Can ADHD be treated without meds?

Can ADHD Be Treated Without Drugs? ADHD and ADD can be successfully treated without drugs; however, that does not mean that a patient should stop taking ADHD medications unless they've been advised to do so by a Physician.

drakeinstitute.com - Non-Drug ADHD & ADD Treatment - Therapy Without Medication

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The Drake Institute is a world-class ADHD treatment center founded in 1980. We are a pioneer in treating ADHD without medication, and we've helped thousands of patients reduce their ADHD symptoms. In addition, our neurofeedback treatment process can produce long-term improvement for our patients, unlike the temporary improvement offered by drug-based treatment. The clinical practice of medicine is supposed to be guided by the principle of delivering “safe and effective” results: our brain map-guided neurofeedback treatment fulfills this commitment. The Drake Institute has made biofeedback and neurofeedback the centerpieces of our non-drug treatment programs for over 40 years. The technology is important, but there is a steep learning curve in acquiring the clinical expertise required to use it effectively, and this can only be overcome by a great deal of experience. Here at the Drake Institute, we have helped over 10,000 patients through our neurofeedback-based treatment process, enabling us to develop a unique level of clinical knowledge and expertise. For three decades, we have remained committed to helping people with ADHD improve their quality of life without relying on medications with their unwanted side effects. Our non-medication treatment for ADHD and ADD continues to significantly improve the quality of life for patients from around the world, providing clinical improvement for the majority of patients.

Why Can’t I Stay Focused?

The frontal region of the brain generates energy/neural activity so you can concentrate for as long as you need to complete a task. If you or your child has focusing problems, the frontal area of the brain may not be generating enough energy to sustain concentration on routine, mundane tasks, including academic tasks. In a smaller percentage of our patients, we’ve also seen focusing problems resulting from the frontal lobe being overstimulated with too many fast brainwaves (beta brainwaves), which can also cause dysregulation of the frontal lobe, resulting in focusing problems and anxiety. While adults and children with the problems outlined above can exhibit problems focusing on routine and mundane tasks, they may find that stimulating activities (video games, television, Legos, etc.) can sometimes hold their attention for hours, even without the frontal region of the brain functioning normally. Unfortunately, most “mundane” tasks are not so stimulating, making it extraordinarily difficult for afflicted individuals to effectively sustain concentration.

Behavioral Problems May Be Neurologically-Caused

The frontal region of the brain is responsible for inhibiting motor activity and impulses, but if this region is under-activated or dysregulated, then our motor activity may not be inhibited adequately. This under-activation or dysregulation also leads adults and children to act out on their impulses (interrupting, blurting out, etc.) without thinking of the consequences. In these cases, the ADHD and ADD patients do not have the neurophysiologic inhibition mechanisms functioning adequately enough to resist some of their impulses. As a result of ADD or ADHD, their brains are not able to put the impulse "on pause" for a few seconds so they can think about the consequences of acting on the impulse. Instead of being able to think about how to respond appropriately, they act out spontaneously/impulsively. These individuals are behaving “normally” as far as their brain is concerned because their brain is not inhibiting their impulses. This is the only way their brain has ever worked, so they have no personal history or reference point to understand that their impulsive behavior is inappropriate. Please keep in mind that the impulsive behavior of a person with ADD or ADHD is not intentional, but is based on the fact that their brain is short-circuiting and failing to filter their impulses appropriately. Because their brain has never consistently filtered impulses efficiently before, and since this is all they have ever experienced, this is their version of “normal”. ADHD and ADD patients are sometimes unable to fully understand “cause and effect”. They may not understand why they are being criticized for their behavior, and may even feel like they are being criticized unfairly, which can eventually lead to argumentative and oppositional behavior.

Drug-Based Treatment vs. Non-Drug Treatment

Because neurofeedback’s results are produced by the patient’s own self-generated efforts via the learning process known as “operant conditioning”, the treatment addresses the cause of brain dysregulation, fixing the problem itself, rather than masking it. In contrast, drug-based ADD treatments can only produce a short-lived improvement since their results are due to a transient drug effect, rather than an internalized learning process of self-regulation through neurofeedback. Once the drug wears off, so do the improvements. Our clinical staff of therapists also provides much-needed support to our patients, parents, or spouses throughout the treatment process, ensuring that the entire family unit helps facilitate patient improvement, integrating it into their everyday life.

