they are talking about. Subscribe to our newsletter. As Solomon said, "My son, get Wisdom and Knowledge." You need to become an expert NOW!

During Summer, Fall, and Winter, consider trying this FIRST -- usually...

Unless the child is a danger to himself or others, or unless he's really in a lot of trouble, try the nutritional interventions first.

Try our Eating Program/Diet and try the ATTEND nutraceutical as recommended in our Specific Treatment Strategies for the Different Types of ADHD. It is very important that you identify as closely as you can the TYPE of ADD ADHD that your child or teen has, and then follow a specific strategy for that type. This will give whatever you decide to do the best odds of success.

To see how Attend compares in effectiveness with Ritalin and EEG Biofeedback training, visit ADD-Products.com

During the Summer and early in the school year we strongly recommend that you give the amino acid products, and the ADD Diet, a good try for 45 to 60 days. We believe that you will be pleased with the results. If you do not get good results, simply return the bottles to the manufacturer and get your money back.

During March, April, May, and June, consider trying this first...

If you are looking for help during the Spring months, then you are probably just trying to salvage the school year for your child/teen. You have probably seen your child's performance get worse and worse as each month has passed, and now you are near panic. OK, here's what we recommend that you consider trying if you are in this position...

We recommend to most of our parents who are in this position that they go back to the physician and ask for a trial of medication.

Bite the bullet and just do it.

With a smart doctor, and at the right dosage, the medications can provide remarkable benefits in a very short period of time (15 to 20 minutes!). See our discussion on medications.

Use the medications until the end of the school year. Then try the Eating Program - Diet and the Attend and Extress products, or other non-medication interventions, during the summer months and see if you can cut the necessary dosage of medication in half, or eliminate the need for medication completely.

Once the situation is "stable" by either the use of the Eating Program - Diet and ATTEND, or by the use of medications, then it is time to consider other options for treatment. And, yes, there are options that work pretty well.

To see how Attend compares in effectiveness with Ritalin and EEG Biofeedback training, visit ADD-Products.com

Medication paired with counseling is the "medical model" approach to treatment. We do not recommend counseling as an intervention all by itself. It can be beneficial if used as an adjunct to one of the "big 3" interventions: medication, Attend, or EEG Biofeedback training. See our discussion on counseling.

Consider EEG Biofeedback Training...

EEG Biofeedback training works well for the majority of kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADD ADHD. Like the ATTEND and EXTRESS products, EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback training is another state-of-the-art alternative approach to treatment.

Because it can take time to start working, we recommend that the situation be stable before beginning this treatment.

Also, because it is the most expensive treatment option, at least in the short-term, we recommend that you try it only after you have tried the ATTEND and EXTRESS products. Both work well, so try the least expensive option first.

For those who are in a hurry to begin EEG Biofeedback training, we would recommend that you consider using the "Attend" while you do the Biofeedback training. We believe that it can speed up the process, help you to achieve results faster, and reduce the overall cost of treatment.

To see how EEG Biofeedback compares in effectiveness with Ritalin and Attend, visit ADD-Products.com

Parent Support Groups...

You, the parents, need to get into a good support group. CHADD is a good group. CHADD is very medical model oriented, and therefore resistant to alternative treatments. But they have many very good things to offer.

You, the parents, also need to get into a good parent training class. Find one in your community, or order resources. Visit the Complete ADD ADHD Bookstore for 100 recommended books to select from.

Next, always evaluate your treatment progress.

The mantra to repeat is simple, "If it works, don't mess with it, and if it doesn't work, do something else."

Repeat this over and over again.

Be ruthless in your evaluation of the treatment.

You are paying "experts" to help your child. If they are not getting results, find someone who can. It may not be their fault. They may be working very hard. Your kid might really be a difficult case. But I guarantee you that if you look hard enough you will find someone in your community who actually can help your child, difficult case or not.

I can't tell you how many times families have come to see me after they have spent about $5,000 on treatment with a therapist who did not know a thing about working with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADD ADHD kids, and therefore received zero benefit.

It's your hard earned money and time, so spend it wisely.

If a medication is tried, but does not work at all, try a different dose. If it still doesn't work, try a different medication. If that doesn't work, try a different approach to treatment, such as the Attend and Extress.

If EEG Neurofeedback is tried, but by 25 sessions you don't have a measurable change (retesting on TOVA test, etc.) then have a real "heart to heart" discussion with the therapist. Ask, "Is this going to work for my kid?" If you are not convinced that it will, try something else.

If the counseling that you go to doesn't seem to be helping your child by the 6th or 7th session, have the "heart to heart" with the therapist, and ask exactly what they are doing. Why waste money on therapy sessions with a counselor who doesn't have any idea what he/she needs to accomplish, but charges $75-100 per hour anyway? Don't waste your money. If it's not working, find a therapist who will help you.

Read good books on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADD ADHD.

And always keep your life in perspective.

There is more to life than your child's attention or behavior problems. At least once per month have a lunch out with your spouse. At least once every three months go away with your spouse alone somewhere for a day or two.

Keep your marriage strong. A strong marriage is still the best gift a parent can give to a child.

Subscribe to our Newsletter.

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Finally, work on your relationship with God.

If there is a God, then the most important issues in life involve Him. What does He want from you? What is He trying to teach you, or your child, through this trial? Can He be known, and does He want to know you? All of these are the really big questions. Take time to ponder them.

 

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