[DfrtYhyu]

hello to all,

ive been wanting to share with you all my families experiences with what everyone is calling 'add'. my oldest son who is 11 was diagnosed in late 2007 with attention deficit disorder. we beat around the bush with this for a long time. he didnt show troubles at home but school was a stressful time for him. when he reached 5th grade he really struggled to stay focused. i can remember understanding when he was young, about age 2 or 3, that he learned differently then most children. i remember stressing myself out feeling that it would be best to home school him but realizing i couldnt possibly do so.

presently he does take a very mild medication. let me please express to you before you tell me i shouldnt medicate him that it took 3 to 4 yrs to come to this decision. i have mixed feelings about it for him as well as a have learned a positive feeling about it. he has gone from a c-d report card to a-b report card. i did everything i could to structure him to be successful in school. he just couldnt keep focus. i did not consider medication till his grades were failing. we would literally spend 2 to 3 hours every night doing homework that should of taken 30 mins. he takes medicine only on school days. he does not take it on the weekend. i dont notice any effects on it making him any different besides he is able to focus on something when someone needs him to. his mind thinks sooo many things at once, he cant focus the way the main stream system expects him too. i could give you pages and pages on the rounds ive gone with teachers and principles and even the school board when i refused to medicated him during elementary school. he would go to school in the day and at night i would have to re teach him just about everything because he had to learn things in repetition. we are still on the trial and error road, this is not something i will set in stone for him. but i can now relate to some that feel that medication can be a temp. good thing. he has not lost any characteristics to his personality, if anything he seems to be enhanced. its like his mind is opening rather than closing(this is what many think happens, and it might with some). he draws more, he reads more, he is writing stories, he is more active outside, he doesnt show impulsive behavior as much and he does not show any signs of being withdrawn at all. before, we were lucky if he ever started something and actually finished it without being pushed to do so. it has gave him a balance.

when i look back on things, he always showed to be very artistic and creative, he always learned in patterns and repetition. also i want to squeeze in here that he had a very spiritual experience when he was 5. he claims a light entered him and the light gave him new life. i remember asking him what made him think it gave him life, and he said 'i dont know, i just saw it in my mind'. i had him draw pictures that day of what i saw( a story for another day perhaps ), they are truly amazing. he is a very vibrant soul.

my youngest son is showing similar signs as well in his learning pattern.he is 2 yrs old. he loves repetition and symbols. he seems to assume you know what he is thinking all the time. he seems to talk with his eyes and gets frustrated when you want him to talk to communicate what he wants. he failed hearing test at birth, but 2 weeks later passed them. when i expressed some early concerns to the doctor of speech delay, as well as stemming signs (repetitive behavior to sooth or calm) the doctor wanted another hearing test. this boy hears fine, he passed the regular tests that check the function on the ear drums and at home he doesnt show any lack of hearing. he does though show signs of choosing what he wants to pay attention to.his stemming is 'rocking'...he rocks when he gets overstimulated. bill gates does this even today in his adulthood. its actually something they relate to autism. but with autism, children dont show much affection or happy emotions. my son loves to be loved and he loves to give love. he smiles all the time and shows to be very happy. he engages in playing with others and connecting with others. he might not acknowledge you though if your trying to get him to pay attention to you if he is focused on something he is interested in . so back to the testing, the doctors said there was a test to check and make sure the brain was receiving the signal from the ears. i asked the doctor if it was possible that his brain will choose if it wants to pay attention to something and possible bring inclusive results on this next test. he said this was possible but for children older who might be add. hmmmm, have i heard that word before. so we were going to try the test, but the nurse woke him up while sticking the sticky things to his head she kept getting his hair in it. he woke up so we couldnt do it.

i take high interests in this topic for obvious reasons. i know some of you will find it very wrong that my oldest is using some medication, and i understand your frustrations with that. i have dealt with this worry and am still dealing with it. its very tough on me to make such a decision. we have changed alot of things in the diet around the house, but still its hard to cut out everything that is advised to on the sites for kids with add. im still learning alot about how foods may affect this. we dont eat alot of junk or high sugars. there snacks are mainly fruit. still a very frustrated parent here.

