How to Uncover the ADHD Solution

Step 1: EXPECT HEALING.

You must stay in the mindset that there is an answer to correcting and controlling the negative effects of your child’s ADHD.  As hard as it can be some days, I need you to constantly envision your child as you’d like them TO be. SEE them reading a book quietly, playing with friends or toys nicely, holding a meaningful conversation, getting ready for the day with ease, and going to bed without argument.

Without a clear vision of where you are going, you will be prone to stray off course.

Remember:

• The brain is malleable. What you see today is not fixed for tomorrow.
• Your child is NOT his ADHD. We can always seek to provide optimal conditions to bring forth YOUR child.
• MANY families have recovered their children from ADHD behaviors; results are replicable.
• FOOD MATTERS. Controlling ADHD lies in our ability to identify and subsequently remove triggers causing inflammation. In addition, we provide those foods that have the proven benefit of nourishing and healing the gut and brain. (So exciting, right?)
• Surrender to Supplementation. Adding supplements for your child’s deficits brings next level of healing. The research is there.
• Big Pharma is not the enemy, just use wisely. There can be benefits to using prescription ADHD meds. However, we want to clean and heal the body as much as possible before employing the meds. We all know of the of the short and long term side effects. More important, if we don’t identify and remove the EVERYDAY triggers, we are just adding gasoline to the fire of the ADHD brain. This means that our prescription meds will eventually need to be changed or have their dosage increased to keep pace with the growing inflammation

Step 2:  Open Your Eyes

Observation is Your Secret Weapon.  As Solution Seekers, we must first take note of the Situation. What’s happening? What are the behaviors of our ADHD’er? Without a clear inventory of WHAT we are trying to control, we set off on a journey with no clear destination. We grasp at straws, quick to pursue anything and everything in the hopes we can make SOME dent in the myriad of symptoms we call ADHD.

So first, make a list. What is your child doing (or not doing) that you intuitively know is outside the parameters of neurotypical behavior?  I’m pretty sure I AM NOT ‘Neurotypical’ but for purposes here I must use the term. Forgive me.

I am going to give you a list of what I would’ve written when my Charlie was 5.

Charlie’s Behaviors/Issues:

• Faraway look
• Runny eyes and nose
• Constant movement, can’t stay by my side, impossible to take in public
• Maniacal laugh when being disciplined
• Impossible to put to bed
• Impossible to stay in bed past 5am
• Wakeful during night
• Sneaking food
• Miserable outdoors, tantrum even at playgrounds
• Throws sand wildly in sandbox
• Uncomfortable in his own skin
• Long lasting tantrums, set off easily
• Unaware

Notice that I do not have on this list Charlie’s clear inability to sit still, write his name, color, or speak in coherent sentences. Certainly these were behaviors that most children his age possessed. But they were FAR from my list of behaviors to correct.  I knew his poor performance in speech and academics was just a symptom of a larger internal brain issue.  I couldn’t care less that he could write his name- something told me that would come once the brain issue was healed.  If I’m being honest— I was just hoping that I could SOMEday take him out for a meal in public. A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

Spoiler Alert: When ONE negative behavior begins to fall away, the rest gradually follow suit. Like the Jenga game, as soon as you pull at the underpinnings of your child’s ADHD, the structure collapses. Your child will stand strong amidst the rubble. Oooooh, that feels good. Stay there.

Step 3: Take Stock: WHAT’S YOUR CHILD EATING?

“We are what we repeatedly do.” That Aristotle is a pretty smart guy.  If you’re like most moms, you want to Get It Done.  You want to quickly employ the right eating plan, provide the best supplement regimen, or offer that perfect prescription (the one with no adverse effects).

But there’s a crucial step to take first. You need to take stock of what you are doing BEFORE you start changing variables.

If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

So, grab yourself a clean spiral notebook. (I like a 5 subject mammoth so I have ample room.) This notebook is where you will keep a running tab of all you do for your ADHDer.  It will capture the positive and negative effects of what you employ. Do not be deterred when there are negative effects. It’s just data pointing us in the right direction. We will get there.

We need a running list. Don’t get overwhelmed.  Starting with when your child wakes, write down what they typically eat for breakfast. If they have a few different menu items during the week, list those out as breakfast #1, breakfast #2, breakfast #3, etc.

