Community› The Bump Message Boards› Special Needs
Special Needs
New Discussion

ADHD and Diet

Sawyerplus1Sawyerplus1 member
in Special Needs

Hi, I'm new to this board. I have a 4YO DS. He was diagnosed with a severe speech- receptive and expressive- delay shortly after he turned 2. It has much improved, but now there are other issues. These aren't necessarily new issues, but they're the sort of thing you think a child should have grown out of, or be able to cope with better, by almost 5. We had an appointment with his pediatrician this morning and he is referring DS for an autism screen and to a child psychologist for things like SPD. But he did say he highly suspects DS has ADHD. 

DH and I had already agreed we would try some more natural routes of 'treatment' for ADHD if it came to that, before turning to meds. My pedi said this morning that while meds for ADHD are now approved for kids as young as 4, he's not comfortable prescribing them at that age.

So my question for you is, if your child has ADHD, how do you cope/treat? What kind of changes to diet, routine, activity, etc have you made that you've noticed helped? Any supplements or things like that? I've heard that cutting out gluten and/or dairy can have some positive effect, as well as adding fish oil or Vitamin B supplements. Any experience with these? 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read/respond. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment...

Pregnancy Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
Report Reply to Post

Re: ADHD and Diet

  • Sawyerplus1Sawyerplus1 member
    Just so I'm clear, I'm in no way in judgment of people that turn to meds to treat this. We will, too, if we need to, but we'd be more comfortable at this early point trying other things first. :)
    Pregnancy Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • gimmietimmiesgimmietimmies member
    Auntie always has great info. I don't think we have DAN doctors specifically, but the clinics at the Alberta Children's Hospital and Stollery both have staff dieticians assigned to each of the disciplines, if your ds is going to be followed (and he should, it opens the door for covered services), he should have access to them as well. If you are in Calgary, have you looked into Renfrew? if you are, they have programs that would benefit your ds.
    Report Reply
  • light52light52 member

    My oldest has ADHD, ODD, and speech and learning delays.  He was diagnosed with ADHD around his 5th birthday and six months later we went through ASD testing.  He did not qualify but they did see several quirks that go along with ASD.  We started with OT long before the diagnosis due to sensory seeking.  It got to the point where the OT told us she had maxed out with him until he was on medication. 

    Life got so rough at home that we decided to medicate and it has helped all of us greatly.  We are a much happier home now and he is starting to catch up in many of the areas he is behind in.  That said, we don't rely on medication alone.  We do speech, OT, PT, and behavioral therapy.  Therapy and meds work hand in hand and we've seen a lot of progress over the past year.

    We've looked in to all kinds of diets and supplements since he was about 3.  Nothing seemed to make much of a difference for him.  As auntie said, it helps about 10% of kids.  Our pediatrician told us to keep a detailed food journal and see if there were any trigger foods. He said many kids who do well on a gluten free diet do good only because they were really addicted or sensitive to sugar and the GF diet reduced that in their diet.  It wasn't really the gluten they had issues with but never tried reducing sugar instead.  The only triggers we have found so far are apple juice and sugar when not balanced with a protein.  We push the protein in our house and try to limit the carbs and sugar because it seems to make a difference.

    Samuel  2.26.06 41w ASD/ADHD
    Eli  6.18.09 35.5w
    Silas  1.25.13 35.4w 10 days NICU, allergies/asthma, gluten intolerant

    image
    Report Reply
  • light52light52 member
    image-auntie-:
    imagelight52:

    We've looked in to all kinds of diets and supplements since he was about 3.  Nothing seemed to make much of a difference for him.  As auntie said, it helps about 10% of kids.  Our pediatrician told us to keep a detailed food journal and see if there were any trigger foods. He said many kids who do well on a gluten free diet do good only because they were really addicted or sensitive to sugar and the GF diet reduced that in their diet.  It wasn't really the gluten they had issues with but never tried reducing sugar instead.  The only triggers we have found so far are apple juice and sugar when not balanced with a protein.  We push the protein in our house and try to limit the carbs and sugar because it seems to make a difference.

    That's interesting, DS had a teacher back in the day who tried to talk me into not only more protein but more fat. She was 83 and degreed in phonics and made the break that got DS decoding and reading. She wanted me to give him bacon or sausage every morning. No way with DH's family hx of CAD, but she swore by it. She was big on fish oil, too.

     

    Our pediatrician is the one who clued us in to the protein factor.  His oldest has ADHD and he is the head of the autism clinic at our small hospital system so he is very current on the research.  Due to having a child with ADHD, he has lived this world and can relate and help us so much more than most pediatricians can.

    Samuel  2.26.06 41w ASD/ADHD
    Eli  6.18.09 35.5w
    Silas  1.25.13 35.4w 10 days NICU, allergies/asthma, gluten intolerant

    image
    Report Reply
  • MarciaKDMarciaKD

    We tried medication when our son was 4 and while things got better, we felt something was triggering the symptoms so gave the Feingold diet a try. He was soon off the medications and things were so much better than before the meds and better than he was on the meds. Don't believe people who tell you that it was "disproven" years ago. Totally not true. In fact, the Academy of Pediatrics gave it credibility and a study that came out in 2007 (Lancet) was so profound that Europe requires its ingredient labeling to state that hyperactivity can result from its ingestion.

     The Feingold Association (parent support group) will give you the information and support you need: www.feingold.org

     There's also a Facebook page and a Yahoo group: https://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feingold-Program4us/

    Report Reply
  • gimmietimmiesgimmietimmies member
    Sawyer, from the look of Auntie's link the DAN doctor is in Toronto, which is likely not an option.  I found two quickly, one is over by Peter Lougheed in Calgary, Dr. Stewart Wilkinson. The other is Dr. Bruce Hoffman, also in Calgary. None listed for any other cities. Hoffman has a website. It's a private clinic, with fees for service, likely none of the visits are covered under Alberta Health.
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"