i find it very interesting that children are showing more of these signs today then they did years ago. they seem to be learning in a different way. they seem to have great intuitions of what others around them feel or want. im curious to what dna has to say about children that have this add. i would love to hear others stories on dealing with this. its been a long tough road for us.

peace to you all,
lynette

[Yartonbler]

hi lynette. my heart goes out to you. i'm sure its no easy task taking care of 2 potential "add" boys. i'm a preschool teacher and one of my 4 year olds was diagnosed with add at age 3. it is nearly impossible to guide him to do what he should be doing. i've seen his mother try to guide him as well, but to no avail. i've seen the defeated look in her eyes and i know first hand how frustrating it can be to interact with someone that is not like the "typical" children.

i know the drug issue is a personal choice and i won't judge you for giving it a shot. i'm glad to hear that it is proving to have a positive impact. my youngest brother was diagnosed add as a teen and he tried the meds. they definitely helped his focus, but he didn't care for the side affects. so he stopped taking them.

i've heard from other teachers that children today aren't like they used to be even 10 years ago. i'm only 25 and have been in the classroom for about 18 months, so i don't have enough experience to really comment on that. but i have noticed that some of their eyes seem to be different, at least to me. i don't know if you're familiar with crystalline, indigo, or (whatever you want to call it) children. when i look into some of their eyes, its like looking into the eyes of a very pure soul or an old soul. there is just something special about it.

i'm aware that there are different schools of thought on the issue of how to deal with add and i don't know that anyone has all the answers yet. i wish you luck on your quest for unlocking the secrets of add/adhd children. if you find anything out, i would very much like to know. and if i come across any new articles, i'll be sure to share them.

[gWhya5ct]

dearest, dearest lynette,

our danielle (7) has been showing those signs for years. i went to get her diagnosed years ago, but the doc was afraid to diagnose, cuz i'm pretty sure he diagnoses so many children already with these disorders. he gave me a little advice, and said she would outgrow it. well..... there are so many days when i can only smile, when i imagine what it would've been like if we had sent her to school! she would be great friends with the princible, and in constant need of catching up with her class curriculum. i (jame was all for it too, but wanted me to be sure knowing i would be doing it all) chose homeschooling, cuz i knew it would be too much of a negative experience for her, and my heart wouldn't have been able to watch it. yea, some days are hard, but you learn to smile and make it positive! she would rather create and draw instead of learning math, etc. and therefore grumbles alot! i am glad for homeschooling, cuz i am able to teach her/them more things of what has been suppressed from our knowing for so many years! i can go outside with them at "recess" and i can tell them about the exciting truth about talking to trees, and blessing them! focus is something very hard for her too. i'm trying to get her to do yoga with me! she says it's too boring. i will have to listen to "our guidance/higher self" (still learning) on how to help her with that! cuz in my heart of hearts, i know we've been guided through it all!!
brandon (6) was diagnosed with autism pdd over four years ago. i hadn't even heard of autism until i was reading an article on it in readers digest and told jame that it sounded like brandon's behaviour. (alot of crying and no matter how hard i tried; couldn't figure out what was wrong.) sure enough.... he has come along way though! you can have a pretty good conversation with him. you do still have to give him a lot of words, but he's gettin' there! i would like to tell you from experience, that "my little man" does infact show much emotion, and is very happy! when he's excited or happy, he jumps and flaps his hands, and he does that alot! (sometimes he gets weird looks, but i'll kindly tell them why. i figure i didn't know years ago, so they might not know. sometimes, i wish i was more like him, in showing emotions; especially the good ones!) seriously, the only negative emotion that he shows is frustration and anger, but then it's due to his two "teasing sisters". "girls." other then that, he has the greatest laugh that makes you laugh, and you hear it most of the time! when he gets stressed out, then he starts laughing, and if you ask, he'll tell you his "inside joke"! he loves to learn, read, draw, and crafts, puzzles etc. so he's always pretty quiet and busy. there are no strangers in his world! he shares a smile and greeting with everyone he meets! he's the little guy who puts his head back and closes his eyes when it starts raining! he's taught me alot! as far as sensory dysfunction, it's gotten so much better over the years. we are talking about a very picky eater though, which makes it hard. i'm glad he likes apples! cuz "an apple a day, keeps the doc. away"!
as far as meds go lynette. i wouldn't be hard on yourself. we're all on a journey, and we're all trying to figure it out, and make our own decisions on the way by trusting in our infinite creator, who dwells within! we haven't seen our doc. in over two years. we like to do our own research, into things. we did see a dnm a couple times to do the detox with him, which helped immensely! i've found [email for site] very useful, informational, and practical and has great advice on add as well!
he did get into the gov program ibi, for two years but i pulled him out, due to intuition. they were surprised, but i had no doubts, and knew it was the right thing to do for many reasons!
our youngest, meghan (4) "little m" wasn't affected, probably b/c she only had the first three vaccines, and was never on any other meds. she definitely has a mind of her own! perhaps b/c it hasn't been so affected. i wish i truly knew.
if you wanted to ever talk, i'd be more then excited! perhaps i shall try and contact you! we could perhaps share what's worked and what hasn't! i'd like to ask if you've ever heard of "yellow" when it comes to teaching add/adhd.
i know it's a hard journey, and the only thing that's gotten us through are holding on to the good moments, the great moments, and the joyful moments, and turning the negative moments into positive moments!
i leave you with a blessing of what you stand in need of!
bless you with much love, joy, guidance, and happiness!
bon

