I have dealt with ADD for most of my life, and have been able to cope with it. I've taken honors classes, Got into a very good college, and have generally been sucessful. By staying up all night to finish homework, etc., etc. Not healthy and not a good balance. Once i went to college i had some problems, and almost flunked out. I did well in some classes but it was just that i couldn't do everything. I'm a very good out of the box thinker. but the whole living on my own, and doing school killed me. Here is what i found helped
I dont have the outward hyperactive tendencies but rather my brain does it in the inside if that makes sense. Example: if in your life each responsibility (Class, Job, driving kids to soccer, making dinner) is a ball you have to roll down a table. I'm VERY good at rolling one or two balls at once very fast, but I forget the rest of them.
I tried the Ritalin thing in my senior ear of high school and that was not good, i got overtired, lost my appetite, stressed, etc. etc. Major nerve fraying. Next I tried Welbutrin which helped but I still didn't like it. It didn't seem to help.
I've never been one to use drugs anyways, i'm pretty "straight edge" you could say. Not that I wont take pain killers if I have a headache, but for something like ADD i would rather have a permanent fix instead of a temporary one.
I have done EEG neurofeedback, and I have had very good experience with it. My concentration is better, i have more energy, i am more relaxed, and generally feel more resreshed than i did before.
I would suggest that if your daughter does do the feedback though, you do what I did. I worked with a psychologist who specializes in Working with people who have "problems" such as these. He also works with a wide variety of people with different conditions, but the practice's main focus is helping people of all ages with different disorders whether it is ADD or OCD, or something like that.
Obviously my situation is different since i'm older, but they work with many elementary and middle school aged children as well and have good success, with everyone i've talked to.
My doctor and I developed a custom program that's right for me. I told him what i wanted, and hoped to get from working with him and we built the program around that. (for younger kids he works closely with parents, and schools so that they can be better educated as well) Mine ended up being Neurofeedback, But also working with him on some online classes, organizational strategies, help with anxiety, etc. I learned methods and practices which i could use as tools in my life to better help me on my way. My Doctor didn't try and supress my ADD as much as he and I have worked on teaching me to harness the drive have from it better, and focus it more readily and reliably. The key thing that sets this doc apart from most others i've tried is he doesn't view it as a problem but instead as a unique quality. You can fit in to the "80% society" when you need to, but still have the focusing power when you need it.
So i would recommend Neurofeedback, but also don't dicount using it as part of a bigger picture or treatment. I didn't want to use drugs to fix my problem, and i'm much better off for it I think. It hasn't been a cure all yet but I am better able to work at school, and am generally just a happier, more capable, person since I worked on treatment.
My doctors website is http://www.ct-ed.com there is some very good information on there. I would suggest looking at it if you are interested in more information.
If you are interested in talking more please email me at idedontknow AT hotmail DOT com I would be glad to explain better what i've done and how it has helped me esp the feedback part of it if that's what you are interested in
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I know it wasn't for everyone, but I've really enjoyed playing this game Guess it's time to switch over to Duke Nukem Forever!
I have dealt with ADD for most of my life, and have been able to cope with it. I've taken honors classes, Got into a very good college, and have generally been sucessful. By staying up all night to finish homework, etc., etc. Not healthy and not a good balance. Once i went to college i had some problems, and almost flunked out. I did well in some classes but it was just that i couldn't do everything. I'm a very good out of the box thinker. but the whole living on my own, and doing school killed me. Here is what i found helped
I dont have the outward hyperactive tendencies but rather my brain does it in the inside if that makes sense. Example: if in your life each responsibility (Class, Job, driving kids to soccer, making dinner) is a ball you have to roll down a table. I'm VERY good at rolling one or two balls at once very fast, but I forget the rest of them.
I tried the Ritalin thing in my senior ear of high school and that was not good, i got overtired, lost my appetite, stressed, etc. etc. Major nerve fraying. Next I tried Welbutrin which helped but I still didn't like it. It didn't seem to help.
I've never been one to use drugs anyways, i'm pretty "straight edge" you could say. Not that I wont take pain killers if I have a headache, but for something like ADD i would rather have a permanent fix instead of a temporary one.
I have done EEG neurofeedback, and I have had very good experience with it. My concentration is better, i have more energy, i am more relaxed, and generally feel more resreshed than i did before.
I would suggest that if your daughter does do the feedback though, you do what I did. I worked with a psychologist who specializes in Working with people who have "problems" such as these. He also works with a wide variety of people with different conditions, but the practice's main focus is helping people of all ages with different disorders whether it is ADD or OCD, or something like that.
Obviously my situation is different since i'm older, but they work with many elementary and middle school aged children as well and have good success, with everyone i've talked to.
My doctor and I developed a custom program that's right for me. I told him what i wanted, and hoped to get from working with him and we built the program around that. (for younger kids he works closely with parents, and schools so that they can be better educated as well) Mine ended up being Neurofeedback, But also working with him on some online classes, organizational strategies, help with anxiety, etc. I learned methods and practices which i could use as tools in my life to better help me on my way. My Doctor didn't try and supress my ADD as much as he and I have worked on teaching me to harness the drive have from it better, and focus it more readily and reliably. The key thing that sets this doc apart from most others i've tried is he doesn't view it as a problem but instead as a unique quality. You can fit in to the "80% society" when you need to, but still have the focusing power when you need it.
So i would recommend Neurofeedback, but also don't dicount using it as part of a bigger picture or treatment. I didn't want to use drugs to fix my problem, and i'm much better off for it I think. It hasn't been a cure all yet but I am better able to work at school, and am generally just a happier, more capable, person since I worked on treatment.
My doctors website is http://www.ct-ed.com there is some very good information on there. I would suggest looking at it if you are interested in more information.
If you are interested in talking more please email me at idedontknow AT hotmail DOT com I would be glad to explain better what i've done and how it has helped me esp the feedback part of it if that's what you are interested in
If someone gets slashdotted, I dont want to be the one to clean the mess up.