How Effective is the Nutraceutical ATTEND with ADHD?

I really like all natural remedy for Attention Deficit Disorder called ATTEND, and the other Nutraceutical products made by VAXA International in Tampa, FL.

In fact, I spent nearly two years studying the effectiveness of ATTEND on children and adults with ADHD. It was a big undertaking, but was well worth the effort. At the beginning of the study, I was very skeptical about the effectiveness of anything other than stimulants and therapy. However, as time as gone by I have learned that the ATTEND does work well, as do some other non-traditional treatments, such as EEG Biofeedback training.

I found that 70% of the subjects who tried ATTEND for 30 days made statistically significant improvements as measured by the TOVA computerized test. Over 80% of the subjects made significant improvements as reported by the parents. But the key was using the nutraceuticals for at least 30 days. At 15 days (the point when most people give up trying) there was little measurable improvement.

The longer the subject used the nutraceuticals, the bigger the improvements. In other words, we saw more improvement at 45 days than at 30 days, and more improvement at 90 days than at 45 days. We stopped testing everyone at 90 days. The details of the study are available at our ADHD Information Library site.

Many of you are looking for a way to help your ADHD, or your child's ADHD, without the use of stimulant medications. As you probably know, I am NOT opposed to the use of stimulants. I am not a Ritalin hater. I think that Ritalin and other stimulants can help many people, although I am always concerned about the level of expertise that the prescribing physician might have in managing the treatment with stimulants (in other words, the medication is pretty good, but some doctors aren't good at forming and managing a treatment strategy with the medications).

Anyway, I also like ATTEND as a treatment option. In fact in many cases I would recommend that you try it first, before trying stimulants. Here are my detailed suggestions. And here are two other thoughts...

1. ATTEND often works better when combined with a good eating program. If you have ADHD, you have to eat very carefully. Food does impact the performance of your brain, and therefore your ADHD symptoms. Here is our Recommended Eating Program.

2. ATTEND often works really well when combined with other nutraceutical products to target specific symptoms, such as temper outbursts, or obsessive behaviors, or depression. This is discussed in detail both at the ATTEND page and at the TYPES OF ADHD page. Specific treatment strategies are recommended at the TYPES OF ADHD page.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.