We were struggling with what to do with suspected ADHD in our 6 yr old last fall. After researching and talking with some behavioral health professionals I respected, we decided on a course of action.
I am very uncomfortable with the subjective nature of using checklists solely to diagnose a child with ADHD. Too much risk for me. Instead we opted to do SPECT Brain Scans through the Amen Clinics. Dr. Amen is very cutting edge in what I believe will eventually become mainstream approaches for diagnosing and treating Neuropsych issues. He likes to ask why Psychiatrists are the only doctors who never look at the organ they treat.
My son had 2 brain scans and a full evaluation with one of the Amen clinics. The Neuopsychiatrist who handled his case showed me pictures of his brain where I could SEE his ADHD pattern, his anxiety and PTSD, and even a processing issue all showing up in his brain. Seeking a definitive diagnosis was important to me because the outcomes are quite serious for those with untreated ADD yet I didn't want my HG child labeled inappropriately if other things were really at work with the issues he was having.
In the clinics' extensive practice, they have found that many of their patients have vitamin deficiencies in nutrients that impact healthy brain function. My son was clinically deficient in Vitamin D (this is very common)and on the bottom end with his Iron which was far below the theraputic levels the clinic looks for. Also tested were Zinc and Copper. Those 4 are very significant for ADD as well as other brain issues since they impact things like the production, release, and distribution of insulin as well as being the building blocks for some critical neuro transmitters.
Our treatment has begun with correcting these deficiencies which has already had a promising effect on behavior without any prescriptions thusfar. We are following up with blood tests to get his levels up where they need to be.
A surprising effect of our foray into ADD has been that we have discoved several adult family members who had never been diagnosed but had many impacts in their lives including struggles with addictions from self medicating their ADD symptoms. ADD is one of the most heritible of psychological disorders with a 60% chance of having a child with it if one parent has ADD and a 90% chance if both do. It's been a truly fascinating journey.
As you are deciding what to do with your child, a great book to read would be Dr. Daniel Amen's 6 Types of ADD. These types are the result of thousands of brain scans with these recurring patterns. The critical point of the 6 types is that they respond best to different treatment approaches. My son's type in particular reacts very poorly to the standard ADD meds tending to become worse rather than better. I have a lot of confidence in the balanced approach Amen recommends with diet, excercise, vitamins, and prescriptions when needed.
The downside to this is expense. The scans are expensive and few clinics know about this approach. When we researched cost we found a local place that did the SPECT scans but found the cost to be almost equal to that at one of the 5 Amen Clinics. We choose to travel several states away to the "pioneers" of this approach given the similar cost.
I hope you find your answers. There is some peace for us with understanding and we are more patient and thoughtful with our parenting as a result.