[mazabotman]

hello lynette,
i understand what you are experiencing and appreciate the thoughtful consideration you have shown in dealing with your add child. there is no way anyone that hasn't had your experience could possibly understand what you are going through. please don't feel guilty about using medications when they help the child to feel better about themselves. that is an important consideration which we also found was necessary in raising our little grandson. if the benefits outweigh the negatives, and from the tone of your post, they have brought considerable improvement, their use is certainly justified.
often times their nervous systems need time to grow and develop to cope with the almost unbearable stress of trying to deal with things that are beyond their present capabilities and a little medication can give them a "breather" and you a little reprieve. there is nothing wrong with that. in fact it would be unfair to both of you to deny "relief" when it is needed.
our little grandson came to live with us when his parents were divorced and by the time he was three, we recognized that there were problems in that he could not slow down his activities or focus in on anything so after a series of tests, he was diagnosed with add. his doctor started him on low dose sustained release ritalin which worked miracles for him. he was much happier with himself and throughout grade school was an exceptional student and placed in the academically gifted category.
when he started seventh grade he decided that he would like to try to get along without his ritalin. some of the kids had been calling him a "drug addict" which upset him. we agreed that he could take charge of himself and if he really wanted to stop the ritalin he would be allowed to do so. his school work began to decline and he was much more difficult to talk to and reason with. he barely made it through high school graduation and has struggled with control over his add for all these years. it just didn't go away when he became an adult. fortunatly he married a very patient and loving girl who seemed instinctively to understand how to deal with his situation. they have a good stable marriage of 15 years with three beautiful children. they are both devoted to providing the best life possible for their 3 kids and we are so proud of them. so there are happy outcomes from the rocky road of add.

[aaaaaaaabbbby]

it's sad to see these brilliant wonderful children labeled by society. our schools are designed by tptb to make our children to conform to their promotion of a "working slave class", and if they dont follow that plan, they are labeled as "abnormal". you lovely parents havent failed your children, its the school systems that have. i cringe at some of the stuff that goes on in public school systems nowadays. there is nothing wrong with these children, they just feel and see things in a broader perspective. why should they have to conform to being robotic sheep?

