Some people would suggestion medication. I had a roommate in college that would take Ritalin. He was always popping those things like Skittles.
Personally, I don't believe people should rely on medication. I think the reason why medication is used as a solution is because people don't know how to develop a system.
The way that physicians prescribe medication to solve people's problems would be like a physician prescribing medication to cure an unruly dog or animal that is misbehaving.
If people used repeated medication as a solution on a dog, you'd have animal rights activists all over. Some would even accuse the dog owner of "laziness" for not wanting to take the time to train the animal.
Although people find it distasteful to compare humans to animals, psychology can apply. Forgive the reference of comparing your son to a dog, but dogs have short attention spans.
Dog owners are taught that when the dog does something bad, you don't wait till 12 or 24 hours to get angry with the dog. The dog will just get confused and not understand what it is that it did wrong. That's partially related to a short attention span.
- When it comes to training dogs, you use repetition
- Trained pigeons that are taught all kinds of tricks are taught through repetition
- Trained dolphins are taught by repetition
I'm a Sales Trainer and have written Training Manuals for people. You have to explain things to people simply and use repetition.
There's a funny example they use in the book "The One Minute Manager":
When it comes to training a dolphin that is able to hop through hoops, do 5 back flips, and then some acrobatic stunt at Sea World, they didn't learn that all at once.
The dolphin trainers didn't go out in the middle of the sea, hold out a hoop, wait for a dolphin to just hop out of the water, and exclaim, "Oh, that's the one we want! Let's get that one!"
They took a dolphin and trained it in steps. They went little by little until the dolphin followed and was rewarded.
I would assume that even though your child, as well as any child that has ADHD, is smarter than a trained pigeon and a trained dolphin.
That being said, you can apply the same type of training for your child where you teach him little by little to do things.
It's a matter of breaking down what you want him to learn little by little. Start off with those instructions at home.
Set up an Incentive and Rewards Plan where you have him read a book for 5 minutes. When he is able to read a book and follow those instructions for 5 minutes, reward him with that.
Then you change the time to 10 minutes. When he finally accomplishes that feat, you reward him. If he doesn't, then you make him do the task over again showing him he'll be rewarded once he hits that 10 minute mark. Then you go to 15 minutes and keep doing it until he accomplishes that. Then you do 20, 30, 40, and 50.
Keep a record of those accomplishments on your refrigerator.
1) Ask the teachers in his class what assignments that are commonly assigned to the class
2) Sit down at home and find a way to break down the tasks into easy to follow steps
3) Sit down with your child and practice those steps rewarding him each time he succeeds in following directions. If he fails, make him repeat the step
4) Make the incentive or reward system clear so that you'll understand how the Game works
This will allow your child to stretch his mind.
One of the other unfortunate things about labeling people with ADHD is that people can't help but discriminate against the child thinking that he's totally helpless or mentally handicapped.
That's not necessarily the case. It's just that his attention span is low because he's had distractions or it's from malnutrition where he's eating or drinking the wrong things that are making him hyper or where his mind is fuzzy.
Animals are smart. They just need someone to give them a plan.
Same with children that have ADHD. I still firmly believe that medication is a waste of money. If your child is acting up or hyper, you work with and train your child to learn how to sit still for 5 minutes... then 10 minutes... then 15... etc.
When they fail to do so, you either remove a privilege for them not following directions or you reward them for completing that task. Animals understand this, which is why pigeons are rewarded with bird seed and dolphins are rewarded with fish.
What does your child like to do? What does he like to eat? Set up a Reward or Incentive System for your child to follow.
As I said, most parents don't have a book or instruction manual that teaches them this stuff. So when they go to the doctor, the doctor puts them on medication.
When the parents of children with ADHD go to school, the teachers aren't prepped or taught how to properly train children.
My mom was a Remedial English Teacher at the High School Level for 28 years. One of the things she disliked was how regular English Teachers would shove unruly or problematic students in her Remedial English Class.
There was nothing wrong with them. They may have had short attention spans or were disruptive, but there was nothing wrong with their mind.
If your child can follow instructions and has strong rote memory, you can play up to those strengths as a parent by giving him step by step instructions that slowly wean him from being dependent on others.
As things are now, he's got "Psychological Training Wheels" on his Intellectual Bicycle, but he has strong Intellectual Legs. Eventually you can remove the Training Wheels. He just needs to be taught how to Intellectually Pedal consistently to gain that momentum and ride off of his own speed rather than requiring an Adult or Teacher to continually supervise him.
People joke about how Video Games in the 1980s influenced Culture. Kids who are prescribed Medication are like Pac-Man and the Ritalin or drugs prescribed are like Power Pellets that they have to eat to go chase after Ghosts before the effect wears off. The Power Pellet would be the Ritalin or medication wearing off.
I think it's unfortunate when doctors reduce a child's life down to Video Game.