Although Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) affect between 3 to 5 percent of school-age kids, they remain the most misunderstood problems facing young children today. While medications like Ritalin and Cylert are traditionally prescribed to treat these disorders, they often come with worrying side effects and can cause weight loss, insomnia, and may even slow growth in younger children.Finally, ADD/ADHD Drug Free gives frustrated parents a long-awaited natural alternative. The first book to feature activities for children that will help them cope with their disorder by strengthening brain functioning, this life-changing guide shows parents, teachers and counselors how they can improve learning and behavior effectively and without medication.Timely and thoroughly researched, this is the one guide that will help thousands of children become more focused, more attentive, and more successful in school and in life, without jeopardizing their health.

Frank Jacobelli (Gardnerville, NV) has treated both children and adults in a variety of clinical settings including inpatient psychiatric, private practice, and community mental health. Since 1994, Jacobelli has served as a Clinical Coordinator for Enki Health and Research Systems, Inc. in Northern California.

L.A. Watson (Gardnerville, NV ) has been an early-learning education director, multiple-subject teacher, special educator, special-education administrator, and resource specialist.

CHAPTER 1When Medication Isn't the Answer or Isn't EnoughThis book was written to give valuable information to parents, teachers, and counselors. But, first and foremost, it is an activity book written for you, the "helper," to use with kids from ages nine to thirteen. The activities are designed to "exercise" their frontal lobes and reduce behavior problems associated with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other frontal lobe deficits. ADD/ADHD Drug Free shows you how to impart important skills to kids who need to deal with troubling behavioral and cognitive traits that are most likely biological in nature.Let's get the elephant out of the room right from the get-go, and begin by telling you what we're not and what this book is not. We are not scientists, and this is not a scientific book. That's not to say that we haven't studied some of the most recent and most fascinating books and research articles about the brain and how it functions. We have studied those books, particularly the ones about the area of our brain called the frontal lobes and about what problems can occur when this part of our brain isn't working up to its potential (more about the frontal lobes later). In fact, you can find references to these works throughout the text, and the titles of these books and articles in the references at the back of this book. These works contain amazing cutting-edge stuff written by people such as Elkhonon Goldberg, Joseph LeDoux, Bruce Perry, Daniel Amen, and Russell Barkley. Now, these folks are scientists! Their books make for fascinating reading for those interested in the science, and we highly recommend them. But we're not experts on the brain or, for that matter, on the neurobiology of ADHD (we'll compare and contrast the types of ADHD in a later chapter). To limit redundancy for now, please note that when we write ADHD, we are referring to all types, whether the problem is primarily inattention, hyperactivity, or both.As such, we have no double-blind studies with which to convince you of our ideas, but we make no apologies. Science, after all, is very concrete and therefore can sometimes be limiting. If you're looking for "evidenced-based" books on treating the symptoms of ADHD, you're likely to find some, but they will probably be difficult to read and understand. And it's very unlikely that you will find any activity book at all. A practical, enjoyable, hands-on, and effective workbook for kids is long overdue. We are pleased to deliver such a book to you here.Having gotten that out of the way, we want you to know we're very excited to have this chance to tell you what's worked for the kids we have metand why. But first, let us tell you what we are and a bit more about the book. We are a Mental Health Clinician (Frank) and a Special Educator (Lynn Ann) with more than 40 years combined experience on the front lines in classrooms and counseling offices, providing direct services to kids with frontal lobe problems. Individually, and together, we have treated and taught hundreds of kids who've been pinned with a variety of unflattering labels, such as lazy, angry, crazy, difficult, uncooperative, "bouncing off the walls," or just plain "slow." Over the course of treating all those kids for all those years, we began to notice a few things, and we began to try a few new ideas to address those things we noticed. And what happened was amazing. This book is about sharing our ideas with you: the parents, counselors, and teachers of kids with ADHD and other frontal lobe problems.But let's back