[ufUUZCnc]

it's very sad to see these brilliant children go through this and not really knowing what the best course of action would be. i've seen studies that blame genetics, blame diet or the environment. i have no simple answers, but i things it's possible that all these things are contributing factors. i mean, just look at a typical tv commercial, no scene lasts for more than about a second. our tv commercials say a lot about our society, it's almost like a snapshot.

i would encourage everyone to at least try drug-free alternatives, although i'm sure i would consider every possible course of action if it were my child. i personally have not had very positive experiences with drugs, and i think the thing that's so screwed up is that the drugmakers have no financial incentive to create cures, because they make much more money by creating a drug that just masks the symptoms, so that you have to keep taking it.

overall i've shied away from all types of pharmaceutical drugs for this very reason, even refusing things like antibiotics most times. then when i nearly died in a car accident they started giving me pain killers and i learned all about the horrors of opiate addiction firsthand. that was an extremely difficult lesson to learn.

[DfrtYhyu]

so many of you that posted made me feel that i wasnt being judged by my decisions and i truly appreciate that.

when making decisions that are so very hard as well knowing that your the only one that can make the decision is a lonely feeling. i didnt come to the decision for the teachers or doctors or myself, it was a decision i had to make for my son. the amount of time he would spend worrying because he knew he was so unfocused when it came to school was depressing him. like i said, this is still trial and error. i hope i can help him harness this hardship and learn how to deal with it and work with it instead of the medicine doing all the work. i have every intention to work towards him learning to structure his days and lifestyle to make focusing easier.

i dont look at this as a easy way out by trying this medication. its by far not a easy way out because it brings more worry then what i had before. im not going to give it to him throughout the summer, and i will see how he does starting the next school year without it. but if he starts failing and becoming depressed because of the stress this chaos in his mind brings him, i will most likely feel the need to go back to using it on school days only.

i would like to hear more from others who know about 'stemming'. this is what my youngest son does alot.

peace to you all,
lynette

[mazabotman]

i believe that most parents dealing with add will try, as we did, every alternative method of soothing the childs frazzled nervous system. i know we tried the "all natural diet", the back rubs with primrose oil, structuring his environment, and everytime we heard of something that had helped another child we would try that but finally we recognized that this was a physical disturbance and like any other disease such as diabetes, there sometimes needs to be physical intervention. if your child had diabetes, there is only so much "management" that you can provide and the rest may have to be provided by additional insulin. the same thing applies to the matter of add. i wish that those parents would stop trying to make others feel guilty for using medication when it is obviously necessary. do you think that the diabetic child should just be expected to secrete more insulin? when medication helps the child to feel better and happier to be able to control himself and respond in normal ways to the entire family can function better. it isn't fair for other siblings to be subjected to the extremes of agressive behaviour that often occurs in the add child so to make judgements and pronouncements which rightfully deserve to be made on an individual basis is very harmful and hurtful.

[arreskslarlig]

it is entirely possible that different children will be born at this time in history, but when i consider the general overall decline in health and food in this country, it has to be my first suspicion for most add children. to that, add television and vaccines.

kids are given way, way more vaccines than they used to. i think its criminal to experiment on the population this way.

things act synergistically. more vaccines, more violence, more electromagetic radiation from more gadgets, more chemicals in the environment and worse, worse, worse food.

you mentioned you changed some things about the diet but i wonder how much. in my opinion, the food available now and what people consider healthy just doesn't cut it.

human beings require nutrient dense foods. i'd like to tell you about two websites. i guess you have to pm me. but i have been interested in nutrition all my life (my mother was ahead of the pack even in the 50s) and i think i do have a pretty good handle on things now.

i believe a lot of the young people's being on antidepressant meds is due to nutritional deficiencies as well.

