By the time our son got to Grade 1, we saw that something wasn’t right. He was tuned out in class, wasn’t progressing academically, and seemed generally irritable most of the time. Eventually we got him tested and he was diagnosed with ADHD.

Standard treatment back then was the same as now: Medicate. But the stimulant medication he was prescribed didn’t help much and the side effects were bad – Adam’s moods got worse. He was prescribed an anti-depressant to deal with his moods but that backfired when he couldn’t get to sleep at night. The solution? Add a sleeping pill.

bored child in school

adhd medication

Between tweaking dosages and switching medications, we felt victimized by pharmaceutical experiments gone wrong. And still no end in sight to the focusing and learning issues.

As a research scientist and classroom teacher I knew what to look for: Scientifically developed and medically endorsed methods that could be taught to a kid, would be kind of fun to do, and would effectively treat focusing and learning issues.