The Importance Of Accurate Diagnostic Testing

Historically, the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder has been based on a cluster of clinical symptoms, but this diagnosis has failed to include testing actual brain functioning. It is now known that ADHD symptoms are neurologically based, and it is over-simplistic to view ADHD as a single disorder since similar symptoms in various patients can manifest in unique ways, leading to different sets of problems. Also, the traditional ADHD diagnosis itself does not provide answers to the origin and cause of the unwanted symptoms. At the Drake Institute, we believe that the historical ADHD diagnosis has been too subjectively based on observations, without looking at biological or neurophysiological markers. That is why we utilize quantitative EEG brain mapping technology, which can correlate ADHD symptoms to dysregulated networks or regions in the brain.

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Similar symptoms in different patients may even show different abnormal brainwave patterns, requiring individualized brain map-based neurofeedback treatment protocols. Compared to drug-based treatment, which is mostly trial and error, our brain map-guided neurofeedback protocols are scientifically targeted to improve performance for specific networks and regions in the brain. Once the dysregulation has been mapped via qEEG brain mapping, we can then create individualized treatment plans for our patients and help them achieve symptom reduction through Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation.

Treating Brain Wave Abnormalities

A key component of our treatment protocols is the use of qEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalogram) brain mapping, which helps us obtain a clearer picture of the dysregulation occurring in the brain. Creating a brain map for an ADD/ADHD patient is every bit as important as running an EKG (electrocardiogram) for a heart patient. The more information the physician has about what’s causing the patient’s symptoms, the more effective their treatment can be. As is true with any medical test, brain map findings must be correlated with the patient’s clinical symptoms and evaluated to determine optimal EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback) protocols. Either type of disrupted functioning can negatively affect the attentional and executive functioning systems in the brain, even in highly intelligent people. Below is an image showing the "before and after" brain map of a patient who learned to normalize their frontal lobe brainwave patterns by completing our brain map guided neurofeedback treatment: As a result of completing our treatment and improving brain functioning, this child's quality of life was remarkably improved. Many of our patients report a substantial improvement in their life experience when their brain functioning improves as evidenced from their qEEG brain map.

Treating The Brain’s Dysfunctional “Wirings”

In these cases, the "wirings of the brain" are inadequate, and this facet of the disorder is also treated via our non-medication-based protocol. An analogy to this situation would be a delivery driver stuck on the freeway in traffic with only 1 functional lane, making traffic move very slowly and preventing the delivery driver from making his delivery on time. If the freeway were to create 4 additional functional lanes for traffic to move through, the traffic would move normally and efficiently, allowing the delivery driver to remain on schedule.

Combining Biofeedback With Neurofeedback Therapy

Indeed, research completed at the University of Montreal's Mind/Brain research lab, published in the scientific journal, Clinical EEG and Neurosciences, has shown that neurofeedback training and treatment procedures increased both brain volume and brain connections in areas involved in "attention", which correlated with improved auditory and visual sustained attention. This study was a milestone in proving that neurofeedback training can lead to structural changes in the brain, which then lead to improved brain functioning. Sometimes, it is helpful to think of neurofeedback for ADD or ADHD as analogous to "physical therapy" for the brain, with the results being self-generated by the patient's active self-regulation.

The Latest Treatment Technology: Neuromodulation

How does it work?

Simply put, Neuromodulation can stimulate a brainwave pattern that the patient is deficient in. In turn, the dysregulated brain will then mimic or emulate the stimulation to produce healthier brainwave patterns. This technology has had such a tremendous impact on our success rates that it is fully integrated into our treatment protocols available for each patient, resulting in faster improvements in symptom reduction and more normalization of post-treatment brain maps. In other words, it gets the brain healthier, faster.

Predominantly Inattentive Type Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type Combined Type

Predominantly Inattentive Presentation Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation Combined Presentation

People suffering from this disorder may be unable to sustain focus for an extended period of time on non-preferred tasks such as homework or classwork, even though they may be fully capable of concentrating on preferred tasks like video games or computer games for hours on end. Even excellent parenting cannot normalize an ADHD child’s frontal lobe dysregulation. No matter how much effort the child puts forth, they may not be able to fix the problem either, as simply trying harder won’t correct the dysregulation in their brain. On the surface, while it may appear that the child is willfully lazy or unmotivated, the reality is that they simply do not have the fully-developed and adequately functioning neurobiological capacities to be able to succeed with age-appropriate demands.

