Adhd occupational therapy

Currently, there an estimated 5.2 million children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 17 years of age who have been diagnosed with ADHD, an estimated 8.4% of all children in the U.S. The effects of this disorder are often extremely inconvenient and disadvantageous: according to the Center for Disease Control, or CDC, parents report that children with a history of ADHD are almost 10 times as likely to have difficulties that interfere with friendships, and are almost three times as likely to experience peer problems as children without ADHD. And unfortunately, the symptoms of ADHD often continue into adulthood: across 10 countries, it was projected that ADHD was associated with 143.8 million lost days of productivity each year.

Given the ways ADHD can impact a person’s lives and those around them, treatment of ADHD is often seen as a necessary venture. However, given the way attention-deficit medications has been portrayed in the media, many sufferers and their loved ones are often wary of the traditional ADHD treatment for children and adults. Moreover, it is possible that many people with ADHD may not need medication at all. Instead, ADHD alternative treatments, such as behavioral counseling for ADHD and life management counseling, may be helpful for treating symptoms.

ADHD alternative treatments are obviously not as common as traditional approaches like medication; however, cognitive behavioral therapy for ADHD can often be effective for everyone from elementary-age children to college and high school graduates because it teaches them how to organize and structure their lives in order to handle the effects of ADHD organically. By working with a professional life coach or therapist who specializes in treating ADHD, a patient learns to use time management exercises and other forms of training to work with, not against, their symptoms, creating a longer-lasting, healthier treatment for ADHD.

If you or a loved one has ADHD, you are likely aware of the way the disorder does, and will continue to, affect your or their life without treatment. And yet, in 2011, it was reported that 17.5% of children diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S. were not being treated with either medication or counseling. The rates for adults are likely similar. If you have been avoiding treatment because of anxiety on how it would affect your life, don’t settle for living with your unchecked symptoms: contact a life management coach today to discuss ADHD alternative treatments.