Adults with ADD turn to non-drug treatments to help them stay focused

By Julie Deardorff
Chicago Tribune

When Charles Ryder was finally diagnosed with adult attention-deficit disorder at age 25, his doctor immediately started him on the medication Strattera. For the first time since childhood, Ryder’s focus partially improved.

But Ryder didn’t feel like himself when he took the drug. He also hated putting a chemical into his body, especially one that now comes with federal warnings about increased suicide risk in younger populations.

In his quest for a holistic alternative, Ryder tapped into the burgeoning market on the Internet of largely unproven non-drug treatments for ADD, therapies that range from special diets and supplements to biofeedback and spending time in nature. Now, every six weeks, the father of two girls drives seven hours from his home in Traverse City, Mich., to a Dore Achievement Center in Schaumburg, Ill., where he learns simple balance and coordination exercises designed to stimulate part of his brain.

“I definitely notice a difference,” said Ryder, who sees too much of himself in his easily distracted 4-year-old daughter and will likely start her on the Dore program. “I used to feel like I was always in my own world. My mind was always in so many other places. I didn’t know if I was stupid or what the problem was, because I could excel in other things.”

Untreated, ADD’s hallmark symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention can have serious consequences. Studies have shown it doubles the chances of being arrested, divorced and to have held six jobs or more in any 10-year span. Untreated ADD also has been shown to affect self-image and hurt on-the-job performance.

Psychostimulant medications, in conjunction with behavioral therapy, are considered the most effective way to treat ADHD, largely because drug companies have the money to fund clinical trials. However, not only are the long-term effects of medication unknown, but the most common one, methylphenidate (Ritalin), is in the same class as cocaine, morphine and amphetamines, all drugs that carry the potential for abuse.

But now there’s no shortage of complimentary or alternative treatment methods that can be used either in conjunction with drugs or on their own.

Most alternative ADD therapies offer only anecdotal, rather than scientific, evidence of success. But experts say a good rule of thumb is if it’s safe, you believe in it and it’s good for you anyway, it’s worth exploring.

“Just because it hasn’t been in a (rigorously controlled) study doesn’t mean it’s worthless,” said Edward Hallowell, who discusses alternative treatments for adults in “Delivered From Distraction” (Ballantine Books, $25.95). “On the other hand, you have to watch out for inflated claims. People have turned ADD into a little industry.”

Enduring controversies such as the effect of sugar on behavior in children, the use of electroencephalography (EEG) biofeedback and the efficacy of eliminating artificial food additives, colors and/or preservatives have been well studied. But they lack support as effective sole treatments for ADD, according to a published study by researchers Neal Rojas and Eugenia Chan at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

But the researchers also found that early evidence for therapies such as essential fatty acid supplementation, yoga, massage, homeopathy and green outdoor spaces “suggests potential benefits as part of an overall ADHD treatment plan.”

Chicago social worker Laurie Walsh believes the best core treatment is “individual and group support, diet, exercise, medication and counseling. If one falls down you have four other areas to hold you up,” she said.

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