Treat ADHD

Treating ADHD is not easy, it takes time and effort. But when you follow the following steps you can experience much success in yours or your ADHD child's life.

Steps

 * 1)  Get a thorough diagnosis.  If your doctor diagnosed ADHD in one consultation go for a second opinion.  There should be medical tests to rule out other physical problems and a thorough evaluation of the sufferer.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 1.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 2)  Learn as much as you can about the disorder.  Education equals power, the better you understand the condition the better you are able to deal with it.  Buy books or borrow them from the library, ask your doctor questions and attend talks.  Do what you can to find out all you can.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 2.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 3)  Consider medication, in most cases medication is necessary for ADHD.  It is a medical condition that is caused by a chemical/electrical imbalance in the brain.  Like any medical problems you can't will it to go away.  It needs medical treatment.  be patient and work closely with your doctor, it can take up to a year to get the right medication and the right dosage, but it will be well worth the results it produces. If you choose not to use medication review this decision every 12 months as the ADHD symptoms can improve and worsen and expectations on the sufferer will also change over time.  e.g. schoolwork will become more demanding as a child moves up in school.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 3.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 4)  Remove junk from the diet.  Stop drinking sodas, eating candy, take out and fast foods.  Don't drink energy drinks and avoid all foods with colors, flavors, preservatives, flavor enhancers and additives.  These foods have chemicals in them that further destroy the chemicals that are already depleted in the ADHD brain and make the condition much harder to deal with.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 4.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 5)  Put in place a structured routine.  ADHD kids and adults need structure, routine and consistency.  Get organized.  Have daily and weekly routines and place them on large posters on the wall and stick to them.  Organize a routine for things like meal times, homework and bedtime which is followed each day. Color code school books to have a color for each subject to ensure the right books go to the right classes.  Remove the randomness.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 5.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 6)  Increase the amount of exercise done.  Exercise and activity will improve the brain function.  ADHD sufferers should do at least 30 minutes of high activity exercise every day.  eg bike riding, swimming, dancing, ice skating and so on.  Even 30 minute on the Wii fit or Xbox Kinect will help.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 6.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 7)  Introduce a rewards system.  ADHD kids find it very easy to earn immediate bad attention for doing the wrong thing but struggle to earn good attention.  They need attention more than most kids so will do what ever it takes to get it and this is usually the wrong thing.  Make it easier to earn good attention for doing the right thing.  Have a points chart and award points for things like being polite, waiting for turns, getting started on homework, staying on task, completing tasks, following instructions, playing well with siblings and so on.  Points can be exchanged for privileges like TV time, computer time, video games, a special treat and so on.  Have lots of choice including small rewards they can earn quickly and large rewards that they can save up for.  It is essential that the child life is not too filled with privileges already otherwise they will feel that the rewards are pointless and won't bother.  Schools can use the same system.  Adults also should use rewards and offer themselves rewards for completing tasks and sticking to a goal.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 7.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 8)  Change the diet so that there is more protein and less carbohydrates.  Research has shown that ADHD brains function better on this sort of diet.  Also drink lots of water.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 8.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 9)  Get involved in organized sports.  Some sports require the body to move in a variety of different ways and this improves brain function significantly in the areas that ADHD kids struggle.  Sports like Gymnastics, martial arts, ice skating and dancing that use muscles in different ways will do the trick.  These should be done at least 2-3 times a week.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 9.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 10)  Be very clear in instructions given to an ADHD child or adult.  Try to use less words, the less you say the more the ADHD sufferer remembers.  Be clear and give one instruction at a time.  make sure you get the ADHD persons attention first and have them repeat the instructions back to you if you feel its necessary.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 10.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 11)  Never ignore bad behavior, ADHD kids in particular will take this to mean that its ok, they already have difficulty thinking of the consequences of their actions, it makes it much harder if there are no consequences at all.  Ignoring ADHD behavior will make it get much worse until it is totally out of control.  Instead act quickly and nip it in the bud.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 11.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 12)  Don't give too many warnings, ADHD kids will not connect consequences to their behavior if too many warnings are given and will learn nothing.  Also if the number of warnings changes every time they misbehave they will constantly have to test to see where they are.  Give one warning only and act quickly if it is ignored.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 12.jpg|center|550px]]
 * 13)  Use time out as a consequence, it works better than most.  ADHD kids have short attention spans and hate to sit still so time out will be more like torture.  Time out is effective much long on ADHD kids than regular kids.  For regular kids time out loses its effectiveness around 10-12 years of age, but will continue to be effective during the teen years with ADHD and a modified version will work well for adults.  [[Image:Treat ADHD Step 13.jpg|center|550px]]

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