When she was a year old, I took her to her pediatrician. "She has too much energy," I announced. "Her dad had ADHD. Should I be worried about that?"
"No," he assured me. "All this energy just means she is intelligent."
Well, she is intelligent. She also has ADHD.
She fooled us for a while. When she isn't hanging from the light fixtures, she sits quietly and reads. As soon as she's done reading, she climbs the nearest person or object, talking all the while. She loves to sit and draw. She also loves to run screaming through Wal Mart.
The periods of sitting quietly led me to believe she couldn't possibly have ADHD, but I've since found out that it's quite common for these kids to be able to focus on something they really enjoy. If they aren't enjoying it, though...watch out.
The excess energy I could have put up with. The emotional meltdowns, not so much. So this year we finally tested her, and guess what? Mr. Pediatrician dropped the ball on this one.
Preacher Man and I have nothing against meds, but we like to try everything else first. So we decided to try the Feingold Program. It's a diet based on the idea that ADHD symptoms can be triggered by the additives in our food. We will no longer be consuming artificial dyes and preservatives.
This past week, I cleaned out our pantry of all non-Feingold approved foods. Here's all the food that didn't make the cut:
That was most of my pantry. So then, my Feingold approved food list in hand, I embarked upon a two hour shopping trip.
So far, it's not as difficult as I feared. Most of what I bought is normal food; it's just that some brands use dyes and preservatives and others don't.
It's certainly not as difficult as peeling a 7 year old off the door frame.
I'll keep you posted.