Continue your list, recording all snacks, lunches, more snacks, dinners, and typical desserts or late-night treats. INCLUDE EVERYTHING.

Include Party Items— those foods your child will indulge in when at a party, perhaps a holiday, birthday party or family cookout. Maybe pizza is a big one here. Or when cake, cookies, ice cream or cupcakes are offered, your child partakes.  (It’s important to remind ourselves of what our children eat in their ENTIRETY.)  We often fail to recognize these parties are NOT as few and far between as we may think.  If Friday night is Pizza Night, or every Sunday is spent at Grandma’s with her homemade pasta, garlic bread and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies then this must be included in our notebook.

All information is DATA. We need to identify triggers and patterns.

Step 4: TAKE NOTE of all supplements, OTC meds, homeopathic treatments and pharmaceutical regimens.

WHAT SUPPLEMENTS IS YOUR CHILD TAKING?

Supplements are the missing link, mamas. I may be preaching to the choir on this one or perhaps you’re not yet convinced.  When I began this journey, I was provided a list of supplements from Charlie’s functional medicine nurse practitioner.  I wasn’t a routine vitamin user, but I was eager to ‘get the healing started’ so I quickly ordered every item on that list.

Within a week of supplementation, Charlie’s behavior was worse. (?!?) More tantrums, more crying, more hyper behaviors.  I couldn’t understand what was happening but I needed to halt the regimen.

Back then I didn’t understand Charlie’s very sensitive system, and how many of the additives in the supplements were causing side effects. I also didn’t know that when one’s gut health is so poor, supplements cannot even be absorbed. (That’s a LOT of money down the drain!)

I was forced to use only food as Charlie’s medicine. (This turned out to be a blessing as it clearly proved the link between diet, gut health and ADHD behaviors.)

ONCE CHARLIE’S GUT WAS HEALED, SUPPLEMENTS BROUGHT US TO A LEVEL OF HEALING I NEVER DREAMED POSSIBLE.

So grab that notebook and list out the supplements you are currently giving.  If you are not currently supplementing now but had done so in the past, list out those items as well and note why you stopped using these products. Remember this is our Book of Knowledge and past regimens are important, especially if you ceased the supplementation for adverse reactions.

Here’s what you want to include:  supplement name, brand, dosage, and dosing schedule. If this was a multi-ingredient item, list out the components. The ingredient list is important because not all supplements are created equal. For example, we may think we’re providing a great multi-vitamin not realizing it’s loaded with preservatives, added dyes or flavors and actually doing more harm than good.  (I’m personally not a fan of multi’s as they are typically leading a parent to believe they are giving their child the necessary vitamins while the actual dosages fall deceptively shy of the recommended requirements.)

Don’t be overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s as simple as finding a clean version of the necessary supplement. (Charlie had some of his greatest crying jags after beginning supplementation.  Not sure why my “Mom Radar” didn’t go off sooner as I repeatedly found Charlie swigging the liquid Omega 3 directly from the bottle…)

WHAT homeopathic regimens IS YOUR CHILD TAKING?

Homeopathic remedies have real effects upon the body. Most homeopathic practitioners seek to eliminate toxins in the ADHDer’s body, systemically reducing inflammation. My experience with homeopathy proved that these seemingly innocuous remedies truly produce an effect.  I saw the same die-off response with homeopathy as I had while doing the Body Ecology Diet to heal Charlie’s gut. I chose to stay with homeopathy for only a few months as my intuition told me I needed to re-focus on Charlie’s everyday diet instead of going after yet another therapy.  My goal was still to detox Charlie but to do so with the knowing that if I provided his body the right conditions, then the detox process would happen naturally. (Another Spoiler Alert: I was right.)

You do not have to abandon your homeopathic treatments but you DO need to understand their effect.  So be sure to include these in your notebook along with any outcomes you are seeing.  Ask yourself if these remedies are working and if they should be continued. (Your intuition as a mother will provide the answer here. Trust yourself.)

WHAT OTC MEDICINES IS YOUR CHILD TAKING?

Be sure to take stock of the OTC medicines your child is taking whether it be for acute care or daily use. You would be surprised at the additives and colors in many of these products. Taking a colored pediatric medicine or one with additives has the power to cause severe ADHD behaviors.

