ADHD Medication Treatment - Do You Know What the Alternatives Are?

Try reading some of the blogs on the Internet where they talk about the benefits and the risks associated with the ADHD drugs like Ritalin, Adderall XR and Concerta, just to name a few. It is quite an eye opener to see the dangers and the risks involved. Although ADHD medication treatment is full of pitfalls, there are many children who will benefit.

First, let us look at a happy story. I have just read a post from a mother who has had to bring up THREE kids all with ADHD, singlehanded after a divorce. Fortunately for her children, Adderall XR was a lifesaver as it calmed then down and they were able to stay focused when doing homework and so on. That drug changed her life and she says that without it, she would have ended up in a mental hospital.

Now let us look at the darker side. I have just read a post from a seventeen year old abuser of Adderall XR who gets high on it regularly. He claims it is quite popular on the drug scene now and is in demand. I know that sometimes Adderall can sell for $15 a tablet on the school parking lot. By the way, this practice of selling off ADHD and other drugs is known as 'pharming'.

If you are not sure about the side effects of ADHD medication treatment, I would recommend you have a look at the FDA website. You will see the black box warning, the maximum, is on these drugs and yet they are sometimes prescribed for two year old babies. There was a recent scandal in Florida where doctors were prescribing them. The list of side effects is long and scary. As regards the non medication treatment for ADHD, there are no side effects at all.

Let us now have a look at the alternatives to ADHD medication treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has now come out strongly in favor of using child behavior modification techniques together with some kind of medication so that the effects are long lasting and permanent. As somebody has remarked, ADHD medication treatment on its own is rather like putting a band aid on a wound.

No medication will teach a child the difference between acceptable behavior and disruptive and inappropriate behavior, That is the real challenge in trying to treat ADHD. The medications can be effective in alleviating the symptoms. But the child needs help to organize his homework, his social activities, his daily routines. He needs to learn about impulsivity and its consequences. All this has to be set up in a loving family structure which helps him to do these tasks without feeling that he is a total failure.

As regards the alternatives to ADHD medication treatment, I have set up a web page where I have outlined all the natural alternatives such as non medication treatment for ADHD. In this way parents can decide what is really the best way forward for their children.

Yes,you CAN raise happier, calmer and better behaved children. Discover how ADHD medication treatment can turn your child around.

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