ADHD and Bad Parenting

WHOA! Back the baby truck up. Let's be real clear. Having a child with ADHD, or Dyslexia or any Autistic Spectrum Disorder has NOTHING to do with being a good parent. I'd have to say the I am all for getting kids off meds IF it's the right thing to do. I don't use meds (at this time). My kids aren't on meds (at this time). Every intervention we use at the NLC--neuro-sensory exercises, brain-training, stress reduction, educational and life skills coaching are all designed to help ADHD and ASD folks improve their lives without meds. THAT said, I would NEVER, ever advise anyone to simply stop taking their meds without KNOWING that there was something else in place. We don't want to gamble with our kids lives. So here's something I've noticed over the years. Let's say a child is on meds, and he starts other therapies--diet, exercise, brain-training, stress reduction, omega-3's, whatever... (while he's still on his meds). If the other therapies are having a positive effect, the child will begin to show the symptoms characteristic of having too high a dose of his medication. That is the time to consider talking to your doctor about cutting the dosage of his medication. If that is successful and education and behavior continue to improve with the other therapies, it may at some point become time to consider talking to your doctor about getting off medication altogether. The point is, there's usually no need to go to extremes and start guessing. Generally speaking, there's no conflict between meds and most alternative therapies (i.e., diet, exercise, brain-training, etc.) As always, check with your doctor.