Treatment
Parental education is an effective part of ADHD treatment. What is taught there, is good for all children and is especially needed for children with ADHD.
Sometimes the help and support that can be given at home and at school is enough. There may also be a need for help from the healthcare where there are several different professional groups that can contribute to the treatment of ADHD.
Working memory training
One can train the brain's working memory with the help of special apps and computer programs.
Medication for ADHD
Medication must be seen as an opportunity. But everyone does not need medicine. Medical treatment of ADHD should be considered as part of a treatment program when support measures have proved to be insufficient. Individually adapted treatment goals may be good to have from the beginning to then follow up on the medical treatment.
It is good to start testing medication of the methylphenidate type.
Methylphenidate medication is taken after waking up and has its effect throughout the day. There is no medication in the body in the evening and during the night. Since one starts a new medication every morning, one can also take breaks on the days when the medication is not needed. The different Methylphenidate products differ in how the dose is distributed throughout the day and how long it stays in the system. It is about finding the medication that best suits the indivituals needs.
The balance between effect of a higher dose and side effects with decreased appetite must be balanced as well as possible. If the dose gets too high and stays in for too long it can be difficult to fall asleep. Some can also become "over focused" and shut off when the dose is too high.
Common side effects when inserting central stimulants are stomach ache, decreased appetite and headache. Increase of pulse and blood pressure can occur and makes heart disease a contraindication, that is to say, if you have heart problems, sometimes you cannot use this kind of medicine. By following pulse and blood pressure, one can see whether treatment must be discontinued. Any weight loss and reduced height growth should also be checked, but it is important to know that the weight loss in the beginning usually stabilizes, and it usually does not affect the height growth. If there is a decrease in height growth, it is usually enough to stop the medication for a few months so that the child reaches the normal growth curve again.
Follow-ups of several patients who have been treated with central stimulants over long periods have not shown any increased risk of addiction. Even when ADHD is combined with oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, the increasing ability to concentrate and impulse control often provides better opportunities to cope with school attendance and social adjustment.
Does it work better at school?
It is important to find out if it works better in school. The lack of attention causes problems especially with more boring or exhausting tasks. Even if your child sometimes does not experience the effect of medication, it's important to find out if the teacher sees an improvement. When your child is on their way to school, the medication has not started to work. When the child comes home from school, the medication goes out of the body. So you as a parent do not often see much of the medications effect. But if your child can function better in school and with their friends, then the benefit of the medication will gradually be evident.
Dietary supplements if one has ADHD
Many people use fish oil products with omega 3 to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Some of the children with ADHD and some of the children with dyslexia who get better after a few months of dietary supplements.