QUICK STORY: For years, I was trying various pediatric allergy medications and cough syrups trying to get Charlie’s severe congestion and chronic cough under control. Chronic symptoms like congestion, cough, runny eyes, eczema, and strong body odor are simply outward signs of inner inflammation. The body will use a secondary pathway (i.e. eyes, nose, skin) to eliminate toxins. Something your child is eating, drinking or coming in contact with is causing this inflammation.  What really puzzled me for Charlie was that I finally had him on simple, real food without triggers so I couldn’t figure out what more to pull out. (“What do You want from Lord?!” was pretty much my daily prayer at this point.)

But after almost 2 years of daily Claritin, it took just ONE a-ha moment.

While reading yet another book on diet and inflammation, the answer illuminated itself for me. Could his daily intake of legal carbs simply be too great for his body to process?  It seemed waaaaay too easy. But for the next 3 days I fed Charlie only 10-15% carbs, the rest was any form of fruit. Within 24 hours the cough loosened. In 48 hours the cough was reduced by 50%, and by Day 3 the cough and congestion were gone.  We’ve never needed a Claritin again. Over time I was able to increase carbs, but I now know if Charlie goes off diet I can quickly get his body to detox simply by using a 3 day regimen. All the fruit he desires (80%) and legal carbs such as toast (DeLand), rice or rice pasta.

WHAT PRESCRIPTIONS IS YOUR CHILD TAKING FOR THEIR ADHD?

It’s tricky as a parent of an ADHD’er to know whether prescription medications are the best route. We can all agree we’d prefer to stay natural and allow the body to heal itself as it detoxes and inflammation is reduced. We’d all love to sustain our child’s wellbeing on diet and supplements alone. But as we walk this healing journey, we do what we think is best for our child. If we need to compensate with medication while we endeavor to correct the ADHD naturally then that is what we do. One step at a time mamas.

Here’s an example of what your prescription med chart may look like.

EXAMPLE:

If you’ve used other prescription meds in the past, be sure to list them as well. We want the Full Picture.

Step 5: NOW STOP and Take a Bird’s Eye View

FOOD

• Notice how often they have easy-to-digest foods (fruits and vegetables).
• Notice how often they eat processed foods. (And, yes, even the expensive, pre-packaged, GF granola bars are ‘processed’ items.)
• Notice how often they eat dairy products.
• Notice how often they eat products containing gluten.
• Notice what percentage of their daily intake is comprised of whole ‘real’ foods.
• Notice the ratio of carbohydrates to non-carbohydrates in a day’s worth of eating.
• Notice how often they drink beverages OTHER than water.

Supplements, MEDS ETC.

• Notice if they are taking them consistently.
• Notice how long it’s been since you really delved into whether or not they could use a different supplement or perhaps even if they are taking the proper dosage.
• Notice if you see effects (good or bad) when certain supplements have been ceased or commenced.
• Notice the dosing regimen of their pharma meds. Take stock of effects, both negative and positive.

PHYSICAL AILMENTS

• Notice how often they speak of GI issues… constipation, cramps, bloating, diarrhea.
• Notice incidence of fatigue, headache, chronic colds and allergies.
• Notice tics and twitches, nose sniffling, mouth noises.

EMOTIONAL HEALTH

• Notice the anxiety levels.
• Notice the anger and how often outbursts occur.
• Notice the length and incidence of tantrumming.

Step 6: DECIDE to Commit

You’re ready but you’re overwhelmed. Welcome to Normal.

Despite our fear of not feeling up to the challenge I remind you that you ARE. I remind you that feeding your child real foods without the triggers (gluten, dairy, refined sugar, preservatives, dyes, and corn) will be a gift you will be giving them. I remind you that their ADHD behaviors are providing you a roadmap. These behaviors show they’ve taken a detour and we need to get them on the right track.

Taking this new path requires resolve, determination and one kick-ass mom.

But that’s who you are.

If you think this could be the wrong direction I ask you this: How could feeding your child whole foods without those items which their sensitive bodies cannot currently digest and assimilate into their bodies be the Wrong Path? Your biggest hurdle is not knowing what to feed your child. Your biggest hurdle is standing strong against your child (and your spouse) when they disagree with your plan. This is when you speak with courage, conviction and kindness.