IDEAS FOR NON-PRESCRIPTION ADD/LD HELPS
from the Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families

From Lori:I have friends who have found the book "Is This Your Child?" by Dr. Doris Rapp very helpful in learning about how diet can affect behavior.

From Tammi: I was reading through the ADD/ADHD resources on your website and I had just come across one that my mother-in-law sent me. Here is the link for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It is full of helpful stuff.

From Cathy: As a homeschooler of two ADHD children, I completely understand where you are coming from.For both of my girls, I try to accentuate the positive.Many qualities that ADD/ADHD children have are actually going to be assets to them in the future as grown ups.(We as parents just have to keep reminding ourselves of that!) For example: they have lots of energy, they are persistent, and when interested in something in particular, they can focus better than a "normal" person can on that particular topic.Of course, all ADD/AKHD children are different. Alsom, many accomplished famouse and or wealthy people are AHD/ADD. When my girls are suffering from lack of self confidence due to disabilities, I dig out my list of well-knowns and remind them that they can also accomplish anything they want to. You can even research one or two of these people or read their autobiographies to your children. Reading autobiographies can help them see their day to day struggles were similar and they still did great things.Moreover, many of these people were riduculed and didn't have many friends as children because they were "different". Ironically, it was that very thing that got them where they are today. They were not like everyone else - and that's a GOOD THING!

From 3 different readers: MaryAnn, Laura and Joyce: I do have a web site that I recommend highly. The best thing is to go in and look around the site. It is a radical idea but one that I have seen work time and again. I recommend the books about why we get sick. Most illness is due to what we put into our bodies. Prayerfully check out www.hacres.com for testimonies and diet info.

From Kris:There is a site at chetday.com which has information on diet and other approaches at ADD. He has also written a book on the subject available at the site.

From Janice: One of the books that I found helpful was "How to Get Your Child off the Refrigerator and on to Learning" by Carol Barnier (Homeschooling Highly Distractible ADHD, or just Plain Fidgety Kids).

Even though the book is geared for younger children and I have an 11 year old, I found that once I stopped expecting her to just sit still while I taught, she actually began retaining things better. Also Barnier gives great tips on keeping their little hands busy while you are teaching, like using clay or letting them screw screws into soft wood. I also purchased a computer chair that swivels...and yes it is annoying to me to watch my child twirling in it as I teach, but it does enable her to move without being all over the house. I hope this helps.

From 3 different readers: Maggie, Karen and Teri: I would suggest books by Thomas Armstrong Ph.D. --The Myth of the A.D.D. Child. Also I highly recommend his book In Their own Way, discovering and encouraging your childs multiple intelligences and Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius. All these books give lots of encouragement and ideas of how to teach to our budding geniuses. He explains wonderfully how our children all learn different and how brilliant they each are in their own way.

From Michelle : There is a great book (Christian based) to help the mother or non-ADD person understand this learning-difficulty. It is called: "Honey are You Listening" by Dr. Rick Fowler and Jerilyn Fowler. It is for marriages but will really help the child's mother too. Tom Whiteman has written some good books too.

From Ronnie: "ADD" without medication? This is what I have heard

• No sodas / sweet drinks [water is the best]
  
• Healthy home cooked food


• Plenty of love, exercise, and sleep.


• No TV


• Time spent with family


• of course Prayer

PS: I'd never heard of ADD children until I came to the US!

From 2 different readers: Glen, Teri: At the recommendation of a couple of friends, I am in the middle of reading:
Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child by Jeffrey Freed, M.A.T and Laurie Parsons.

It is very readable, insightful and eye-opening. My friends say it has made a vast difference in teaching their children because they have a much better understanding of how their brains take in and process info which may be very different than your own. We often teach our children in a manner that just maes no sense to them and we don't know why they're not getting it. Hopefully this will help.

From 3 different readers: Teri, Michele, Kathy, Adena: There is a diet called the Feingold diet. I once found the information on it on the internet. Dr. Feingold did research on add/adhd and discovered that what your child eats has a lot to do with how they act. You can join the association and they will send you a list of foods to stay away from, mostly foods with certain preservatives, food colorings, etc. I had a friend whose daughter was severe adhd and she took the girl off all medications and started the program with great results.

From Vicki: I found a great website http://www.diannecraft.org that contains articles and much more. Dianne Craft offers help for Learning Disabilities, Alternatives for ADD/ADHD, Therapies for Dyslexia, Auditory Processing Problems, Right Brain Learners, Hyperactivity, etc. The articles on her website have greatly helped me with my son's learning
challenges. Dianne suggests natural supplements that God has given us and diet changes along with Brain Integration therapy to correct or greatly improve most challenges with behavior and learning. Dianne Craft is a former homeschool mom who has a Master's Degree in Special Education. She is a consultant in her Denver based company, Child Diagnostics, Inc. She helps parents determine the learning and behavioral needs of their child and creates a plan to implement a program for succes that they can use at home. She is a speaker at Homeschool Conferences on children and learning, and has nationwide sales of her manual, Brain Integration for Children. She can be reached at this e-mail. For more information, contact Sheri at 303-697-7511.

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