Expert: Norm Bishop - 4/16/2008

Question
My son is in the 7th grade. He was diagnosed with ADD when he was in the 1st grade. As you can imagine it has been a rollercoaster as he has progressed through school.  His type of ADD is the attentive one. I have heard a lot lately how he just sits in class doing nothing. This also means that he does not write down assignments that have been written on the board. What can I do to get him to not zone out as I call it. Also is it wrong for me to help him be asking the teacher for the assignment.

Answer
The attentive type of ADD is the most difficult to get a good grip on.  What we need to do for these students is to model a system of organization, actually start out by doing it for him, then progressively have him assume control.  Teachers in schools are often resistant, saying that the student is too old to "hold his hand,"...but, if he is truly disabled, which means he doesn't have control over it, then we should do something different.  

If your son has an IEP, then you should have this type of intervention and others (like teacher prompts when he appears to zone out) within the document.  It should be the core is the IEP.  If he isn't on an IEP, then his 504 plan should include the accommodations.  

I also recommend that parents try to find potential dietary or sleep roots to the ADD.  I do so because there is a lot of research pointing to these as potential causes.  I also recommend that you attempt an intervention with only one of these things, wait 3 to 4 weeks to see if it helps.  If it does help, great; if not, then move to the next one.  It probably wasn't the one that didn't help.

I recommend that you start first with examining your son's sleep patterns.  He should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night, with a good part of it deep REM stage sleep.  If he trashes, or snores, then he isn't REM stage sleeping.  If that is a potential, then you need to see a doctor to find out if a sleep study might be in order.  The second biggest research potential is raw processed sugar.  It is in everything you buy at the grocery store, especially if it is in a package, so it is difficult to control.  Start by eliminating or limiting the obvious...candy, soda, ice cream, sugared cereal and the like.  Then progress to more restrictive, by reading labels.  Don't feed him anything that has fructose, corn syrup, or anything else ending with the word ending OSE.  The final culprit is food dyes.  You can only eliminate those by reading labels.  You will be surprised at how many foods are dyed.  It will usually say, Red #5 (or some other color) food coloring on the label.  

Research is working with dietary supplements now as well.  Nothing conclusive yet, but potentially some very helpful natural supplements.  I recommend that you feed your add child a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, I believe they are very helpful.

I wish you luck.

Norm