When my 6 year old son was first diagnosed with ADHD, I was devastated and wondered why God was so cruel to me. Then I realized how little I knew about the disease. For example I was told by the doctor that 3 to 7% of all kids suffer varying degrees of the disease. We often club such unfortunate kids as retarded whereas they are as bright and intelligent as any ordinary kid. One of the most unfortunate aspect of the disease is that the medications commonly given for the disease often end up causing more harm than good. In such conditions the better alternative is to go for symptomatic treatment like massage, counseling etc.
My own experience with my kid has helped me to understand the patho-physiology of the disease and how medications are of little use for the disease. It is not recommended to chemically stimulate the brain and rather a better option is to go for symptomatic and physical treatments. My son was on psycho-stimulants and suffered numerous side effects like headaches and loss of sleep. The Doctors treating him continued the treatment by giving stronger and stronger drugs until I was fed up and decided to go for natural and alternative treatment which included massage and diet control. I am happy to say that his condition has improved considerably and we are happy that our child can today rub shoulders with any normal kid.
One of the most common causes of ADHD symptoms aggravation is the lack of proper sleep. The human sleep patho-physiology is very complex and includes both REM and NREM sleep. REM sleep is what is known as Rapid Eye Movement sleeps and is the period when the person is in a subconscious state the psychosomatic drugs can give NREM sleep. REM sleep is very important and if a person is unable to have REM sleep, he can hallucinate or become very irritable. Massage and other alternative and natural method of treatment, stimulates the brain and makes the body better relaxed , which helps to remove many symptoms associated with ADHD. Bedtime massage of the ADHD suffering kid with a mixture of Olive, almond, and sesame oils is optimum in relaxing and inducing deep and calm sleep.
One of the most important lesson which I learnt during the course of the treatment of my Kid was that it is important to keep t kid engaged in activities which are interesting and according to his taste and likes. He should be always exposed to innovative and adventurous activities. ADHD kids lose interest and get bored with activities very soon. Therefore it is best to channel their hyperactive energy into something useful and productive.