Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional PG/2E missing childhood? To med or not to med?

My 9 year old has ADHD. I am fully in support of medication. I have milder ADHD which is responding well to environmental change and nutrition. (Mine may be primarily symptomatic of eating disorder / malnutrition, case is not yet closed on that)

I am finding my son to be less dependent upon medication and I'm starting to have him skip it on low-demand days. This was prompted by change of insurance and his medication going from $10/month to $310/month. Ouch!

I have done a lot of environmental changes
1) minimalism. Capsule wardrobe - my ADHDer's is particularly tiny. Stripped bedroom. 4 shoeboxes for personal toys/crafts/project - he chooses what to keep and when to rotate.
2) meditation. Meditation works wonders, some authors claim it is as effective as medication for ADHD. I agree, although convincing a stimming child that he really does need to stop and meditate is not always successful.
3) no major routine shifts. We homeschool and made every day a school day. Intellectual stimulation helps him self-regulate. Schooling every day brings our required amount (in WI) down to 2 hours 40 minutes per day - very manageable. Yesterday, grandparents and cousins came over to visit in the afternoon. My son got himself up at 6:30 and did school right away, then chores and played with his cousins the rest of the day.
4) make notes to find common factors in conflict. My son has difficulty transitioning after a fun activity, so those are always after chores and school.
5) extremely limited screen use, and extremely restricted advertising help very much. We don't have tv programming, we don't listen to the radio, we barely get junk mail anymore, and I avoid shopping in stores other than quick produce and milk at the grocery store once a week. Advertising is a huge demand on attention, particularly in stores it results in decision fatigue. (Coincidentally, our variable expenses dropped by 84% by limiting advertising exposure)
6) keep him busy! My son loves music, and it has been a fabulous outlet, especially in cold WI winters when we're mostly housebound. Music allows him to set goals, gives him immediate feedback and satisfaction in his developing skills. It challenges his working memory and develops his frustration tolerance. Music is a way that he is getting the self-directed benefits of play, without the unstructured chaos and family conflict that comes with unstructured time. Music is intellectually stimulating without furthering his academic acceleration.
7) edited to add that we live in rural area on 80-acre farm, so quiet environment and nature are built into our lives -- intentionally.

The biggest problem in my son's treatment - medicated or not - is the placebo effect. He decides he can or cannot do something (like do math without medication) and he refuses to try. I've found that parental pressure can go a long way here to change the belief.

I'm finding that my son CAN go unmedicated MOST days without floundering or family conflict. It wasn't as simple as withholding medication and expecting everything to be okay. We have to put him in a situation where his needs are met and demand on his executive functions are within his capacity.

If you have not read "The Explosive Child" or wandered on the corresponding website livesinthebalance.org, I highly recommend reading there. Wonderful resource!