I may or may not be one of those parents who lets their kids jump on the sofa. It depends on the moment. Sometimes I might have just fluffed the pillows and want to enjoy it for 10 minutes. In that case I enforce and yell out the ”no jumping on the furniture!” rule. I’m kidding. About the wishy-washy rules part, not the yelling. I yell a lot. It’s the only way they listen. No but seriously, when it comes to energy exertion, we run a pretty laid back house. We have to. Reese has what the medical field calls ADHD. And so what? She got it from her daddy and he turned out all right. He spent a decent chunk of his young life on Ritalin and another similar drug. Now he’s 33 and while he might be cool and calm now as an adult, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law have many-a-story from his childhood. Stories that make you say, “wow…and you kept him?”

Their brains are wired differently. Their responses are different, the way they handle emotions are different and their thought process is different. Because of this, energy and impulses come out differently…sometimes erratically. A lot of times erratically. Everything is connected in our bodies. I love that God is that awesome that he made everything work together in a way that made sense to Him. But He didn’t make us all walking clones of one another so what works for some doesn’t work for others. In my opinion, the reason a lot of children with ADHD struggle in school is because they are expected to sit still in a classroom full of other children who don’t struggle with sitting still. In comes naturally to them. Others can sit there and focus on what the teacher is teaching. But someone with ADHD is so focused on squelching their urges to move or talk that they don’t process a word of what the teacher is saying. They’re just sitting there…their brains processing differently then others around them…feeling like if they don’t get up and move soon, they might freak out. I believe if they were allowed to stand up and bounce a bouncy ball on the floor or do jumping jacks during the lecture, they’d obtain so much more of the information. But how fair is that to the rest of the class? Hence the jumping on the sofa. It’s winter time folks and if we don’t allow her to expel that moment’s energy, things get pretty wild and woolly. I could go on and on about other ways that ADHD affects an individual and their family, but I won’t bore you. I will say though that it really is affecting all of us at this point. Even with the knowledge of knowing Reese cannot control certain behaviors…the outbursts, high octane energy and the impulsive stuff gets old really quick.

I’ve done a lot of research. We’re not tree-hugging hippies by any means, but when something is ailing one of us, we seek out the source and try to treat it naturally. I’m not saying prescription medication doesn’t make you feel better, but I feel very strongly that it’s just a temporary band-aid, that eventually stops working and causes side effects and other problems. Sometimes medication is needed for a period of time just to cope…but not forever. Not every one’s digestive system is the same. Hello herbs. Herbs are so awesome. Not every one’s stomach and acid production is the same. Hello aloe. Plants are awesome. And not every one’s brain is the same.

I found two natural remedies called BrightSpark and Focus Formula that are en-route to our home. The package should get here this week. Oh-happy-day if these natural methods and combination of herbs work. I’m hopeful that they will improve the quality of life for Reese and our family. 

I’ll let you know the outcome. I’d love to be able to share a successful treatment or announce that this remedy is just a big old slice of bologna.