theADHDdoc.com - Your guide to medications and complementary and alternative treatments for ADD & ADHD.

Your guide to medications and complementary and alternative treatments for ADD & ADHD.

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting our website. For those of you who know little about me or the FPI Attention Disorders Clinic, a brief introduction would probably be a good start. The FPI Attention Disorders Clinic is a private outpatient center specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children, teens and adults with ADHD. We are located in Endicott, a village that is part of “Beautiful Upstate New York”. Approximately 500,000 people live within 50 miles of our clinic. Because of our growing regional and national reputation for thorough clinical evaluation and comprehensive patient care, we evaluate and treat between 400 to 500 new patients each year.

In over 25 years of clinical practice as a licensed clinical psychologist, I have evaluated and participated in the treatment of over 10,000 patients with ADHD and related learning and behavioral disorders. The lessons that I have learned from my years as a clinician and researcher have been published in various scientific papers, literature reviews, as well as a parenting book, most of which are available on this site. I have also shared these lessons at numerous conferences and have made videos of certain of my presentations available on this site. Given the ease of access for many to the Internet, I decided to share this knowledge with you on a website. Here’s a brief summary of what I’ve learned.

From my perspective, children and teens with ADHD present a degree of impulsivity, restlessness, inattention, forgetfulness, and explosiveness that creates unique challenges for parents, teachers, and health care providers. Their symptoms can be easily be mistaken for signs of insensitivity, selfishness, defiance, a lack of motivation or just plain meanness. Over the years, I have learned that having ADHD is kind of like having diabetes. Until the medical issues are addressed, you are unable to consistently attend, concentrate, solve problems, control irritability, and demonstrate caring for others. Once the medical and nutritional issues of diabetes (like ADHD) begin to be addressed, then it is quite likely that the potential of these patients can be "unlocked".

Central to my treatment program is the premise that the medical realities of ADHD cannot be ignored if the child is to be successful. There needs to be some type of treatment of the abnormal activity in the frontal lobe, whether it is medication, EEG Biofeedback or a combination of both. Similarly, the daily realities of struggling to concentrate for eight hours (at least) on school work cannot be ignored. There needs to be adequate support for the child at school. The brain (and body) also need nourishment so that the child can concentrate, control excessive activity, and solve problems. Consequently, the demand of the body for an adequate supply of protein in the morning and afternoon must be met. However, even after we treat these medical, nutritional, and educational realities of ADHD, the need to teach essential life skills remains. That is the real focus of clinics like mine.

In contrast, teaching people “how to control children with ADHD” is not a central focus. Once a child with ADHD reaches the age of seven (or earlier) there is no "controlling" the child. Paradoxically, the more a parent attempts to intimidate, punish or threaten a child with ADHD, the worse the behavior becomes. Tangible rewards, whether in the form of a television show, money, a new toy, a trip to the zoo, also have little power to consistently motivate these children.

What I have learned is that children with ADHD respond well to efforts to enlist their participation in a non-violent, respectful family in which people care about the needs, fears, and sensitivities of others. In such a family, the child needs to “earn” the opportunity to pursue fun and enjoyable activities and does their share of the family work without expecting to be paid. In such a family, everyone apologizes and takes steps to make up when they fail to be caring. The establishment of such caring, non-violent, respectful families is as essential as medication in promoting the success of patients with ADHD.

I invite you to take your time and explore my website to learn about the causes, problems, and effective treatments for ADHD. If you’d like more detailed information, visit our Online Store for books, videos and nutritional products. If you have the time, join us in our Online Parenting Class, which provides you with a unique opportunity to participate in our parenting program without ever leaving home. Whether you are a parent, educator, or health care provider, my hope is that you will find the kind of information that can help you promote the success of patients with ADHD. Let me know what you think. Take a moment to email us with your thoughts, suggestions, or comments.

Best Wishes

Dr. Monastra
“theADHDdoc”