[gWhya5ct]

dear lynette, and others,

there is no doubt that in your words you love your children with everything in you! they are blessed to have this love!
as far as stemming goes: from my own experience it's sometimes really hard to break the habit. brandon seems to pick up a stemming habit and then drop it, but some i just can't help him break. i've found from our own experince, is that in keeping him busy, he doesn't have a chance to do any stemming. i'm constantly at dollar stores or others trying to find activity books and crafts to keep him busy. the garbage man finally got our tv months back, cuz he would stand right in front of it and cross his eyes and laugh. (?) we have alot of computer games (like reader rabbit) that keep him busy also. and then you still get the whole 'cause and effect', and that he's still learning something. the only problem with all these activities being close up, i've come to learn that he has nearsightedness. (a whole 'nother topic, but thanks to dr. bates method of relearning to see, his sight is coming back)
even with danielle and her mind so full of so many thoughts and not being able to focus on one thing for long, and the "ants in her pants", i find i have to constantly try and give her things to do.
my heart goes out to you and your son. school can be a negative experience at times. (remembering my own) if this helps at all, i might suggest that loving him, which is what your definitely doing, and building him up with that love. that when he walks out that door, he has a confidence that will get him through. and that it doesn't matter what people think or say. that's their choice. and he's probably old enough to know to, that he has a great purpose here on earth, and that being a light in this world is a great honour! and that by a simple smile he can change someone's day from negative to positive! brandon says hi to everyone! once said "hi" to a man. the man looked at him, and said "thankyou so much for saying hi to me!" i think i forget how lonely the world is at times, and feel that they have nothing to live for. i only know from my own experience. danielle especially needs what i call "stepping stones". each time i praise her or build her up with words of encouragement, i'm giving her a stepping stone, which seems to allow her to take a step forward!
i'm sure you sit by their beds some nights praying for a miracle! now that i'm learning all these new truths, i want to believe with all my heart, that by my touch i could heal dee, and brandon. one day i had my hand on brandon's head, and i closed my eyes, and thought of love, and healing! after a moment, he looked at me strange, and said "what are you doing?" his face was so puzzled that i couldn't help but laugh! but am still aiming for that goal! to believe with everything in me, with not a single doubt! i hope this helps in any way!
may our infinite creator bless you and all, with love, peace, and happiness!
bon

[DfrtYhyu]

hi onething,

i couldnt agree more of the idea of all the changes in the world today causing alot of disturbance to the human physical self as well as spiritual.

ive looked at some interesting stuff about diets. what i find most important is trying to eat things that are 'alive' such as fresh fruit and vegetables. we used to all drink alot of milk, i heard there were strong studies coming back about the hormones used in cows ect...that is proving not to be healthy for us. if we eat meat its usually fish or chicken (without the antibiotics). we dont buy chips, cookies ect...our 'sweets' are fruit. but you have outside influences, such as birthday parties, school activities, slumber parties ect...where children seem to be overdosed on sugar!

i wish i had my own farm and a big huge garden and as well as the time to tend to a farm and garden to where i could have enough food to store through the winter as well. we are planning on doing a garden this summer. im anxiously waiting for spring. its been 4 years since ive done my own garden so im very excited about finally be able to 'grow' things again. i think gardening your own food can be spiritual if you let it be. if you dont let it be this, it becomes a burden in ones eyes to have to 'care' for the garden.

i also agree that television and immunizations are causing effects on children that we are still unaware of. none of my children have their own tv. almost every single one of their friends do. when they watch tv i am most likely in the room because of our 'routine; in our house. when they come home, homework is first, then any chores they might have, then they can either play outside or do something quietly in the house (such as reading, drawing, ect...we are big art geeks we have a whole cabinet of activities of arts and games. we all might watch a show before bedtime together or my son has the option to play some video games. come 8 oclock, they have to read or study. this helps relax them so they fall asleep more easily. if they dont feel like reading or studying, then they can go on to bed. they usually read till about 8:30 or 9:00. things are pretty structured here but im sure there is still lots of room for us to improve our diets

im still curious to things the science and medical field are finding out about the operations of the brain in children that are 'add'. somewhere i read that a part of their brains actually crystylizes differently then others. ill have to search for that article, it was very interesting. it might of even been on this forum on the other add posts, ill look for it...