Inattention

Easily Distracted

Lack of sustained focus on non-preferred tasks

Difficulty finishing tasks such as homework without supervision

Poor short-term memory (i.e. difficulty following a series of instructions)

Often forgetful such as forgetting homework or turning it in

Poor listening skills

Impulsive (acting without thinking of the consequences, blurting out answers, interrupting, experiencing difficulty waiting one's turn)

Hyperactive (fidgety and/or difficulty sitting still)

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Inattentive symptoms along with hyperactivity/impulsivity

Symptoms must occur more frequently or severely when compared to children/adolescents of the same age Symptoms must reduce the quality of functioning in one’s life academically, achievement-wise, and/or behaviorally Up to 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD will continue to exhibit symptoms into adulthood, with resultant problems. The consequences for failing to treat ADHD and ADD as early as possible in a child's or adolescent's life can damage much more than one’s ability to concentrate.

Academic underachievement

Resultant low self-esteem

Motor vehicle accidents

Alcohol/substance abuse

Employment problems

Anxiety

Depression

Relationship problems

The same study showed that these untreated children can face increased risk as adults for psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or substance dependency. The inattentive type ADHD child is typically well behaved and does not disrupt the classroom. Frustrations with the child failing to complete homework on their own may be the only visible concern until the child reaches third grade when he/she is expected to work more independently, or in middle school when the ADD child can become overwhelmed with trying to remain organized and keeping up with multiple teachers and classes. This difficulty makes them far more likely to experience feelings of being overwhelmed and inadequate when faced with tasks that other kids their age would not have trouble completing. ADHD is diagnosed more frequently in boys than in girls. Girls with ADHD/ADD are less likely to be hyperactive than boys, and typically do not show the disruptive behaviors frequently exhibited by ADHD boys. Consequently, girls may get diagnosed at a later age. In addition, girls with ADD or ADHD may not show significant inattentive symptoms until middle school or high school, and their symptoms can actually increase with puberty as their estrogen levels rise. ADHD, including the Inattentive Presentation (formerly called ADD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Brain frontal lobe abnormalities have been found to be different in ADHD boys compared to those identified in ADHD girls. These findings provide insight into understanding why ADD or ADHD often manifests differently in boys versus girls. Research has shown that ADD or ADHD boys have brain abnormalities in areas involved with inhibition (impulsivity and hyperactivity), whereas girls are more likely to have brain abnormalities in areas involved in executive functioning. The new executive function challenges presented by middle school, where the student will report to 5 or 6 different teachers, rather than their single teacher from elementary school, often overwhelm the ADD or ADHD-inattentive child. Consequently, even though they could be extremely bright, their intelligence alone may no longer be enough to allow them to succeed. As the child begins to fall behind due to the difficulty in completing all of their work and their grades begin to drop, then a loss of self-confidence or self-esteem may occur. The child can then become increasingly frustrated, overwhelmed, and eventually unmotivated. Oftentimes, even very bright children who made it through high school without any issues were only able to do so because their supportive, structured home environment helped compensate for their neurophysiologic limitation with executive functioning.

Supporting Families

The Drake Institute Can Help

However, keep in mind that the sooner treatment is started, the less likely a patient is to experience cumulative struggles, under-achievements, frustrations, development of unhealthy defense mechanisms and emotional problems, damaged self-esteem and loss of motivation and ambitions. Our ADHD treatment program can improve the quality of life for people facing ADHD challenges at any age. Get help for you or your loved ones by contacting us to arrange a screening consultation at no charge.

ADHD & ADD Non-Drug Treatment F.A.Qs

For more information regarding our non-drug ADHD and ADD treatment protocols, please refer to the F.A.Q section below: In short, if a child is distracted and unable to focus due to worrisome thoughts, then he or she is probably suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. If the child’s mind is quiet, but he or she is still easily distracted, then ADHD or ADD is likely the cause. For more information on this topic, please read our article on ADHD vs. Anxiety. That said, the results generated through CBT can be further enhanced with treatment protocols like Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation. For example, some individuals are no longer hyperactive or impulsive as adults, but may still continue to suffer from inattention. Therefore, it’s important for individuals who are struggling with ADHD and ADD to seek professional help ASAP, since leaving ADHD and ADD untreated can result in poor performance at school, work, and impaired relationships.

drakeinstitute.com - Non-Drug ADHD & ADD Treatment - Therapy Without Medication

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