Our story - successes and questions | ADHD Information

You might post your question about acupuncture on the Alternatives to Meds section of this board. There are many of us who either do not use medication (and use other methods) or who use other things (such as homeopathy, supplements, etc.) in conjunction with medication (there may be someone who only posts there who has used acupuncture). Welcome and good luck!

Its also possible the teacher is not as structured as his other teacher. ITs amazing the difference a teacher can make. Its possible this teacher tells you more than the other one did, or handles it differently. THings also change around 9 years old - they become more self aware and other kids become more aware and may start noticing the differences in your son whereas before they didn't.

That actually turned into a positive for my son, because once he realized that others were not accepting him the way he was acting it helped him modify his own behavior more.

I'm another newie to this forum. It's a great comfort to know there are so
many of you with similar and in some cases identical struggles.
Briefly, Samuel is 9 - was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7, but was
showing signs (we didn't recognise) from about 4yo.
Until now he hasn't taken any meds, but for 12 months we had really
good results with a combination of diet (I can elaborate later if anyone's
interested), herbs and Efalex.
He changed schools this year, and after just 5 weeks it seems he has
alienated himself from everyone in the school - teachers and
students - because he fails to pick up on social cues and is constantly
getting into trouble. His behaviour is back to where it was a year ago, and
without having any changes other than environment.
My husband and I are at a loss what to do now, as we have struggled
against using medication to this point.
A friend has suggested accupuncture and I'm wondering if
anyone else has tried this? I have noticed the postings about LearningRX -
but not sure whether this would assist Sam with social skills which is
where he is really lacking - I'm also not sure whether it is available in
Australia...
Would welcome anyone's thoughts.WHat herba and what is Eflax? I am curious.Pol-loves
The herbs are gingko, bacopa, St Mary's thistle, Dandelion, Pau d'arco (a
mix that was created for Sam based on live blood analysis)
Efalex is a brand of Omega 3 etc includes fish oil, evening primrose,
thyme oil & vitamin E acetate which you can buy from most pharmacies.
Hope that helps.

NoTellin
Thanks for your message. Stress may be causing the problem, but
strangely the first couple of weeks at the school went really well and then
things started to go quickly downhill. As one of his former 'friends' noted
to his mother "Sam has changed".
It may be that he thought he could cope with the changes and realised he
actually couldn't. I have offered to help in the class, but his teacher has
not come back to me yet - I will try again. I'm also working on the
positive re-inforcement, but finding it difficult to remain positive every
time I hear of another incident in class or in the playground or see him
being awful to his brother. I will call our nutritionalist and ask about
herbs for stress - this isn't covered in his current mix (above). Will let you
know...
Thanks againI've noticed that my son's ADHD-like behaviors are enhanced under stress. Is this the problem? Is this new environment causing him stress? Five weeks isn't long, and unless I'm mistaken, I think some ADHD kids struggle with transition. If so, can you think of things that will reduce his stress---like you helping in the classroom daily for a time, or spending more one-on-one time with parents, or researching herbs that reduce stress/anxiety. Perhaps you could use a reward system and just focus on the positives.

Hi Hawks - Thanks for your thoughts. I agree that it may have a fair bit to do with the way the teacher is relating to him. He is in a room with 30 kids and the teacher is working with kids at many different levels and a few with behavioural issues. From what I hear she is constantly referring to her favourites as her good girls etc - which puts the other kids down, and sounds a bit prehistoric to me. Today I offered to come to class to assist but was refused point blank, so not sure the attitude is one that we can work with yet but I am determined to keep talking to her and softening her attitude where possible. Someone else has suggested that the schools are just not coming to families with the right attitude towards our kids, and I have to say I'm experiencing the same issues in Australia. The school counsellor we had last year was fantastic, but no-one else seemed to have a clue (which surprises me considering how much hype there is around about ADHD. It is still very stigmatised and misunderstood - like most mental illness.

I'm pleased to hear the age maturity was a positive for your son. Can I ask - was he on any medication?

Meg - thanks for your suggestion. Will do.