peace to all,
lynette

[mazabotman]

it is good to be vigilant about all that is taken into the body whether by adult or child. one of the most abundant yet overlooked substances that is so detrimental is fluoride. it has become almost impossible to avoid because it is our water supplies, our food, our air and increasingly in our medicines. it damages our cells insiduouly before we realize the damage has been done.
the pineal gland and the thyroid are often the first to be adversely affected and it's all downhill from there. the medical profession should be aware of the thyroid connection, if nothing else, as fluoride was once used as a medicine for treating hyper-thyroid conditions. however most of the doctors today dismiss the problem by saying the amounts are so "miniscule" that they couldn't possibly be causing the problems but when all the sources for ingesting fluoride are added together most of us are getting amounts far in excess of our bodies tolerance and fluoride is cumulative in it's effects so over time we are being slowly and irreversably poisoned. it's entirely possible that we may find that this is a contributing factor to add and adhd also.

[arreskslarlig]

fresh fruits and vegetables are great of course. what i would start with, if it were me, is giving those kids the high quality fats that have disappeared from out diets. eggs from chickens that run on the ground. coconut oil. bone soup. they need animal fat and butterfat. it sounds like you already buy meat that is free of abx and hormones. people used to eat organ meats, not just the dry muscle meat. organ meats contain far more nutrition. consider learning about the benefits of raw milk. google: a campaign for real milk.

one hundred years ago, they had sanitoriums treating people successfully with milk cures. no one dreams of that now - because pasteurized milk isn't the same food in multiple ways.

a dentist named weston price wrote a book in the 1930s about nutrition and physical degeneration. he felt that people had begun to decline because he was seeing more decay. people had so much better food in the 1930s than now!

he spent about 10 years going every summer to a place where an indiginous population had a lifestyle that created great health. he didn't just go to primitives. he studied celtic children and children in the swiss alps. he went to africa, pacific islands and eskimoes. he studied peoples whose health was so good they had no cavities and straight teeth. a very high standard.

what he found was - no vegetarians. some ate meat, some mostly dairy, and some mostly seafood - but all valued greatly animal fat high in vitamin a and of course other nutrients. he said the primitive diet had 10 times the vitamin a of the civilized diet - and that was 70 years ago!

it makes sense to study health, doesn't it? rather than rely on pharmaceutical companies and their 'studies.'

i will pm you with more info about the website based on his life work.

he also found that nearly all traditional people, including us and europe until recently cooked some form of bone soup - i.e., a soup with bones that simmers for several hours.

i agree about the fluoride. all you can do is try to fight it. i filter mine out, but of course i sometimes get it anyway. at least i reduce the dose to a small one.

[gWhya5ct]

lynette,
just came across this information and thought you and others might be interested in looking into it yourselves if you so wish!
i listened to an hour long phone conversation with [please email for name and author] at
http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com/
after listening to that, i have no more doubts in my mind as to the cuase. the only reason vaccines are around is to spread the diseases. and viruses to stay in our body only to manifest over time, and according to your immune system, when and what disease comes into reality. and to alter and add to our genetic structure.
dr.[name]also has a website
[email for please] she also talked about the federal court case in '07, and why they lost. they didn't test the antibodies, and they told the girl that she had encephalitis. well, if you google viral encephalitis, your gonna get the description/symptoms of autism. the "white coats" just confuse the masses by creating new names for the same diseases. "divide and conquer" must be on their to do list.
and she recommends the best book out there for the truth behind vaccines
[please email jamie for link] the last name of the author was [name]
it made me sad, and cry, but in a way, i fully know now why all these diseases and disorders are epidemic, and hope i can help others to know, so they don't have to watch these diseases and disorders manifest before their very eyes, in their loved ones.

[moderator: i know jamie is being helpful, but advertising is not allowed here, so please email jamie for the specific names and links please]]

[gWhya5ct]

i apologize. i had no intention to advertise. it's simply information to me and only wanted to share. the way i see it is that the big picture comes into "seeing" when all the information comes into view, so we can make our own sense of it, and trust our intuition. (and then when does the information stop?) and it wasn't jamie. it was me bon. (just wanted to clarify that)
again, sorry. i will try to be more careful next time!

in our creator's love,
bon