Non-drug ADHD treatment for children
Know the signs of ADHD, and what actually helps
ADHD in children rarely shows up as just inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity. It can cause anxiety, depression or low self-esteem if left untreated. Here's what to look for, and how to treat the root cause without medication.
Some children with ADHD experience more than inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity. Many also develop secondary issues like anxiety, depression, and/or low self-esteem. These struggles can add additional stress at home and negatively affect the parent-child relationship.
Many families are also told that stimulant medication is the only treatment for ADHD, despite extensive published research on the safety and efficacy of neurofeedback. Below, we cover the symptoms, what causes the symptoms, and how the Drake Institute successfully treats ADHD at its source without drugs.
The Clinical Picture
ADHD has three recognized presentations
Inattentive presentation
- Easily distracted, trouble sustaining focus
- Difficulty finishing tasks without supervision
- Poor short-term memory, trouble following multi-step instructions
- Frequently forgetful (missed homework, lost items)
- Poor listening skills
Hyperactive-impulsive presentation
- Acts before thinking through consequences
- Blurts out answers, interrupts, struggles to wait their turn
- Fidgety, or has difficulty sitting still
Combined presentation
- A mix of inattentive symptoms
- A mix of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms
- Both patterns showing up in the same week
Why ADHD is rarely "just" ADHD
Anxiety, depression, and/or low self-esteem can result from your child’s ADHD difficulties
Everyday tasks at home and school require significantly more effort for a child with ADHD. As a result of their brain’s dysregulation, they do not have access to their true potential. Therefore, they are not able to successfully meet some of life’s everyday demands. Both the child and parents can be unfairly blamed for their child’s difficulties and underachievement. Even gifted children with ADHD can be blocked from their true potential.
As they get older and life’s demands become more complex, it is common for the child to feel inadequate. They are unable to compete with their neurotypically-developing peers, even though they may be just as intelligent – or sometimes even more intelligent than their peers.
Even the best parenting cannot fully protect the child from feeling inadequate. Consequently, they are at increased risk for developing anxiety, depression, and/or low self-esteem.
How Untreated ADHD Symptoms Can Compound Over Time
Left untreated, ADHD symptoms compound into emotional and behavioral struggles.
Successful treatment without medication
How the Drake Institute treats the cause
For over four decades, we've helped children build long-lasting improvements in their ADHD using brainmap-guided neurofeedback instead of prescription drugs.
01
Map the brain
A qEEG brain map identifies exactly which brain regions are under- or over-activated, how it is dysregulated, identifying and pinpointing the actual source of your child's symptoms.
02
Retrain the brain
Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation train the brain toward a calmer, more focused, optimally-regulated state, using the brain's own capacity to improve.
03
Get lasting results
Unlike medication, which only masks symptoms until the drug wears off and can require increasing doses over time with more risks of side effects, our treatment addresses the root cause and can produce long-lasting improvement long after the treatment has completed.
Contact the Drake Institute
If you, your child, or a family member is having problems with ADHD, please don’t hesitate to fill out our contact form to schedule a no-cost phone consultation, or call us at (949) 653-2020.
