Are there any effective natural approaches to treating ADHD? Well the answer to this is that there are many, many natural approaches and to find the right one for your child, having made a decision to go down the natural route and avoider some of the damaging side effects related to conventional medications for this condition is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Diagnoses for ADHD or Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is usually made from observing certain types of behaviour over a period of time. Behaviours like being constantly on the go, or being impulsive and not thinking things through and the inability to concentrate are all factors taken into account. The problem here is there can be many reasons underlying these behaviours and not all of them include the actual ADHD condition itself. This explains why medication can work in some cases but can also cause more extreme problems in other cases. Different natural approaches can address the different underling reasons for these behaviours and this too explains why some natural approaches work for some ADHD type behaviours in children and not others. So what is the answer? What happens when the child does not have this suspected chemical imbalance thought to be present in ADHD, but still presents behaviours on the checklist? Well, this is when the problems start with conventional medications. These can have significant side effects that can make the child ill or can make the behaviours even worse.

So for many people it makes far more sense to start with natural approaches that do not have any harmful side effects with their children but of course the challenge is to find out which natural approach is going to be most effective.

A holistic natural approach is the best way forward. However, it is important to be able to measure how effective the natural approaches are in helping your child with ADHD. First and foremost, determine which behavior needs to be worked on and work out appropriate rewards agreed between you and your child. The next step is t look at how well your child is able to manage their emotional state. Very often this can be the underlying problem. Something is wrong with the way your child is feeling but they do not know how to express this in any other way than through their behaviour. For this reason, a natural approach is the Dr Edward Bach Flower Remedies which constitutes a complete emotional management system and all you need to do is to identify which one most appropriately matches the way your child is feeling.

Secondly, examine your child's diet. There is a possibility food or certain additives in food can trigger certain behaviours. Finding this out and eliminating them from your child's diet is an important way forwards.

Exercise is also known to help, as it is a self correcting measure for that all important brain chemistry and increases the feel good factors at the same time. Other natural methods include addressing any deep seated core issues that your child may have relating to past events that anchor in their feelings that get triggered alongside negative patterns that they rerun because they do not have any other coping mechanism in place to deal with these. Also, it is possible to learn natural approaches that help with relaxation. Many children presenting ADHD characteristics find it very difficult to relax and often have their sleeping patterns disturbed. When considering alternative approaches to treating ADHD consider the best way for your child to learn. Often schools are unable to cope with these behaviours and resort to excluding children which can put added strain on family members. A natural learning environment learning through a programme of Eco activities and working with animals has always traditionally proved the best learning approach to children experiencing these challenges in a traditional classroom environment.

By trying all these integrated different approaches and monitoring improvements in behaviour it is possible to identify the underlying causes for ADHD with a natural approach before resorting to damaging medications.